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September 28, 2006
Terrifying Revelations About Ourselves
Because Iran is not letting the idle chatter at the U.N. delay its rush to get nuclear weapons, it is more dangerous than the Nazis were - while we remain as gullible as those in the West who blundered into World red under the Geneva Conventions is one of a number of dangerous self-indulgences by people who seem to think that being morally one-up is the ultimate goal - and survival is secondary. - Thomas SowellThomas Sowell writes at BaltimoreSun.com that "the recent weeks have told us more than we wanted to know about ourselves and about our enemies," and from his viewpoint, our lapses of judgement appear rather profound:
[...] That our enemies do not understand the significance of free speech in a free society, where things that offend us can be denounced without indiscriminate violence, is bad enough. But that we, ourselves, seem headed further down the slippery slope of self-censorship is chilling.If there were such a thing as a "better judgement pill", we sure as hell could use it.Tolerance has been one of the virtues of Western civilization. But virtues can be carried to extremes that turn them into vices. Toleration of intolerance is a particularly dangerous vice to which Western nations are succumbing, both within their own countries and internationally.
[...] Recent weeks have also seen revelations about our enemies. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's cheap demagoguery at the United Nations was a clear sign of the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of his anti-Americanism. Surely if he had anything concrete and serious to say against this country, he would have said it.
Equally clearly, he understood that no coherent argument was necessary. All that was necessary was to tap into visceral resentments and play to the gallery of those poisoned by envy and ready to blame their lack of achievement on somebody else.
... Unfortunately, these are not just isolated lapses in judgment. Largely the same people who have for years been more protective of criminals than of their victims are now more protective of captured terrorists than of those who are their targets.
... Those in the United States and in other Western nations who are urging dialogue with Iran are repeating the tragic mistakes of the 1930s that led to World War II. People say talk is cheap, but it can be enormously costly when it becomes just a way to forestall action while an enemy nation builds up its military threat.
Cross posted from Hyscience
Posted by Richard at September 28, 2006 8:29 PM
