Victor Davis Hanson has pretty much the best possible rebuttal to those on the left who despise America for our recent adventures in the Middle East: the policies they advocate got us where we are today. That's not news to anyone who's paying attention, but VDH does a good job of summarizing how the left has morphed into the philosophy of stability and tyranny while the right has abandoned "realism" now that it no longer appears necessary.
The real underlying current that must be understood is that the left cares more about wielding power than about doing good. In their minds -- and as laid out by Karl Marx -- the good that will ultimately be brought about by leftists when they take control is worth any and every amount of evil in the present. He wrote, "The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism." Replace "socialism" with "Islam" and perhaps it becomes clear why the formerly liberal left has been so quick to jump into bed with America's enemies.
(HT: Glenn Reynolds.)
He wrote, "The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism." Replace "socialism" with "Islam" and perhaps it becomes clear why the formerly liberal left has been so quick to jump into bed with America's enemies.
WTF? The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to Islam?!? So now, Islam is the enemy? I thought Muslims were our friends.
And liberals are jumping into bed with America's enemies? So then whats the deal with our great ally Pakistan? Our wonderful friend who sold nukes to our actual enemies, had ties to terror and AQ since forever, etc. Why are we jumping into bed with them?
Oh yes... yet another exercise from MW in the Liberals versus Conservatives debate... replete with wild accusations, sensational conclusions, and broad generalizations that, by their nature, are antithetical to the truth.
Your spin: "the left has morphed into the philosophy of stability and tyranny..."
The truth: Without a doubt there are some on the left who hold that view... but to generalize about the Left as you did is woefully inaccurate and not representative of the Left which, coincidentally, is quite diverse.
Your spin: "the left cares more about wielding power than about doing good."
The truth: The Left doesn't care any more or less about power and about "doing good" than the Right.
Manish: Perhaps you aren't aware of what the Muslims call Dar al-Islam. There is no peace with infidels.
Mark: You always disagree, yet you never cite any evidence. Don't the innumerable leftist protests against democracy and freedom carry any weight? At least attempt to explain how the left supports liberty and isn't rooting against Middle Eastern democracy.
MW: You always prop up the worst as indicative of a trend or widespread practice and belief. To me, that's like saying the Right is dominated by conservative Christians who care more about using government power to get into people's private affairs than anything else. They seem to forget that President Bush swore on the Bible to uphold the Constitution.. not the other way around. Now.. do I really believe that? No. It is a fantastic claim... and, as such, requires fantastic proof.
These protests you refer to are not necessarily protests against democracy and freedom in the Middle East... but are, in fact, protests against the way the Bush Administration has chosen to go about it.
As I have said time and time again, I support Middle Eastern democracy and liberty. I don't, however, support how we chose to go about it, especially in Iraq. The end result.. 10-20 years down the road.. may be positive, and I hope it is, but that doesn't mean the Administration's choices are exempt from criticism... or that they bear no responsibility for the mistakes that have been made.
Bill Maher, who most people would consider a liberal guy, has said himself that he could've been wrong about freedom and democracy in the Middle East... saying that maybe this can work, and that he's hopeful it does.
If, as you say, these protests you refer to don't carry any weight with me... then it is also just as plausible that those same protests carry too much weight with you.
Michael..is it your belief that even 1% of Muslims believe that there can be no peace with infidels? There are a several passages in the new testament that also seem pretty out there too, if interpreted the wrong way.