Posted on 12/08/2015 1:39:56 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
I completely get the fury over political correctness. I completely understand that the aristocratic political, media, and academic establishment have been lying to us about Islam and the Muslim world for more than fourteen years. As I explain at length on the home page, it's simply not the case that Islam is a peaceful, tolerant faith plagued by a tiny few extremists. Rather, Islam has massive problem with hate and bigotry - with hundreds of millions of Muslims supporting the worst kinds of religious intolerance and tens of millions more outright terrorist sympathizers. In the refugee controversy, I've repeated over and over that it's foolish to admit a class of refugees when we know the world's leading terror army is attempting to infiltrate the displaced masses or recruit from their ranks. We can be compassionate without making ourselves vulnerable.
But the correct response to political correctness isn't to simply take the opposite position, to answer one form of unthinking ideology with another. By tacking to the opposite of Obama's scolding self-righteousness, Trump isn't charting his own course so much as merely reacting. In fact, now that he's "clarified" that he's not just talking about immigration but a moratorium on all Muslim entry to the United States, he's gone well beyond being the anti-Obama and has reacted straight into foolishness.
Off the top of their heads, even the most hawkish national security conservatives can identify multiple categories of Muslims who should have access to the United States, beginning - of course - with our own citizens. There are many others. What about the interpreters who've laid down their lives to serve our warriors downrange and now find themselves under imminent threat from jihadists? What about members of allied militaries who are training to be the Muslim "boots on the ground" that we need to help take the fight to the enemy? Do we treat the Kurds - who are sheltering so many of Iraq's Christians while also providing the most effective fighting force against ISIS - the same as we treat suspected terrorists? It makes no sense.
On the merits of Trump's proposal, I agree with Ben Shapiro:
Kiss Our Intelligence Apparatus Goodnight. We need to work with Muslims both foreign and domestic. It's one thing to label Islamic terrorism and radical Islam a problem. It's another to label all individual Muslims a problem. That's what this policy does. It's factually wrong and ethically incomprehensible. Donald Trump has just transformed into the strawman President Obama abused on Sunday night.
There is nothing wrong with closing our borders to select groups when confronted with actionable intelligence or to place some groups under greater scrutiny because of known threats. But to treat every single Muslim as a threat, regardless of whether they're from Raqqa, Erbil, Cairo, or Des Moines - and regardless of whether they've tweeted jihadist threats or bled on the battlefield alongside our troops - is to act mindlessly. I would also say Trump is acting maliciously, but I don't think Trump despises Muslims as much as he loves leading the news cycle. This is a political stunt and should be treated as such.
I often speak to audiences on college campuses and elsewhere about the proper response to PC nonsense. I call the formula "apathetic, informed conviction." When formulating cultural or political opinions, one must be completely apathetic to PC pressures - don't react against or capitulate to leftist browbeating. Instead, educate yourself and act through informed conviction. Respond to unreason with reason, to intimidation with a bored shrug, and speak truth even when the truth is unpleasant. In this instance, however, Donald Trump is the voice of attention-seeking reaction, not principled leadership.
I’d never count her out, but I do not believe that no one but Trump can beat her (she’s so flawed).
To me, your POV is similar to Michael Medved's in that he is an intelligent, reasonable man of high integrity. He too, like you, considers Trump to be a bloviating buffoon. He believes that we can use logic to persuade our political opponents to see things our way.
Under normal circumstances I would agree, but we passed normalcy a long time ago. And while "apathetic, informed conviction" is certainly appropriate in personal interactions, it isn't going to work on the public stage.
Afterall, what is the logical response to people that call us racists, bigots, homophobes and on and on regardless of what we say. Frankly, I'm sick of moral midgets insulting my sincere beliefs.
Trump is a blow torch and an atom bomb aimed at the PC industry. I'm a reasonable man but sometimes you have to fight, and if not now; when?
He too, like you, considers Trump to be a bloviating buffoon.
I believe Trump is a very intelligent man who is addicted to the limelight, someone who will seek power anyway that he can (changes his political party and support more often than Hillary changes her hairstyle) and therefore is someone who cannot be trusted.
Afterall, what is the logical response to people that call us racists, bigots, homophobes and on and on regardless of what we say. Frankly, I'm sick of moral midgets insulting my sincere beliefs.
Aren't we all!? But I see Trump playing people because he knows the buttons to push, and not because he believes as we do.
I would not trust him beside me in a foxhole.
Trump will gain another 5 points from this, plus he’ll suck the air out of the other campaigns, explode the heads of libs and get millions of dollars worth of publicity for free.
“Now picture the Left labeling the Tea Party “extremists” and call for show trials.
Just saying... “
They already did that. They actually set the precedent based on their IRS antics. The fact that Syrian Christians cannot come here enforces the lefts position.
Trump is just doing to the left what the left has been doing to the right. Turnabout is fair play.
Let’s not forget, Obama wants to bring in 100,000 “vetted” muslims, mostly young, healthy men, very few women with children. I agree, we should not have these people in our country. Look to Germany, Austria and other socialist countries who’ve allowed this horde into their country. There is mayhem among the “refugees”. The came begging, and were allowed in, now they are complaining about the food and water offered, free of charge. I heard one woman say in her country peopled died once, in the camps, (made possible by the host country) they are dying every day. Well PHFTT, she should have stayed in her home country.
I would, that man knows how to fight.
Personally, I support Cruz. Trump is taking all the flak because he's out if front, but if he weren't there Cruz would be taking those darts and I doubt he'd be able to hold up.
You are correct. George Soros and his helpers have called in their money, and now the presstitutes are twisting the meaning of Trumps statement that we should not allow the 100,000 unvetted muslims Obama wants to bring into our country. We have muslims in here who are living the way they did in their own country, they are NOT assimilating. They are insisting schools and other public institutions make feet washing and prayer rooms available for them. Unfortunately we have weak weenie officials allowing it.
You are correct. George Soros and his helpers have called in their markers, and now the presstitutes are twisting the meaning of Trumps statement that we should not allow the 100,000 unvetted muslims Obama wants to bring into our country. We have muslims here who are living the way they did in their own country, they are NOT assimilating. They are insisting schools and other public institutions make feet washing and prayer rooms available for them. Unfortunately we have weak weenie officials allowing it What will happen if we allow 100,000 unvetted muslims into our country?
How to trust them if they say ‘no’? Because Taqiyya tells them to lie if it will advance Islam.
Don't hold back, show us what you got.
“maybe requiring evidence that they support the opposite of sharia so their words aren’t just taqiyya.”
Taqiyya is anything they need to do or say to advance Islam.
Just more odorous thought from another Washington stink tank.
That is what the man means. That is what Trump is saying and most Americans when they look at it that way after the smoke clears...will agree with him in large numbers.
Just sayin.....let it play out.
;-)
Yeah, but I’m not sure how many of them would eat with Jews, for instance, to provide evidence that they oppose sharia. Maybe the evidence should be collected from their non-Muslim neighbors - ALL their non-Muslim neighbors.
I grew up in a country that’s 50% muslim.
You literally can’t believe a word out of their mouths.
Not one.
If they’re telling you something true it’s because they couldn’t think of a better lie.
As I recall Cruz proposed it and it went nowhere.
Trump proposes it...And everyone is talking about it. Some are clucking "That's not who we are," while the rest of us are thinking, "WTF are you talking about? 'Who we are,' my @ss!"
Some Sudanese Christian refugees in the Omaha, NE area have warned about the lying tactics of Islamists, saying that Americans need to stop being so gullible or what’s happened in Sudan will happen here too.
I think they’re right, and I think these are the refugees we should be listening to. - the ones who HAVE been persecuted for their religion, and who can identify how that persecution came about.
Don't you think that was maybe a WEE bit over the line?
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