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Fred Thompson: Back to Backbone - History is fundamental.
National Review Online ^
| April 25, 2007
| Fred Thompson
Posted on 04/26/2007 9:30:01 AM PDT by neverdem
April 25, 2007, 11:20 p.m.
Back to Backbone History is fundamental.
By Fred Thompson
By now, we’re used to people like Iranian President Ahmadinejad denying that the Holocaust ever happened, even while he and his regime promise not only the destruction of Israel but the elimination of Jews internationally.
It’s bad enough hearing from a distance about the bizarre anti-Semitic theories taught by heads of state as well as schools and religious leaders. Now, according to a study funded by the British government, we find out that some schools in Great Britain have stopped teaching history that is offensive to Muslim students. The topics that have been erased from the curriculum, the study found, include both the Nazi genocide and the Crusades.
This rewriting of history through omission wasn’t some government policy. It was the result of individual decisions in local schools by teachers with large populations of Muslim students. Unfortunately, many of these students have been taught by parents and mosques that the holocaust never happened and that the Crusades were an unprovoked attack on Islam by European Christians. History books that present these events in any other light, they believe, are part some giant conspiracy designed to attack their very religion.
If anybody needs to hear these facts, it is the children who are being abused by those who are teaching the same hateful lies that have helped turn the Middle East into the self-destructive and often suicidal mess it is today.
The British are, in the main, a particularly polite people, but there is a point when the desire not to offend the easily offended becomes an even bigger problem. We’ve already seen an English organization ban images of Piglet, the harmless character from the classic Winnie the Pooh books, because of protests by those who imagine that simply seeing a cartoon pig is a violation of their civil rights. We’ve even seen the banning of pins bearing St. George’s cross, because it reminds some of the Crusades — accompanied by demands that Great Britain get rid of the venerable Union Jack for the same reason.
These views, common in the Middle East, are not just an academic or intellectual challenge. We have seen homegrown British terrorists act on the same lies and conspiracy theories that are now being used to silence teachers. Ideas do have consequences and we all need to understand that the war on terror is taking place as much in the realm of ideas as it is on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
America is a free country and we do not tell people what they can believe or say. We should realize, however, that there are people in America who are also telling their children that the Holocaust is a lie and that those who say otherwise are their enemies. We cannot prevent them from doing so, but we also cannot let them promote their agenda by claiming they are victimized by historical facts.
This would be a good place to quote an important British writer, George Orwell, who wrote, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” Even in America, our children are often taught a watered down, inoffensive, and culturally sensitive version of events ranging from the Crusades to the battle at the Alamo.
It’s time for people who believe that they have a stake in Western civilization and its traditions to get a little backbone — even if it offends somebody.
© ABC Radio Editor's note: This has been amended since posting. |
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TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: fred; fredthompson; rfr; runfredrun; thompson
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1
posted on
04/26/2007 9:30:03 AM PDT
by
neverdem
To: neverdem
2
posted on
04/26/2007 9:32:31 AM PDT
by
kevkrom
To: neverdem
Preach it, Fred! Preach it!
To: Virginia Ridgerunner
4
posted on
04/26/2007 9:34:10 AM PDT
by
Petronski
(FRED!)
To: neverdem
I think Dick Cheney should resign, George Bush appoint FDT as VP and then resign....
tomorrow...
if not today!
5
posted on
04/26/2007 9:35:06 AM PDT
by
Hostage
(Fred Thompson will be President.)
To: neverdem
Run, Fred, Run!
6
posted on
04/26/2007 9:35:41 AM PDT
by
E. Pluribus Unum
(Islam is a religion of peace, and Muslims reserve the right to kill anyone who says otherwise.)
To: STARWISE
7
posted on
04/26/2007 9:36:07 AM PDT
by
Politicalmom
(Better a democrat with an energized opposition than a leftist “Republican” with no opposition.)
To: kevkrom
To: neverdem
Good op-ed....still not a candidate though.
9
posted on
04/26/2007 9:37:42 AM PDT
by
rhombus
To: kevkrom
Thanks for the link. IMHO, Fred is running. He just hasn’t announced it yet, for whatever reason.
10
posted on
04/26/2007 9:40:52 AM PDT
by
neverdem
(May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
To: All
11
posted on
04/26/2007 9:42:53 AM PDT
by
Politicalmom
(Better a democrat with an energized opposition than a leftist “Republican” with no opposition.)
To: neverdem
Thanks for the link. IMHO, Fred is running. He just hasnt announced it yet, for whatever reason. Not a problem. I'm not trying to be "posting police", I'm just a fan of cross-referencing. :)
Also, I agree. Thompson is doing everything it takes to run without doing it officially. The ABC radio pieces and public appearances allow him to campaign without campaigning, and he neither has to raise nor spend money to do it. There's only so long he'll be able to get away with this tack, but I think he's going to go as far as reasonably possible down this road before "officially" running.
12
posted on
04/26/2007 9:44:21 AM PDT
by
kevkrom
To: neverdem
” You got to have a plan, son” and I for one would like to believe Fred has one!
13
posted on
04/26/2007 9:46:05 AM PDT
by
newcthem
(A former republican......now I'm a Fredsureashellcan !!!!!!!!!!!!)
To: Hostage
Now there’s an idea!!!
I couldn’t figure out why W chose Cheney the second time around since it left us sorta bare for a 2008 candidate. This worried me at the time but I’m beginning to think it will work out fine - IF Fred is elected.
14
posted on
04/26/2007 9:46:16 AM PDT
by
Aria
(NO RAPIST ENABELER FOR PRESIDENT!!!)
To: Politicalmom
Newt Gingrich (7) 6%
Rudy Guiliani (11) 9%
John McCain (0) 0%
Mitt Romney (7) 6%
Fred Thompson (102) 80%
15
posted on
04/26/2007 9:46:37 AM PDT
by
AFreeBird
(This space for rent. Inquire within)
To: neverdem
FRED STATE AMERICA, Ya gotta love it.
To: jellybean; carlo3b; girlangler; KoRn; Shortstop7; Lunatic Fringe; Darnright; babygene; pitbully; ...
![](http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3AxxrKUp7BHD7Kofrj%3DQofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQ0lxaJexJeJxv8uOc5xQQQ0GnelPaooQqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXPla%7CRup60Pa%7C/of=50,590,234)
Click for more official information about Fred.
![](http://draftfredthompson.com/pix/sticker9.jpg)
If you're interested in seeing the latest articles about Fred Thompson and don't want to be pinged for each one, just click on his name in the top right list of "popular keywords" on the Forum page.
Please FRmail jellybean, if you want on/off this list.
17
posted on
04/26/2007 9:55:14 AM PDT
by
STARWISE
(They (Rats) think of this WOT as Bush's war, not America's war-RichardMiniter, respected OBL author)
To: newcthem
Fred don’t take a dump without a plan son.....
18
posted on
04/26/2007 10:11:25 AM PDT
by
lovecraft
(Specialization is for insects.)
To: newcthem
You bet he has a plan. Apparently, patience is one of his virtues.
Maybe he’s just letting the fizzleheads run out of hot air — you know, like a balloon does when it comes untied. That’s what the presidential politicos look like to me.
Peaking too early is absolutely fatal to any political campaign.
It’s just too early to be heading into a big campaign. Unless, of course, the real goal is just to raise money (which they’ll figure out a way to keep most of).
To: newcthem
As I mentioned elsewhere, his plan is to get paid to get his message/name out to millions on ABC radio while all the other (declared) candidates are running around trying to raise funds so they can pay others to get their message out (ineffectively).
20
posted on
04/26/2007 10:19:35 AM PDT
by
Squidpup
("Fight the Good Fight")
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