Posted on 10/07/2014 2:17:41 AM PDT by servo1969
Last Friday night a rare dialogue/debate took place on American television. It was rare because it involved criticism of Islam, one of the many taboo subjects that are labeled "politically incorrect." And it took place on the program "Real Time with Bill Maher," a show not generally known for taking politically incorrect positions.
But on this night the host, Bill Maher, along with atheism-advocate Sam Harris, had a vigorous debate with Actor Ben Affleck, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.
Bill Maher, a man of the left on virtually every issue, began by defending liberalism's honor against liberal hypocrisy on the subject of Islam:
"Liberals need to stand up for liberal principles. ... Liberal principles like freedom of speech, freedom to practice any religion you want without fear of violence, freedom to leave a religion, equality for women, equality for minorities including homosexuals -- these are liberal principles that liberals applaud for [pointing to his audience], but then when you say in the Muslim world this is what's lacking, then they get upset."
Sam Harris then added:
"Liberals have really failed on the topic of theocracy. They'll criticize ... Christians; they'll still get agitated over the abortion clinic bombing that happened in 1984, but when you talk about the treatment of women and homosexuals and free thinkers and public intellectuals in the Muslim world, I would argue that liberals have failed us. And the crucial point of confusion is that we have been sold this meme of 'Islamophobia,' where every criticism of the doctrine of Islam gets conflated with bigotry toward Muslims as people. That's intellectually ridiculous."
Ben Affleck and Nicholas Kristof -- along with, sad to say, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee -- would have none of that.
Affleck's first response to the indictment of the liberal double standard was to ask Sam Harris: "Are you the person that understands the officially codified doctrine of Islam?"
To which Harris responded: "I'm actually well-educated on this topic."
Affleck, presumably not desirous of comparing his knowledge of Islam with that of Harris, moved on: "You're saying that Islamophobia is not a real thing?"
"It's gross! It's racist!" Affleck continued, in answer to his own question.
"It's like saying, 'I'm not your shifty Jew,'" comparing an antisemitic epithet to what Maher and Harris were saying.
To which Harris pointed out that there is no comparison between attacks on all members of a group and attacks on ideas: "We have to be able to criticize bad ideas. And Islam is the mother lode of bad ideas."
That really set Affleck off.
"Jesus! It's an ugly thing to say."
This was classic leftist thinking. The question of whether an assertion is true is of little or no interest to the left. The question of concern to the left is whether something is politically incorrect.
Then the New York Times columnist, Kristof, offered his take:
"The picture you're painting is to some extent true, but it is hugely incomplete. It is certain that plenty of fanatics and jihadis are Muslim, but [so are] the people who are standing up to them -- Malala [the Pakistani 12-year-old shot and critically wounded by Islamists for attending school and advocating that other girls do so], Muhammad Ali Dadkhah in Iran, in prison for nine years for speaking up for Christians, [and] a friend that I had in Pakistan [who] was shot this year, Rashid Rahman, for defending people accused of apostasy."
Kristof's response is a frequent one. So it is worth responding to.
It is quite true that there are heroic Muslims who are fighting the Islamists throughout the Muslim world -- and that some of them have been murdered for doing so. These people are moral giants. But their existence has nothing to do with the criticisms leveled by Maher and Harris, since they never said or implied that all Muslims are bad. There were heroic Germans who fought Hitler and the Nazis. Therefore what? If Kristof had been present when people criticized Germany's values, would he have labeled them "Germanophobes?"
But it was later in the dialogue that Kristof expressed the most dishonest of the left's arguments on this issue: "The great divide is not between Islam and the rest. It's rather between the fundamentalists and the moderates in each faith."
"In each faith," Kristof?
Where, sir, are the Christian and Jewish jihadists? The only Jewish state in the world is one of the freest countries on earth, with protections for minority religions and women and homosexuals unknown anywhere in the Muslim world. And virtually every free country in the world is in the Christian world.
Presumably, these are just "ugly" facts.
This debate was valuable. Even more valuable would be if Maher and Harris came to realize that the death of Judeo-Christian values and their being supplanted by leftism is producing hundreds of millions of people who think like Ben Affleck and Nicholas Kristof.
Things have gotten so nuts that Bill Maher had drawn his line in the sand. There is hope !!
[Affleck, presumably not desirous of comparing his knowledge of Islam with that of Harris, moved on: “You’re saying that Islamophobia is not a real thing?”
“It’s gross! It’s racist!” Affleck continued, in answer to his own question. ]
Hey Affleck - Islam is a not a race!...therefore, one cannot be a racists!
...and this is why NO ONE should ever take seriously the Hollywood crowd - for the most most part (there are exceptions) they are all idiots!
I think with the woman in OK having her head cut off by a moslem in the work place has driven home that these ideological weapons don’t need a gun or bomb - just a knife to wreak havoc - anywhere - anytime...
Wake up US - the Jihad is on
Yep, Maher was the most sane voices on this video - more so than Affleck, and even more correct than Michael Steele.
Really, “In this corner we have the Savage Raving Lunatic Muhamed and in the other corner we have a country full of idiot libturds who fail to realize they are even in the ring much less in a fight.”. No wonder the diaper heads think they can win.
Its not a “diaper” its a “sheet”.
LOL...I see what you did there.
Well written piece.
“No surprise, Affleck is an uneducated horse’s ass, with no awareness that he makes a fool of himself whenever he opens his mouth. I have heard him speak before and he has learned nothing. “
Affleck apparently doesn’t understand that, let’s just hypothesize for a moment, should ISIS mysteriously take control of Hollywood about 90% of its residents would be summarily executed on the spot, including him. But, a wise person once said “stupid is as stupid does”. Ben Affleck in a nutshell - emphasis on nut....
I know that ben a-flack is a lefty loon, but to have to agree with maher, makes me feel like I need two showers today.
Ben Affleck is an actor?
Maybe that Hollywood idiot should watch a movie called “Argo.”
Sure.... ‘gobble gobble’ (That’s turkey talk)
exactly!
In an interview I heard with him he says all he knows about Christianity he got from the movie “Dogma”
Ben Affleck is an actor?
++++
There is considerable debate about that.
I assumed it was widely recognized that his obvious lack of learning in the areas of history, science, geography, language, literature, theology, politics ... extended to training in his chosen field of acting. Surprisingly, surveys indicate that, despite the clear evidence from his work currently visible on both the large and small screen, this is not a universally held belief.
Yes, there are still at least a handful of people who believe Ben Affleck can actually act.
bookmark
Spoken like a 12 year old girl.
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