Posted on 09/06/2002 2:29:10 AM PDT by kattracks
In one morally bankrupt sentence, low-wattage actor Woody Harrelson recently defined the self-hating American: "The war against terrorism is terrorism."Unfortunately, the star is not alone in despising his country for defending itself. Or in seeing no moral distinction between provocateur and protector.
Prominent Columbia University historian Eric Foner spoke for self-loathers everywhere when he proclaimed himself unsure which is "more frightening, the horror that engulfed New York City or the apocalyptic rhetoric emanating daily from the White House."
Too many literati, glitterati and academicians share that view - that America the beautiful is really America the ugly. They reflexively oppose American use of power and cringe when their country exercises its military might. They believe we must study the frustrations of the Arabs, Al Qaeda's grievances, the root causes of their behavior and, hence, their victimhood at our hands.
And out of this comes the wrongheaded conclusion that the U.S. must act as punching bag for those who hate us because terrorism and defense against terrorism are morally equal acts. To buy into this fallacy is to equate victims with murderers and murderers with victims.
Charter members of the I-hate-America brigade include:
- Novelist Norman Mailer. He suggested that maybe the Sept. 11 "perpetrators were right, and we were not." As if mass killers could have been right.
- Actor Richard Gere. He pleaded with his fellow citizens to "identify with everyone who's suffering." The poor terrorists are hurting because of the "negativity of the karma" and should be treated with "love and compassion." Try telling that to the victims' families.
- Rutgers University English Prof. Barbara Foley. She taught that "whatever the proximate cause of Sept. 11, the ultimate cause is the fascism of U.S. foreign policy over many decades." Really? And I thought the cause was hard-core Islamic fascism's plot to annihilate Americans.
- Director Robert Altman. In January, in London, he sneered that when "I see an American flag flying, it's a joke." The three firefighters who hoisted Old Glory at Ground Zero were not chuckling.
- Writer Katha Pollitt. She wrote in The Nation that when her daughter, a Stuyvesant High School student, wanted to fly a flag from their window, she put her foot down: "Definitely not ... the flag stands for jingoism and vengeance and war." Not freedom?
The legacy of Vietnam conditioned a generation's elite to believe that their country could do no right. It was a message spread for 35-plus years in movies made in Hollywood, books written in Brooklyn Heights, seminars held in Morningside Heights.
But even as today's self-hating American struts the stage, there is hope for the breed's passing. If the anti-Vietnam movement gave rise to a loss of faith in the country, Sept. 11 could prove the historical moment that dethrones moral equivalence and gives birth, in the next generation, to the unabashed patriot.
What some now perceive as America the ugly will again become America the beautiful.
A.M. Rosenthal is on vacation.
[20] Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
[21] Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
When you 'feel the pain' of terrorists, they win. When you call them your moral equal or worse, then you have surrendered to terrorism. It's one thing when someone slaps your face. It's quite another thing when someone tries to kill your loved ones.
People who reflexively blame America should ask themselves if Islam would not be a murderous religion if America never existed. This problem has been around a lot longer than the United States has, and will, sadly, probably still be here after we are gone.
Yes, I saw the Iraqi tanks closing in on Washington, DC just last night on CNN...
Tuor
Oh wait... you're whining already, aren't you?
I'm not whining, I'm waiting to see the so-called evidence Bush has that Iraq is a clear and present danger to the US and direct US interests. So far, I haven't seen anything that's very convincing.
He could make a case that Iraq is planning on attacking Israel (assuming this were true and he could cough up some evidence to support such a claim), and I would say it is time to obliterate Iraq. All I hear from him is that Iraq isn't doing what the UN wants. As I could care less what the UN wants, it doesn't bother me that they're not obeying them.
If someone were to murder someone I love, I wouldn't be wasting my time here whining about it. I'd be on my way to pay them a visit, provided I knew where they were and they were still alive for me to chat with. I don't care if you think I'm full of it, that's the simple truth of the matter.
Bush doesn't get a free pass from me. I don't care what party is in power. We have a constitution. We have procedures for going to war. This country is ruled by the people, and so the people ought to be convinced of the necessity of war, and given evidence to support the need for Americans giving their lives in any fight. That's what I believe and why I do not as yet support a war on Iraq.
Tuor
I think this line of reasoning is plausable. All I ask is that Bush make such an argument and support it with some evidence. I'm not a lawyer, for Christ's sake; I don't need reams of evidence. A few pictures, a few statements from Hussain, maybe a video of something Not Nice being aimed at Israel, just *something* convincing.
Tuor
The conservative says "Oh my god, we've got to do something!"
The liberal replies "Yes! We must find the perpetrator and help him!"
It's an old joke I know, but with the 'ring of truth'.
I'm sure they will, too. I want hard evidence, not hearsay or 'feelings'. I don't care if Bush 'feels' that Iraq should be attacked. I want him to define why it needs to be attacked and have evidence to back it up. If his reasons are good and his evidence clear, I will support a war. Otherwise, I will not. It's that simple.
Tuor
You'll be waiting a long time,because such evidence doesn't exist. If it did,it would have already been "out there" in the public,and used to pound the war drums.
He could make a case that Iraq is planning on attacking Israel (assuming this were true and he could cough up some evidence to support such a claim),
This IS at least half of the reason so many people are behind Bubba-2 on this,especially Dims who are normally leftists,and who come from areas where the Jewish vote is a important factor. Israel wants us to take Saddam out for them,and the US congresscritters and Senators who represent Israel are pushing this.
The other half of the equation is "wag the dog",of course.
and I would say it is time to obliterate Iraq.
Then you are no better or moral than the rest of them. WHY should America waste her wealth and her blood to attack one soveriegn foreign nation,purely because another sovereign nations wants us to do that? Let Israel attack Iraq themselves,if it is all that important to them.
There are more than several "not nice somethings" aimed at the US from China,yet Bubba Bush grants China PERMANENT "Most Favored Nation" trade status. Think maybe the fact that his family (Prescott Bush) is in business with the fascists that runs China may have anything to do with that? Why aren't you calling for the USA to go to war against China? Or would they have to have "not nice somethings" pointed at Israel before you would do this?
WHAT "nukes and ICBM's"??? Here is a little hint for you,he doesn't have any.
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