While America debates whether a “bridge-building” Imam Rauf should erect his $100-million, 13-story outreach “Islamic complex” (is the name “Cordoba House” now officially to be dropped? And if so, could Mr. Rauf or the media explain why?) next to Ground Zero, Islam seems to be at war with most of the rest of the world, or perhaps vice versa.
Not So Nice Elsewhere
Time magazine has a rare essay on the brutal Russian response to Islamic-driven terror. Apparently, 3,000 “suspects” have disappeared since 2000. Tens of thousands of others were killed in the Chechnyan wars. There are only three mosques allowed in Moscow. In short, Putin is leading a right-wing, nationalist effort in what might be charitably called a genocidal war against Islam — brought on either by Chechnyan-inspired terrorism, Russian social injustice, or both, or neither. We don’t care much; I suppose our elites would say they expect as much over there.
Authorities in Hamburg closed down a mosque used by the 9/11 killers; there was good reason to do that. But it is the sort of preemptive action that had the U.S. done it, we would have earned another cowboy America story in the perpetually resentful Der Spiegel.
In France, the burqa is now banned. Imagine doing that in the U.S. Well, don’t. Europeans are so liberal that they do not even need habeas corpus or a Bill of Rights to protect them from tea party types. Heck, they don’t even have tea party types.
And then we come to the Chinese, who are systematically crushing the Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang province. Well, wait, we never quite come to the Chinese. They have so much of the world’s money, and are so well-known for tolerating no criticism, that our brave cadre of crusading journalists self-polices itself and sort of keeps quiet (I don’t think New York Times columnists will be writing much about another green revolution or entrepreneurial zone in Tibet or Xinjiang).
So Why the Double Standard?
Readers, you all know why none of these stories make much international news in comparison to our ongoing psychodrama of a self-described Sufi healer trying to gain stature, publicity, Middle Eastern money, and Western guilt by building near Ground Zero. Let us review the reasons once more.
Self-loathing
1) It starts at home. The so-called cultural elite — professors, those in the arts, the foundations, the establishment media, the Kerry-Edwards-Gore-Kennedy type, multimillionaire liberal politicos, the inherited Big Money, the doyens of the race industry — are now disconnected from material reality. Most have not a clue how hard it is to pump oil out of the ground, grow food, or build a bridge; all such largess is taken as givens, and produced by a money-grubbing distant “they” who like this sort of icky, retrograde work. (Had a young Barack Obama put away the Panama hat and the federal money for a summer, he could have apprenticed on an oil rig or picked peaches and learned something.)
Yes, I agree with the context of your
article and I also will include that some of the so called Conservative like Mc Cain, supported amnesty, like our former president and if Lou Dobs reports were right, the North American Union, the betrayal of our border patrols, the dismiss of American nation, even our pope support UN world ruled in his writings ?, the elite regardless of their party affiliation , or calling themselves Conservative or not,
shows lack of concern about the state of the Union, the cohesion of the Union, the stoppable growth of Multiculturalism which have being developing under both Republicans and Democrats administrations regardless of their claim to be Conservative or not , the gradually dismiss of the attachment to American patriotism among our youth , the take over of the educational system by the Anti American agents, so the malaise is spread all over .
We need an American revival, an revival of American patriotism and identity and rebuild the dwindling American middle class
You neglected to emphasise some of the most egregious : those who do not pay taxes to the USA, federal, state, local, OR sales, although having offices in an imposing skyscraper, and residences in New York, the capitol of the Blue States. AND travel first class world-wide for their “business”, expenses underwritten by those rubes in the “Red States Which “business” includes “arbitration” on the “human rights crimes” AND “genocides” of the US – recent AND IN THE REMOTE PAST, with demand for reparationn from the Americans.
Do not have to obey the laws of the state, city or nation, having “diplomatic immunity”. Whose childrens expenses to whatever”elite” university anywhere in the world they choose is underwritten by the populations in the “Red States”.AND WHO ANSWER TO THE AMERICANS WHO UNDERWRITE THEIR ROYAL PRIVILEGES ONLY TO AND THROUGH THE POLITICIANS. A clear UNLAWFUL grab of power by the politicians. People who are treated as honoured guests when they “visit” .
I am of course referring to those members from as example China, Russia formerly the Soviet Union, All the kingdoms in the Middle East, All the “nations” in Africa, e.g. Rwanda / Darfur /Zimbabwe /Libya/ Somalia /
the Gold and Ivory Coasts /Egypt / MOrocco etc. and the list goes on and on.
The well-known “moral arbiters of the world”, those paragons of probity and competence, the chief functionaries of the “New World Order”, the United Nations.
jojo:
Well stated. I’m glad someone finally noticed.
Now with John McCain on the verge of retaining his senate seat at a price of a reported 20 million dollars, maybe Chris Matthews or Bill O’Reilly will make it possible for him to run for the presidency again in 2012.
I wish we could all have a big laugh at the comedy that’s been going on for 50-60 years but it hurts too much to try anymore. Maybe Kofi will come back and save the world. Do you think he will?
Yep, that’s right!
Cheers.
Can I just say that discovering a freshly posted “Work and Days” is a great, great thing?
It’s like coming downstairs on a Saturday afternoon and realizing your big brother and his friends didn’t find that bag of Fritos you stashed behind the cereal…
Again, a great, great thing.
Can I just say that discovering a freshly posted “Work and Days” is a great, great thing?
I click so fast, I am starting to wear out the mouse.
Right on VDH, we need to take back our country from these kind of people. It starts in the home. Teach your kids they are living in the greatest country on earth!
To LOVEAMERICA: I did teach my kid all the right stuff but alas he went of to several Universities, made a fine career in the arts and now finds hinself between cultures and values. The forces of the political universe are huge. Hopefully I haven’t lost my kid. Perhaps if I hadn’t saved and sacrificed those many years in order to afford him a better education and living standard than his parents ?? Hope he will regain reality at the point where taxes are killing his dreams to send his own child to a University. I suppose many of us are in somewhat the same boat. Wait and hope. Good luck with your own children as the leave home and are awash in liberalism. Regards
Occasionally the “raisin farmer” (whom I appreciate to the depths of my heart – He’s my second Dad) gets a little aggressive and goes on a rant. I’d say this happens every 3-4 years… Even when Victor “goes big” he stills remains somewhat civil. The article was beautiful…absolutely beautiful….
What do you think would happen if he decided to go Alcibialdes (and I don’t mean on the couch of symposion next to Sokrates)?
If Obama had had a summer job, I can only imagine how differently all this might have turned out.
Earning my first real paycheck defined everything else that I did later.
Amazing how the simple things that have been cast out of fashion are the most powerful ones… hard work, character, honor…
November! Faster, faster pussycat, kill kill! ; )
I don’t know about you but my first job was on a concrete crew pouring curb and gutter. I got $1.50 an hour plus room and board. It puts things in perspective. I’m a two star general now but I haven’t forgotten those tough days.
Obama scooped ice cream at a Baskin & Robbins down the street from his Grand Mother’s apartment, but I don’t know how long he lasted. I’m guessing that would have been his only hourly paid job before becoming President. Cool resume.
Are we forgetting his brief career in “distribution”? You’d think he’d have gained at least a small appreciation of pure laissez-faire economics by selling 8-balls to Chicago yuppies.
Amazing itn’t it … I work hard all my life . . . I build a nice home in a rural, agricultural area . . . the “local thuggery” . . . shows up . . . shoots my cows, burns my haybarn, burns my tractor, poisions my dog, steals my equipment . . . can I shoot them, please let me shoot them . . . nope . . . can’t do it . . . got to pay for them to go to rehab instead (via taxes)… all of the above is 100% happened to me in the last 10 years. Now that will teach me to work hard and save my money!!!
Dr. Hansen, nearly six years ago Mike at coldfury.com wrote what I thought was a wonderful rant regarding this subject.
He listed all the Cheneyphobia and Halliburtonphobia and Christianphobia that characterize the NPR left, and then told those folks FINE, let’s assume you’re right, what are you going to do about it?
His conclusion, his answer was that they would do nothing, because deep down inside, they were full of sh-t, and they knew it.
I don’t think that’s any different today. Those phobias define and reinforce their postmodern narratives. Think about it.
Let’s define four threats to the west:
1. Islamicists who are funded by millions and billions of dollars, have safe havens in any of several countries, have media outlets for bully pulpits, are sworn to destroy the West by whatever means necessary including violence and war, are highly intolerant, and have tens if not hundreds of millions of strict adherents and certainly hundreds of millions of supporters – and who are apoligized for by much of the cultural elite under the guise of multiculturalism and diversity.
2. An education indutry in the West which is populated almost exclusively by far left extremists, is lauded by much of the elite and political class, is funded by billions of dollars of taxpayer money, has a huge bully pulpit of the academy plus public broadcasting plus lower education venues, often advocates tearing down the West by less than civil means, and is frank about its desire to destroy free enterprise, firearms freedom, and all but the most exsanguinated and emasculated forms of Christianity – and are highly intolerant.
3. Religious conservatives of the Jerry Falwell type, who are certainly obstructionist at times and do have something of a bully pulpit, although they have only a few million dollars, do not represent the mainstream, are roundly criticized by even other conservative Christian groups, and do not advocate violence to accomplish their goals, operating within the rules of civil society with vanishingly rare exceptions.
4. Various neofascist types and antiabortion extremist types who are highly intolerant, and, although they advocate some pretty bad stuff, have no real money to actually act on any meaningful scale, have no bully pulpit, and are condemned by essentially all but a tiny fraction of the population, including nearly all Christians.
Mature, intelligent people can have a cogent and meaningful debate about whether 1. or 2. are the greatest threat. The NPR cultural elite would immediately latch onto 3. or 4. and say that of course they are far, far worse that the first two. Why?
Certainly some of them are misinformed, or have little knowledge of history or statistics. However, I believe that in the main it is because they come to the table with a preexisting narrative which is anti-free enterprise, anti-individualist (outside of the realm of sexual expression), and deeply and malignantly infused with anti-Christian bigotry. Being postmodernists, they cherry pick whichever factoids will support the narrative. So even though by any mature, meaningfully statistical yardstick the first two categories are a far greater threat, the ruling elite MUST find the latter two to be more evil, or their narrative falls apart.
To summarize, no matter how great the actual threat of the first two groups might be, the latter two MUST be maintained in the mind as worse, by whatever twists of nonlogic are required, or the entire worldview of the elite no longer makes sense. Hence, a few abortion clinic murder (as horrible as they are) or foul rantings of skinheads in Idaho (ditto) will always be worse (in their eyes) than the millions who suffer at the hands of Islam, or the transformation of the academy from open education into indoctrination which undermines our civilization.
I’ve said it a lot lately, but VDH never wants to go there, so I’ll say it again.
All of this is a fire fanned by professional radicals, some of whom simply enjoy chaos and destruction, but most of whom crave power and/or work for international elites who crave more power. It’s easy to trace. Books have been written about it. They have a hundred techniques. “moral relativism”, “cultural equivalency”, “social justice”, “living constitution”, “fairness”, “spreading the wealth”, “green energy”, distorting the language, marginalizing religion, defending deviant behaviors, undermining families, demonizing traditional morality, demonizing the opposition, demonizing small businesses, balkanization, vote buying, exploiting the poor, Americans are greedy, Americans exploit non-Europeans, workers create wealth not risk-takers, affirmative action, racism racism racism, open borders, “eliminate risk”, business cycles are evil, control of unions, control of the media, control of celebrities, overriding the law, incessant propaganda, controlling the judiciary. Bush did it, Bush did it, Bush did it. Really, it’s endless.
Look, I could go on for pages. That list took 5 minutes.
Isn’t it abundantly clear that the assault is hardly random? It isn’t them on their coffee breaks debating us on our coffee breaks. What do you think Obama’s real job has been his entire life? He has been a hard-core radical and subversive since his late teens. His training probably started in Indonesia, the place his mother took him in the immediate aftermath of a violent communist revolution. What mother does that? He was 6; a great age to begin perverting a brain. Within a couple of years he was declaring to school chums that he wanted to be President. Living in a foreign country; stepson of an Indonesian Muslim; more Muslim than anything else; son of a radical mother who met his Muslim father (if you can believe it) in a Russian language class; and he self declared his desire to be President at 8 years of age. Oh, sure he did. People, REALLY. You only have to investigate this stuff for 15 minutes to know something VERY strange is going on with this guy and our country. It isn’t a few of them on coffee breaks. It just isn’t.
I wish someone with the strength of VDH voice would take on the task of exposing the professional subversives rather than listing the atrocities and engaging in amusing diagnoses of the strange behavior. Beck was going there but I guess they got to him too. Well, I’m sure he enjoys his gazillions as much as the next guy.
Sometimes I fear that listing the endless atrocies is just a planned reaction to another con. Maybe the Cordoba Mosque is a diversion to get us looking away from their real goal for a few days. Why isn’t the Moron interested in doing things to get re-elected in 2014 anyway?
We need a few leaders with compelling voices who will jump up to reveal the lies and cons as soon as they are produced and explain what the American truth is and why the American truth has built the greatest country there ever has been.
There isn’t a lot of time left.
What he said! When I read the title of this article, I thought there would be mention of the Frankfurt school and critical theory. This article gives a good summary:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/02/cultural_marxism.html
I recently spent some time with (also American!) relatives who constantly put America down. At one point, I just said, “Well, at least in America we are able to have this discussion, so there’s the possibility that things could get better.”
No so in Moscow, where I’m living now. The Russian constitution, in article 31, provides for the right to peacefully assemble to protest the government. On the 31st day of every month that has a 31st day, a small number of brave and intelligent Russians gather in public squares. The police appear, rough them up, including breaking noses and teeth of elderly women. The people are rounded up a into vans and taken to prison. This is not reported in the state-controlled media.
proreason, I’m with you in your assessment. However I don’t believe that we will be seeing the leadership stepping up. Those now considered as possibilities to run on the GOP ticket are, for the most part, gutless. Or they will be skewered by the total misinformation of the media outlets. Remember that truth is now being branded as hate speech. We are living with Alice through the looking glass in wonderland. Up is down. Right is wrong. There isn’t anything as an a priori truth or standard as far as the educational system and cultural mores go in this country.
I think we will either cave to the elitist masters or we will have to fight them in hand-to-hand combat to take back control. They will never willingly give it up, and they have all the control now, or so it seems. I’ll be interested in watching the next elections and what really falls out from the results.
Maybe we should petition Nazi Pelosi to investigate who these hate-America-mongers are and to find out where their money is coming from.
Exactly. for over a year now I have been saying “what will be this weeks created chaos” The mosque thing has run it’s course, let’s see what they come up with next.I want Hot Air to do a running list much like their Obamateurism of the week, of all the created chaos and destruction or the shell game they have been maneuvering for two years running.
Totally agree.
Until the part about such little time left.
I think the clock ran out quite a while ago.
But, yes, the back room gang and =:o bama need unmasking.
…AGREED. I am of the same opinion.
Another quick thought on this topic.
The country has always recognized that a professional military is essential to national security. West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy. And the military has never been politicized. It is probably the most honorable institution in the country.
But think about this….we fight an organized force of subversives, trained, motivated and funded by foreign powers with unlimited resources with nothing, unless you want to call the FBI an agency that fights subversion. Other than being outnumbered hundreds to one, it is highly politicized, aimed at a different mission, and abjectly incompetant at detecting covert subversives, as recent history proves beyond a shadow of a doubt.
And that trained assault force now has millions of allies in the msm, academia and the unions.
Why would anybody be surprised that we are losing? Consider, the country has just come out of a year where 90% of the our attention has been directed toward “reforming” health care, something that not only wasn’t a problem, it is a national triumph. Perhaps there was an issue with cost, but even that is self-correcting (unless you think that health care can become 110% of GDP). Yet, an issue that should probably be #20 on the list of national priorities was propagandized into a white hot flame.
Meanwhile, Iran has gone nuclear. There coulnd’t possibly be a greater demonstration of subversive manipulation of national priorities. Really, it’s the ultimate insanity. Masturbating while your spouse is raped.
I understand your point about the military, but it does not apply to the removal of a regime, or the fighting against people or forces that the regime does not recognize as being subversives or enemies.
Your point about ” And the military has never been politicized.” is not altogether true. The civil war belies that statement, and probably other incidents regarding Pershing, and Eisenhower. I don’t want to pick your main thesis apart, but you should be careful of broad statements.
If you believe as I do that there is very little in the way of representative democracy, or Federal Republicanism in the future of the American public, then I’ll agree.
I only mention the military to point out that we have always had a professional force to fight external enenemies, whereas we have nothing (or worse) to counter internal enemies.
Your remarks address whether or not the military would side with forces opposing the government, in the event that we reach a sad point where use of force appears imminent. I wasn’t talking about that, but I do believe that, depending on the situation, many in the military and other security forces would side with the people against their political masters, and against their lifelong training.
We aren’t talking about trivial differences of opinion between ourselves and the Ruling Class. We are already in a war, at the moment a verbal war, for the future of our country.
And it’s binary. Freedom or subservience. No middle ground
I think the court (well the natural conflict between the courts / law-makers and the executive branches). was supposed to protect from internal enemies. but that isn’t working out well.
..His training probably started in Indonesia, the place his mother took him in the immediate aftermath of a violent communist revolution..
It was not successful, and resulted in Sukarno’s being replaced by Suharto, who ruled for 3 decades. Somewhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000 were killed- be they Communists or ethnic Chinese or ethnic Indonesians.
Yes, but it’s not relevant to the point.
What kind of mother would take a child into a country that had just experienced a revolution?
And they weren’t protected like employees of international oil companies. Mom had married a native of Indonesia and they lived on the local economy. In fact, her husband is suspected to have been a communist himself, which would have increased the danger.
She was probably the only native born American mother to have done such a thing.
The whole episode in Indonesia is underpublicized, even by the standards of the 3-monkeys media. They treat it like a gala baloon ride to learn about the fabulous multi-culturalism of the world, rather than a relocation to one of the most dangerous spots on the planet with an abusive man.
There are many strange aspects to that inexplicable journey. They didn’t speak Indonesian. The marriage only lasted 4 years. Some say the stepfather beat Obama’s mother. There is some evidence Barry was attending school for some of the time in Hawaii while the official record says he was in Indonesia, which doesn’t fit the narrative in Dreams. Their passports are mysteries. There are questions about whether Barry was adopted, thereby becoming an Indonesian citizen. Some school records say he was. He attended an American school for oil company employees. That also seems strange for a family committed to marriage and which had moved to Indonesia lock stock and barrel. Why wouldn’t Mom have just let him become Indonesian with such a commitment. There are also various reports about Barry becoming a Muslim while in Indonesia. He speaks fondly of his time there.
Just another series of extremely strange events in the strangest life of a public figure in US history.
Your Commander in Chief.
VDH does the conservative cause (I mean pro-American sovereignty; pro-robust military presence in world for the sake of, not Wilsonian “idealism,” but for the best policing and stabilizing that can possibly be achieved; a due regard for moral tradition while still maintaining the best of classical liberal tolerance) good service. He may not be as vigorous for the radical libertarian vision as our friend proreason would desire, but our friend offers salient observations. I think the thrust of proreason’s urgings are rather Hegelian (although he probably disdains the reference): reason is never complete as long as it remains in in the closed garden of theoretical observation. The time comes when it must embrace and translate itself into praxis.
“OK, the guy in Peru and Belgrade hate us, so what the f—?”
Brilliant.
…you know the guy in Peru or Belgrade doesn’t hate the USA ..there are plenty who do but not those. They still believe in the american dream.
they know more about totalitarianism then most Americans do.
….”
10. PM
“OK, the guy in Peru and Belgrade hate us, so what the f—?”
Brilliant.
August 22, 2010 – 5:27 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
*
Gen. P. Malaise
…you know the guy in Peru or Belgrade doesn’t hate the USA ..there are plenty who do but not those. They still believe in the american dream.
they know more about totalitarianism then most Americans do.”
…. Perhaps PM mentioned his two example-countries rhetorically, not literally…and, as General P. Malaise rightfully mentioned, those same two examples as ones who know whereof they speak….I personally right here and now want to make a public plea for the abrupt cessation of all USAID.
How often has it been in the 20th cent. that those recipients of our blood and treasure (they know who they are) have machinated so strenuously behind our backs. I’m livid at the smug hypocrisy of those who feel entitled to our blood and treasure. It’s got to the point that USAID pleas take on the undertone of “protection money”.
There seems to be no end to our gullibility and naivete.
I say that our international critics can separately or collectively take a flyin’ leap at a rollin’ doughnut.
no argument from me on cancelling the aid.
it like the U.N. has been a tool for the left to abuse the USA
United Nations…
Withdraw. Defund. Evict.
Start the process 1/21/2011.
As to minimizing Foreign Aid, that’s been accomplished de facto; because even the most undecided voter will understand the “US vs. them” argument during an economic depression, more severe than most anyone alive has lived through.
That’s the first time I have ever seen the word “finagle” in print. LOL. As always, VDH is right on the bullseye!!!
When I was a young man, I grew up in a very affluent part of Michigan (yes — there is such a place) but my family was financially at the low end of that continuum. I first had to get a job at McDonalds, where I served up the cheeseburgers to all my friends who never had a job. It was a bit humiliating at the time. Then, in anticipation of college costs, I took a year off between high school and college and worked in a filthy Detroit factory, and while I deplored the job, I was grateful to make $4.35/hr, which I socked away for school.
Anyway, long story short — I’ve built and ran a successful $20 million dollar animation company, and have traveled around the world. I’ve met the swells, and learned a thing or two in the process of my travels. But in retrospect, the best education I ever got was learning a dose of humility in those grunt jobs I did because necessity was my best teacher.
Back then I would have done anything to have gotten out of doing those messy dirty jobs, and mind you, we’re only talking about 3 years of servitude. Now I’m grateful to my core that I had exposure to things that most people I’ve known have never experienced. In the great sorting out that seems to be afoot in America today, you can tell who has worked for a living, and who has had it handed to them on a platter. My eyes have never been more open to the fact under the current monster in the White House — an arrogant hypocritical SOB if ever I saw one.
Couldn’t agree more. Working with the ‘rich and famous’ as a poor kid gave me life skills the Obama’s of the world totally lack.
“Seeing the rich at first hand left me with a profound respect for those who made their pile by guts and talent, but it also washed away any envy I might have toward those poor babies who inherited theirs. I got solidly vaccinated against socialism — people whom you either admire or pity leave you nothing to struggle against.” —— from “Margarita Cat”
Well said, sir! While today I don’t make piles of money at my job, I am comfortable, have a good position, the hours are great and I am happy with it. Some of my co-workers like to complain about their jobs, even the ones that make more money than I do, and I can’t help but think to myself, these are the people who have never had a crappy job in their life. I have had crappy jobs, and certainly those jobs propelled me to work harder and learn more to have a life that I can be happy with. Some of the best lessons I learned in life came not from my university education but from working with and dealing with the people while working those crappy jobs. It’s in this way that I think I’m far better off than so many others.
When I went to art school way back in the Pleistocene, I mopped floors, hefted 300 lb. barrels of clay for the ceramics dep’t, helped move huge sculptures in the adjoining art gallery, etc. My fellow students got to observe me going about these tasks, while they merely did “art.” It did set me apart, but hey, it was what was. Oh, and it did have some perks: I got to smoke a joint with one exhibitor named Dennis Hopper (photography) while we sat in genuine Louis XV chairs in a roped-off exhibit after hours. Also, the life-models liked my “work ethic.”
Bravo. I would also add that grunt work such as this can help sufficiently immunize you against unions. I started off at age 16 making four bucks an hour at the movie theater. The pay sucked, I had to wear a polyester sleeveless faux-tuxedo, and I came home every night reeking of popcorn (twenty years later and I still get a little nauseous at the smell). But I showed a willingness to work, which meant as many extra hours as the managers needed me for and the child labor laws would allow. Eventually I escaped to work for the trendy clothing store next door but the work ethic went with me.
My friends working at the grocery store as union-protected baggers might have loved the status of earning $6.50 an hour but I have to wonder how much it stung to see the $100 a month taken out for union dues, the strikes that happened every six months like clockwork, resulting in weeks of zero pay (and you’d better walk that picket line for free!), and an adversarial management staff whose sole purpose was to cut as many payroll hours as possible.
Never worked union, never will.
The self loathing and the tax increase effects on the ‘not-quite-so-inheritedly-fortunate’ dem types is going to be very interesting. Do as I say, not as I do. In other words, “you pay for me… ok?”. And they can just overlook the part about being created equal.
On a simliar incongruent theme, while Howard Dean publicly disparages some, the rest of us can dialogue together, and we can call it “united”, to paraphrase his interview by Keith d’Olberman.
Dean carries on that “if we just have dialogue (on the GZ mosque) – I mean not with the haters of the far right, the Newt Gingrach’s of the world… they’re not serious people – then maybe we can get over the polarization in this country… this could be a teachable moment”. And he’s oblivious that he is fueling the polarization that he wants to reduce and eliminate!! This guy is an ‘immutable’.
Immutable law#1 – ‘you can’t fix stupid’.
Immutable law#2 – ‘you can’t fix ugly’.
Immutable law#3 – one and two are always true.
Envy – one of the seven “deadly’s” for a reason.
The way things are going, Rauf the whirling dervish is going to get his mosque sited on an abandoned pig farm 70 miles up the Hudson River. No one any closer is going to build the damn thing for him, no matter how much the Saudis are willing to pay. Problem is, only the lazy Leftists in NYC believe in his mosque and they don’t have the requisite blue collar skills to build a dog house, let alone Cordoba II.
And, for any Wahabi provocateurs who’ve wandered onto this site I’d like to say, Salaam. Welcome to a window into the real world of America. You should realize, though, that we’re on to you and we don’t care that you, the world’s most intolerant tribal sect, accuses us of being intolerant. We can tolerate that. In fact we choose to tolerate that. What do you tolerate in us? Oh, right. You tolerate having us infidels, including indirectly our fellow infidels the Israelis, protect your sorry behinds from being forced to say the hadith in Farsi.
I’m all for religious tolerance as you can tell, but I don’t think it appropriate for anyone to build THEIR concept of a holy place of worship on OUR hallowed ground, particularly when their head dancing boy, Rauf, refuses to denounce the murderous bastards who consecrated said hallowed ground with the blood of 2700 innocents. That’s not my opinion on a legal question. It’s never been a legal question. No one could ever codify in a law a legitimate way to prevent such intolerable stupidity as the idea of a mosque at Ground Zero.
It’s not often I find myself lauding members of unions, but the construction workers seem to have hit the mark: don’t legally forbid the jihadis from building their in-your-face mosque, just don’t agree to help them build it!
Sounds very American and very pro-freedom to me. DeToqueville would have approved.
“I doubt the impressed neighborhood crowd would say, “Thanks so much. Please show me how you made such money to buy such an impressive house.” More likely at night, local youths would throw trash on the lawn, and spray graffiti on his stone wall — while during the day their parents would finagle how to marry at least one of them off to the rich salesman’s pom-pom daughters.”
If the world wants to know the secret as to how America became what it is today, I’ll let them know: freedom. Give your people freedom to live and interact as they see fit and watch how quickly you too will become rich and plentiful. Alas, they instead want to strip us bare and complain how we are not giving enough.
When all the countries of the world are People’s states where will you go then?
You’re missing out on some golden opportunities, Dr. Hanson.
Next time a Greek, Mexican, Iranian or whomever criticizes you to your face about how bad/evil/greedy America is, say to him laughingly, “Yeah, well, let me know next time you guys send a man to the moon!”, and then laugh heartily.
I’ve done it, and it’s fun. :-)
“Yeah, well, let me know next time you guys send a man to the moon!”,
And we did it 40 years ago — on less computing power than is in a low-end laptop that can be bought at any mass-merchandiser for less than $300.
Computing power is not what got us to the moon, nor will it again. It was brain power coupled with a will to achieve and perform excellently, perserverance, and common sense of purpose, and probably some other attributes I cannot think of at this moment. Men and women who were actually educated to produce something brought about this fantastic achievement.
And now every year in July what does our media celebrate? Woodstock. When in the same month of 1969 the men landed on the moon.
Need it be said that this country’s focus and priorities are too skewed to ever again celebrate the intelligent masterpieces that our nation’s people have achieved?
…when you look at NASA today you wonder ..”is it possible that these people put someone on the moon?”
their new task is the advancement of Islam.
who’s laughing now ?
An even simpler reply to someone who complains about how EEEEVIL the US is but has taken full advantage of it would be to say:
“This is a free country. You can leave any time you want.”
Hotel California it ain’t! ;)
And mind you, I’m not one of those who thinks migrants should just shut up and be grateful, so to speak. Gratitude is not servility. You need to speak up if you see flaws and everybody complains about things – that’s life. But calling a country that you have been able to flee to and live in peace evil is a sick undertaking. These people are not at perace with themselves and want to make sure others suffer for it!
outstanding VDH, my favorite of stuff you’ve done in the last couple of years!
Good article, Dr. Hanson.
I’m reminded of the old leftist bumper sticker, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.”
Funny, I haven’t seen that one lately.
yet 1 billion Chinese in booming times account for an annual gross product of under $5 trillion, while 300 million Americans in a deep recession created nearly $15 trillion last year.
Bam!
Professor, of all your erudite and uncomfortably accurate ponderings, this is your best.
Thank you!
Chris Bolts Sr,
good point but if every nation became as free as the U.S
is (or was) then you wouldn’t be special would you? Or else you would
have to find another reason for it. From an outside perspective it will
be interesting to see if the decline of freedom in the U.S is a cause or
effect of the relative decline of its economy. And yes Tea party types
do exist in Britain, its just nobody pays any attention to us and we
have no representation in the media.
Think of it this way: even though Michael Jordan is the most exceptional basketball player of all time, there was a great supporting cast of players who helped him win those six championships. America would still be special and unique, but as long as everyone else is winning and enjoying what we have provided, then they wouldn’t have to be so envious of what we’ve got. Freedom is the only ingredient, but it still comes down to people and their choices to make it work.
I live in China, they love America and Americans here. At meetings where Government leaders complain about arm sales to Taiwan or other such items, after the meeting their first question is usually how difficult is it to get their kid into Stanford or UCLA, Ect. Like every country including the US there is a public face and a private face to foreign policy.
Many Chinese companies are starting to pattern themselves in western Business management systems, and the Banking system is slowly converting to WEB ( Western European Banking) standards. The big thing here is to have an American on the Board or Directors or in management. There are many American and European architectural and construction companies here now, opening offices and bidding on projects.
People forget that 25 years ago an individual would be killed if they made critical comment about Mao or Government. Today many things are openly criticized or even ridiculed on blogs and media, it has come a long way in short amount of time.
As far as Muslims in China, there are many businesses and groups that practice Muslim faith. As long as there is no actions toward private property of government they are left alone, and part of the community.
There is a LONG way to go in China, but it is interesting to watch change and infrastructure under construction.
Good Article.
China advancing … ok, but about the employee who is caught stealing from his company – he/she is taken out back and shot.
Or workers that get a few hundred a month at the factory and send it home to pay for the family while they work and live there – when they stood up and threatened to commit suicide for improvements in the work environment, management did nothing. Then one morning, everyone arrived to the site of 35 dead – next day another 25 having killed themselves.
Life in China is an extraordinary mess and a free for all. And you can expect Chinese wages to be increasing by 50% this year, that from an acquaintance in mine dealing directly with Chinese companies and a government higher up in the industry ministry.
Whatever we do in Europe just do the exact opposite it has worked for America the past 234 years.
What the bottom line is, the ‘right’ vs the ‘left’.
“The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left”. Ecclesiates 10:2 (NIV)
So there you have it. Right vs Left.
Beautifully distilled, Professor. I didn’t think it possible for you to hone a sharper edge on your pencil. Apparently, I was wrong. Eagerly awaiting your next…
Thank you for an informative, thoughtful and civil Post by author and comments from participating readers.
Is there some way that you can get Time/Swampland to publish your type of Post instead of the kind of drivel they call Journalism? Have a look at the debacle in:
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/08/20/are-one-quarter-of-americans-freakin-morons/
Mind; let me add they are not half as bad as the English. The cousins across the large pond are literally slaughtering each other when someone incidentally or deliberately whispers mosque. I could give you some links to Blogs over there but it will spoil your day.
Why is it now cool to be Anti-American?Anti-American President,Anti-American Federal Government…
Affirmative action means taking a law school spot from some hard-working white clueless guy from Idaho State or a nerdy straight-A Asian kid in San Mateo, not from a well-connected elite who has the contacts, family lineage, or money to side-step state-sanctioned discrimination.
Perhaps the most important function of affirmative action and the reason that universities defend the practice so tenaciously is that it keeps the legacy admission kids from being the dumbest people on campus.
The Skipper, the Howells, Mary-ann and the Professor would all agree.
Well said, lol!
Amazing. I bless that random day I walked through a Toledo bookstore in 2002 and randomally picked up a copy of WKH on display. Well, bless the clerk at the now closed Thackeray’s who put it there.
One silver lining of the GZM episode is that I think a lot of Americans are getting educated about what Islam really is. I keep seeing the word DHIMMI in print…. EXCELLENT! Also, as a side note, Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s new book NOMAD is a must read. Couldn’t put it down.
Dear Dr. Hanson.
Spot on. Let me add the latest group of Princes of Fatuity to list of insulated liberal megabucks; the ‘progressive’ zillionaiares, a la Warren Buffet, who as part of their public preening have pledged half of their fortunes to charity. Way to go guys. So I will now solemnly pledge that just as soon as I bank that first billion$$$, every bit of 50% will go to charity. You guys are a light and an inspiration. See, I’m socially responsible.
Right on the money, as usual.
Americans are not bigots.
The Anti-Americans, foreign and domestic, damn sure are.
Again, Dr. H, thank you!!You know, however, that the “o” would never have gotten his hands dirty,even as a young man. There is this question also. . . how many of the “great” leaders on our side, have ever actually worked with their hands , and done anything constructive? I sense a divide even here. . .has limpballs, or Newt, Boehner or others actually ever come home from a day of hard labor dirty, smelly, and just flat out exhausted? I doubt it. . . . Say what you will about Bush 43, at least he knew what it was to work on his ranch. . .
Professor Hansen once again has hit it out of the park. Thank God for minds like his. One point he hit on in his description of the American Universities is of great interest to me. The treatment of adjunct professors at all American post secondary institutions is deplorable. Having worked as an adjunct to supplement my income I can state from experience; they are grossly underpaid, have no benefits at all, have absolutely no security (they work at the whim of educational bureaucrats) and worse of all are looked down on by the full time faculty. These adjuncts often take the courses that the ruling class of professors disdain often freshmen writing courses which are labor intensive. Yet the average American college professor will go on and on about the working conditions at Wallmart. The hypocrisy of these educational fops is amazing.
Your lips to God’s ear! The tenured faculty (and adjunct who think they might be able to break into the tenured realm — by kissing as much butt as possible) are some of the most sanctimonious hypocrites to walk the earth. Spot on with the example of them screaming about Wal-mart employees, yet doing everything in their power to keep the adjuncts “in their place”. I consider it an excellent illustration of “liberal” (they are not practicing any sort of liberality of spirit that I can see) thinking.
Signed,
a former (underpaid, overworked) adjunct instructor of ENG 101/102/103
With age comes wisdom. Victor you have skillfully nailed it. You and Charles Krauthammer always do. Cultural elites indeed. Does Obama look like someone who has ever changed the oil on his car? Today I refilled a toner cartridge on a laser printer. Does Obama (and his appointees) look like they would get their hands dirty doing something like this?
I am familiar with the Harvard scene and Harvard has gotten away for years with underpaying staff (secretaries, librarians etc) due to the prestige and bragging rights of working there.
Why, Dr. Hanson, do I detect a bit of rising anger? Well, there is much to summon righteous indignation. There comes a time when each real patriot, even the most thoughtful and civil, gets his fill of the Left’s constant undermining of our country and our culture. … Now, to turn that anger into effective action!
John Gault could not have said it better. The vacationing Kenyan Muslim working oil patch or picking peaches would have gone home crying in less than a day.
another excellent essay VDH
still as always I find something missing in your works. not to fault them as I know some of the broader implications. We all hedge given our audience and our station.
still the missing ingredient is IMO …that those leading the USA …Obama, Pelosi and Ried. would if they could kill the conservitive press. Jail the “dissidents” and confiscate their wealth. …and I also think they would kill their opponents if the could get away with it.
…stop rolling your eyes. we are closer to Stalin and Mugabe then one cares to imagine. The reason they are doing it incrementally is because they still can not do all they want. NOT because we as a civilization are beyond that.
that ol’ pesky 2nd Amendment sure is a good thing, ain’t it?
Right you are/aren’t. We should/shouldn’t look to the China and Russia for our moral direction on religion. As for Rauf, he is/isn’t a peaceful/dangerous man. At times like this we must stand on our fears/principles. I hate love/hate The Constitution. That’s why i do/don’t believe in religious freedom. As for your source of spiritual and moral standing, VDH, I take you at your word that your’e a Christian.
So Betty, you remain undecided about everything?
Morton:
I’ve worked bussing dishes at the local YMCA grill, had a job at the local brewery shoving returned bottles into the bottle washer, spent my first two years in college as a live-in (in the basement) houseboy at a sorority house (boy did my illusions about the fairer sex take a beating), shelved books at the university library, worked as a copy messenger for the local newspaper, spent two years in the Army (drafted), been a well-logger in the oil patch – before settling on a career in system development. My various experiences have certainly been helpful when sitting down with users to craft a system, but the real payoff was what they taught me about life.
A long time ago I ran across a proposal that all high school students spend their senior year interning at some business or factory. The stipend would be escrowed for the students’ further education at college or trade school. The students would gain an appreciation of how businesses actually worked, and the companies would benefit from a better educated citizenry. Seemed like a good idea to me.
One would think that, in America, ordinary instincts of self preservation would kick in at some point. Apparently not.
November. 2010 and 2012.
Be there.
Yeah, I got it. This is not my first time at the rodeo, and unfortunately, I have many knife blades between the ribs and not all of them have been put there by Democrats. But enough have. Frankly, I don’t give the USA long odds regardless of who is in power. We are now in the end game, and the best we can hope for is an orderly crash landing. Nations can collapse overnight. We have seen it happen many times. There is no reason to think that we are immune, especially when we so richly deserve it.
Yeah, the Republican leader Mitch McConnell says we “need to wait for the report of the Debt Commission, before we can speculate on spending and cost-cutting.” What, conservatives want to surprise everybody with what needs doing, should they win?
Is that fear of declaring intentions, or political-class speak? Does republican leadership see this race as that close? Scary.
It is fashionable to bash America until some disaster hits and then it is hands out to receive aid from America. How hypocritical America bashers really are. Obama has never done hard work a day of his life. He has no idea how hard REAL Americans work. Just keep the elections honest this go around and we will rid ourselves of this parasite and other parasites that are working hard at killing America, their host. And it is their Character that we don’t like, not their skin color.
I have had the occasion to tell America bashers, “Fine, but the next time a Tsunami whipes out 250,000 people, ask the Chinese and Russian navies for help, and leave us out of it.”
Liberals have been trying to destroy America for a hundred years or more. They hate what America stands for,what it was founded on. Their attempts of endorsing religious freedom should bring thunderous laughter from those who know better. They care nothing about religious freedom,most of them don’t even believe in God. But when muslims want to erect a building in remembrance of their victory on 9/11,liberals come out of the woodwork in support of them. This is nothing but another example of how liberals,now led by the mysterious Barry Soetoro are hell-bent on turning America into their own “Fantasy Land”.
Bulls eyes once again Mr Hanson. Progressives want every person in every country to think and live in the same dreary lifeless way. They, of course, are exempt. In Canada we suffer mightily from progressives describing Canada as they think it should be, instead of as it is. The US has been world champion at being itself. All the body parts are in plain view. This offends mightily countries, and progressives who pretend to be what they are not.
The US ain’t perfect – softwood lumber tariffs get me fussed up for instance – but who cares? Once a country starts playing to some international progressive gallery it’s in trouble. I’d rather compete with and live next door to VDH’s brash, loud salesman than some creepy, progressive, sanctimonious, internationally-approved twat.
You are spot on about being in plain view. Americans who haven’t lived abroad would probably be amazed at the types and amount of things reported about America abroad. Of course, the context is usually missing for average people, so they can be easily manipulated into opinions about us by the MSM and intellectuals, which, in turn, get their info from CNN and the NYT. Our own pundits are no better when reporting from abroad. Most stay in their little artsy academic bubbles and have no content with the plumbers, factory workers or supermarket clerks.
Very well put, Mr. Hanson, Kudos. This is exactly the sort of thing I see on “BBC America.” Almost every story they do about the US is negative and never fails to irritate. Not that I want to be irritated by foreigners, but knowing about their attitudes towards the US is useful. Recently, a BBC correspondent had an absolute cow over an American NCO’s exuberance at leaving Iraq, shouting that “we won.” Now, if a senior officer had done that the correspondent might have had a point, but an NCO? By contrast the business segment of “BBC America” can often be instructive about how dependent the rest of the world is on the US. Any thought that Europe might be able to pull itself out of its economic doldrums by itself is never discussed. Yet, there is a palpable hankering for the US economy to improve and pull Europe and the rest of the world out of recession. This is the way the world is: it only likes the American liberal minority that is constantly agitated about America’s supposed ills and hates the real America.
Close enough.
I wrote a short article about this sort of stuff just the other day and just posted it up so I could link to it.
http://elaboratepredictions.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/on-american-self-criticism/
In short, there is value in critiquing the United States, because otherwise we would not know which faults to remove. However, American self-criticism has gone too far, the true standard of comparison is not to imagined perfection, which liberals do as Hanson points out, nor to tyrannies, but rather to our own past: Are we faithfully pursuing the principles on which our nation was founded? In just 52 words, the Preamble to the Constitution sets our the goals of our nation and government.
I’m with the guy from Selma. I don’t really give two s**ts whether the world likes us or not (although something has to explain why the world keeps beating on our door, wanting in). All I want is for the world to respect, and yes, fear us enough to understand we’re not to be messed with. It would be lovely if everybody loved everybody else, but in a universe that doesn’t play nice, fear and respect are good enough.
Which means getting rid of that weak bunch in government soonest.
Oderint dum metuant. I welcome speakers of Hebrew to translate this phrase for the sake of their own political leaders.
“Oderint dum metuant” Very good, Sir! I totally agree. Fear is the greatest intimidator.
“The Man Without a Country”, Edward Hale. In 1807, as Aaron Burr is tried for treason, the fictitious Philip Nolan is convicted of treason, and sentenced to sail the seas in perpetuity as a prisoner, without ever hearing of the United States again.
I do not think we should imprison them, but deport them. Surely the living Constitution must allow for this.
The thing that I find most hateful about the Left is their stunning, absolute lack of gratitude or appreciation for all the great things this country has done. They display not even a glimmer of acknowledgement that, whatever our faults, we truly are exceptional in addressing and fixing those faults. My default position, every morning that I wake up, is how blessed I am to live in such a great country. And then, in my small way, I try to make it better – if nothing more than in the way I interact with my fellow citizens. The Left’s default position when they wake up is to focus on how terrible and unjust this country is and they then spend the rest of their day trying to destroy it.
I am convinced that these people are unreachable. I’ve reached this conclusion not out of bias or ignorance, but from decades of observation and experience. There is a rule of the pack, seen in most animal species, and that rule can be harsh in punishing or ostracizing members that disrupt or threaten the pack. The pack does this for its very survival. We use different means – persuasion, logic, appeals to common sense, civil discourse – anything to allow us to curb behaviors destructive to our pack. When those methods fail, as they have with the Left, our pack faces a choice – suicide or survival. That choice lies before us.
The left doesn’t care that the US is demonstrably the best country of all time, by far. Abolish slavery, multiply the wealth of the world, feed the world, name it. They don’t care.
What they care about is power. Not yours. Theirs.
Here’s the key. By any metric, the USSR was an order of magnitude or more behind the US in standard of living and more in terms of personal freedom.
But what about Stalin? and the commissars? Did they live 10 times worse? Hardly. They lived like princes…for life, with no chance of losing it unless they crossed the somebody at the top.
That’s what it’s all about.
I agree. Most liberals are foolish idealists who could not thrive in a free market, libertarian society. The only way for liberals to attain power and the glorious lifestyles they believe they deserve is to take over the government. These so-called liberals support communist, socialist, or fascist dictatorships because they hope to be top dogs when the USA abandons federalism (already done) and republicanism (dying rapidly). Under Obama, liberals with no brains and no real-world experience have attained positions of great power. Thousands of their colleagues are drooling about getting government positions when ObamaCare and Cap-and-Trade kick in. Once entrenched, it will be nearly impossible to remove them from power.
Impossible? No. Just have to do it one round at a time.
The Founding Fathers knew that the nation they created had a slim chance of surviving as it was envisioned by them. Franklin’s quote about having given the people a republic …. if they could keep it. John Adams quote regarding only a moral and religious people could maintain a government such as the constitution created.
Actually it is miraculous we made it this far given the craven nature of mankind. Collectivism has won the day. Too large a percentage of our populace has been brainwashed and reprogramed. They wouldn’t stand for a truly free, capitalistic and limited government society.
The ONLY chance to get back what has been lost is secession. The remaining individualists need to move to Texas and Oklahoma and start over. Of course here in Texas we will have to drive out at least half a dozen million teat sucking liberals. Maybe Louisiana will come along but I doubt it. They’d have to cut New Orleans adrift in the Gulf. Too bad New Mexico is between Texas and Arizona. Guess Arizona will have to hang tough on its own. Maybe we could annex a swath of northern Mexico as a connecting panhandle. Get rid of some drug lords at the same time.
Scot,
Actually it is miraculous we made it this far given the craven nature of mankind.
I have a friend who says all men are ‘inherently evil and totally depraved’ and constantly have a struggle between good and evil going on internally. I don’t go quite that far, but my belief is that most people in this country basically act good most of the time, in accordance with the Ten Commandments. Yes, it’s that simple. And yes, there are many who don’t act good (Tiger Woods, John Edwards, Bernie Madoff, Ken Lay, Charles Manson, OJ, Tim McVey et al come to mind here, all with varying degrees of acting badly), but most people doing the right thing most of the time is how our country has survived this long, and your statement quoted above seems to corroborate that. One major problem is that the populace has discovered it can vote itself largesse from the Treasury, and that is precisely what it is doing. Free health care, free housing, free transportation, free food, free education – all provided free by the ‘gubmint.’ This was another warning given to us by our founding fathers. It is also how many politicians get themselves elected, including and especially our current President.
The ONLY chance to get back what has been lost is secession.
I’m generally leary of the words always, never, & only, so I don’t agree that secession is the only way, but assuming it is, I still don’t see that happening in our lifetimes (and I say that without knowing how old you are). For secession to happen, another civil war would be necessary, with the battlefields being the streets and front yards of America. Unlike our founding fathers, most people today aren’t willing to sacrifice their homes, their families, their property & their lives, so that little Johnny can read and get off welfare. Once their livelihoods are sufficiently threatened, though, from excessive taxation to feed the freeloaders (and under this administration, we’re moving closer to this every day), the equation changes; they then might be so willing.
You admit that even some large proportion of ordinary citizens are voting for a free lunch. Something most once knew was not possible. Something against natural law. My position is that if you take many many ordinary folks and elevate them to a position of power (cabinet secretary, government department head, union executive) they will stoop to corruption in a New York minute. They will believe that the ends justify the means. As we have seen over and over again of late.
As to my focus on secession and my use of the word ‘only’. I lived through all the other alternatives. None made a damn’s worth of difference. There ARE a lot of moral, aware folks left but we are a minority. A minority thoroughly oppressed and controlled by the cabal that rules us. I believe we could group together in a smaller contingent in the South and withstand the attack of the liberal elite. I don’t think it needs lead to a violent conflict. The military would not obey orders to attack us. There are not enough federal police and many of those would likewise not obey orders to kill fellow Americans.
I am sick unto death of living under the boot of the DC/ivy league elite. Personally I would not mind applying the French Revolution methods to their evil tyranny but am willing to try non-violent withdrawal from their influence first.
But in the final analysis … give me liberty or give me death.
Well, men are depraved, and they can exalt their grasping envy into a political system; it is called “socialism.” On he other hand, men are capable of reason; otherwise Jefferson would have never penned the Declaration of Independence and Washington would have never inspired troops disheartened and fractious to make the declaration real.
Against all odds, men made difficult choices then. The troops chose to stay with Washington; Washington, once he prevailed, refused the crown, although it was pressed upon him vigorously.
Today men (and, yes, women, if any confuse the sex with the species) must make choices. Washington is the model: resist tyranny, both from without and from within, for the sake of the country. Persevere against adversity to win victory.
And only if absolutely there should be no other alternative, the majority having sold themselves irredeemably into the servitude of socialism, do ye consider secession; for division would be harsh and would invite the ghouls–the frigid Bears, the fanatic slaves of the desert-God, and the subtle smiling dragons from the East–to pick at the wounds.
Dr Hanson- I’d like to interject a bit here with some commentary that isn’t quite so supportive. Supportive in this case being a grand servile display of exaggerated flattery from your minions; but hey, that’s not your fault.
Your essay has two parts really. The first part being another Liberal bashing. Those pampered elites – never worked, don’t think for themselves, affirmative action etc. etc. Check. Check, Check. You cover all the bases.
The second part is the notion that peoples in all other parts of the world hate us specifically because Liberals bad mouth America too much.
Oh wait before we start – lets bash the Muslims too!
The quip about the Cordoba House sets a great tone. Although you know that Park51 is a compromise name, why mention that? It would add too much balance and uncertainty to your stomping and trumpeting fest.
And they are not so nice to Muslims elsewhere…ah, yes. But isn’t that what makes America different? Or so you’ve stated when it fits your particular narrative and context. Here not so much. We should be more like the rest of the world.
And you can’t be serious comparing the situation in Chechnya to the cultural-center-near-ground-zero conundrum? Don’t cry slippery slope on me. I know you’d recognize that as a fallacy, rather than a logically valid argument. Can’t assume that discrete transition from A to B. DOH! Can’t ignore that there might be a middle-ground! Fiddlesticks!
OK – I get it. Muslims bad…
Now if liberals would just pick up a shovel and work, well, then they would all see the error of their ways. They too could come to hate Muslims and everyone would hail from the tallest tree, “We’re the best and you’ll believe it if we yell loud enough.”
I’m not convinced. People don’t like loud Americans.
Dr. you’re wrong about the educated Liberal being in control. The real control in America comes from the CEOs, Wall Street and Big Business. Nothing intellectual about it; just a single-minded drive for money. You don’t see a problem with that. Your readers have convinced themselves they’ll be there someday.
I doubt it. I’ll bet they’ll be on the wrong side of those gated communities.
Your populist screed is aimed at the wrong elite.
Goldman Sachs = Obama = Soros = International Elite = Ruling Class = Communism = Progressivism = Green Energy Cons = Unions = Capitlism Bashers = you
Power. It’s about the quest for unending power.
Populism attracts people who don’t understand what is happening.
VDH is not a populist.
Power. It’s about the quest for unending power.
Precisely. They are monsters – killers without conscience. None of them are fit to live in a free society.
Those Wall St. CEOs and Rich People are overwhelmingly Democrat. They are the new Party of Money and Power. Get up to speed, this isn’t 1969.
Nathan,
Thank you for your sanctimonious hate speech.
“…grand servile display of exaggerated flattery from your minions…”
It would be unprofessional for me to tell you that you’re a stupid f___ and that your character will improve on death, so I won’t do that… it wouldn’t be right – not on here or anywhere.
I’m sure once your perspective changes, your life will improve.
I think you’ve driven straight into the proverbial ditch of left-leaning, bad thinking as evidenced by your last paragraph:
“Dr. you’re wrong about the educated Liberal being in control. The real control in America comes from the CEOs, Wall Street and Big Business. Nothing intellectual about it; just a single-minded drive for money. You don’t see a problem with that.”
One of the left’s most cherished (and dead wrong) beliefs is that all things bad in the world are entirely caused by man’s pursuit of money. If we could obtain that mythical state of “economic justice” then all would be well.
What about pursuit of power over others – without personal monetary riches being the primary goal? What you fail to see is that worldwide, more general awfulness and mayhem have been caused by people who were not at all motivated by money. I’m talking about the kind of people who lust for personal power over the lives of others; especially those who are trying to “improve” mankind and deliver their view of economic justice.
Do I even have to provide you with a list of such luminaries throughout history?
“Your populist screed is aimed at the wrong elite.”
Conflating populism with elitism? Seems a bit oxymoronic, no?
“And you can’t be serious comparing the situation in Chechnya to the cultural-center-near-ground-zero conundrum?”
You don’t understand the article. It’s not a simple “Muslims bad” A to B statement. Other countries, esp Russia, demonstrate their tolerance of Islam and murderous Muslim, uh, “freedom fighters” by embarking on genocidal policies. And the world yawns. But, question the wisdom of building a mosque at ground Zero and the Leftist world goes nuts. That would be the operative comparison here.
Nathan L – FYI – here’s a bit of anti-Muslim hatefulness for you. I taught at the Universite de Montreal for some time. Now and then Muslim males would turn up in my classes.To say that they were uncomfortable with a female in charge is a gross understatement. They tried in every conceivable way to undermine my authority even going so far as to quibble about the timing of the exam schedule which was decided by the administration and not individual professors. Their problem – it wasn’t my professional status as I was ranked as one of the most popular and effective teachers in my field – was that a female had authority over them. It drove them crazy. When they spoke to me they were close to frothing at the mouth. I thought it was quite incredible. Perhaps you have some wonderful formula for coping with their extremes of misogyny.
Islam appear to exist for one and only one purpose.
To provide a moral framework to subjugate women.
Islam has no other product. It’s adherants invent nothing, add nothing to mankind’s knowledge; the religion gives no succor, spreads no love, lifts no people up, creates no prosperity, inspires no genius.
But it sure as hell knows how to beat women down.
Islam is a soul destroying philosophy straight from the pit of hell.
So-called moderate muslims are apostate. Any young muslim mind can be turned to murder and mayhem using only the koran.
Your average liberal housewife is concerned about keeping her children safe from disease. She and her husband make sure their kids wear a helmet when biking. They probably now make the kids wear clothing from the knees up to go swimming. Yet they are too stupid to see the poisonous snake of islam at their feet.
Its worse than suicidal as they will take a lot of innocent people to the grave with them.
Islam does have other products besides the fear-based subjugation of women: It promises life after death, it promises heaven with dozens of virgins to men who die while fighting in holy wars, it provides strict and savage laws for society, and it justifies terrorism, slaughter, torture, war, etc. against those with differing beliefs. What more could ignorant, illogical, and violent men ask for? How about marriage to and rape of preteen girls. Islam supports that, too.
VDH:
The liberal reaction to the GZM is another variation of the “ends justify the means”. In this case, the ends are religious equality. The means are the public perception of an unconditional acceptance of religion.
The pursuit of ‘perception’ of religious equality is a high price to pay for the ignorance that it creates in its wake. Ignorance is believing that the law narrowly defines what is right, as opposed to narrowly defining what is not right. It is ignorant to proclaim that the law inclusively guarantees the legality of a hypothetical GZM, when in general the law is actually meant to exclude or prevent certain behavior, not to unconditionally allow it.
As an example, we should not try to interpret the principle of a phrase such as ‘pursuit of happiness’ in the limited context of an individual. If we interpreted that phrase as ‘law’, then there would be no way to objectively enforce ‘law’, if that individual was happy to violate the law.
Many liberal mistakes comes as a result of semantics, where word games lead to conclusions of ‘fact’ that are entirely subjective. The GZM is an example of the confusion that reigns from giving words more importance than actions, especially when those words in the constitution are intended for a different purpose. Liberals have contorted the constitution to be an ‘enabler’, when it actually limits.
What explains the difference between individuals’ differing interpretations of the constitution? Possibly, in one word: deference. Conservatives often yield to the wisdom of others, such as the founders, and the principles of the constitution. Liberals are unwilling to defer to the constitution, because they view prior generation’s injustices as a taint on the constitution. How could the constitution permit the injustice of slavery, permit the plight of the poor, and not deliver us immediately to utopia?
Liberals want their prescription for utopia codified by our national documents, when experience suggests that no prescription exists. We can progress as a nation, and we should over time, but we should not expect to find utopia here on earth, which is why there is a need for religion — whether it be in the form of atheism or more traditional dogmas.
It would be tragic to follow a far left prescription for the country that assumes we possess an ability to make a child ‘right’ from the time of birth without once having to forgive him for his sins. It is difficult to see how a citizen would benefit from a ‘living’ constitution if the prescription for being ‘right’ was not already known.
Comment on “Self-Loathing 1), arts:”
This reminds me quite a lot of someone I know. He and I live in very similar neighborhoods; we used to work together in the frame shop of a chain crafts store, framing wedding photos, inexpensive prints people bring back from vacation, and other such things. As a fan of avant-garde jazz (he once told me that Bach is irrelevant to music) and experimental abstract film, and a maker of his own abstract paintings, he was kind of unhappy with the rather pedestrian items that people brought in to be framed, and could only manage to pass the day by getting high in his car on his breaks. He is obsessed with Indian music, and is going to provide (for free) electrified sarangi tracks to a Japanese heavy metal band on their next album.
He eventually quit the craft store because the company instituted a new rule requiring that framers wear black pants and white shirts with collars, instead of unwashed street clothes. He hasn’t worked in the two and a half years since, and has not developed any job skills beyond those required for basic retail. He refuses to look for a job; he won’t apply to Trader Joe’s because he would have to wear a Hawaiian shirt and blue jeans, instead of all black; he won’t apply to Goodwill, because they won’t make an exception on their drug test for medical marijuana; he won’t apply to JoAnne’s because “artists” don’t shop there, only middle-aged women; he won’t apply to WalMart because its WalMart; the only money he makes comes from reselling high-quality weed from a clinic in Los Angeles to his parents.
He is totally disconnected from the reality of the world of work (or education, for that matter), and developed this attitude by idolizing avant-garde artists who make their money solely by teaching their craft in private arts colleges to gullible kids who think that there are actually jobs which require the ability to generate random saxophone squeals, or to make amorphous blotches of paint on a canvas.
Unfortunately, I see this attitude a lot nowadays here in Southern Coastal California, where so many twenty-somethings have grown up insulated from the actual dirt and dust and ink stains involved in making a living.
VDH, you are so perceptive its scary! How about a book on this sometime?
Anybody who asserts that Bach, the greatest musical genius who ever lived, is irrelevant, is ipso facto a lunatic who can never speak except he rave.
Such a person is human by species only; as an individual he has run wild with the beasts–nay, worse, for beasts neither offend their implicit reason nor their allegiance to the order of nature.
The maniac blabbers like one of those oh-so-modern deconstructionists, and a socialist through and through.
Loved your post. If the person you describe is under thirty I can muster some empathy and good thoughts for him. If he’s over thirty I feel for him not quite as much as I lament the end of one of the over-populated raccoon population around here piled up at the edge of the road.
Haha. “Indian-born journalist abandoning his godforsaken homeland..”
Zakaria isn’t THAT bad, young VDH. ( Though the “godforsaken” adjective is apt, I’ll look at you through a different lens from now on. No man who mocks poverty deserves any respect or esteem, regardless of how erudite or how many degrees he has. )
He loves America ,and hard though it may be for you to accept, he IS an American. He’s just a dang liberal.
But I agree that America-”bashers” should stay the hell out of America. Disband NATO and stop spending all that money on protecting rich europeans who “think in the abstract”
And bring your dell computers to me so i can fix. just kidding. har har.
I once found myself at a table with an assortment of Latin Americans, none of whom I was vary well acquainted with. The conversation got arond to politics and to George H. W. Bush, and most of them were in agreement with the standard anti-American rant that passes for political savvy. Then a young Honduran spoke up forcefully and said “I love George Bush. I would hold my hand in the fire for George Bush. I would die for George Bush!” The silence that followed was deafening, and then the subject was changed.
I have lived in Mexico for 22 years, where you see much of the ritual, standard modern Phariseeism in stark reality- vicious hatred for America (under the typical guise of “equality” brotherhood” and “social justice”) for daring to enforce immigration law so that they won’t lose 1/3rd of their national income from illegals so that their crippled, inefficient socialistic economy, and corruption-plagued government can continue. What they all – the Leftist elites at home and abroad- are simply this – parasites feeding off a barely-alive host, living off the vast accumulated moral and economic capital of freedom and the hardwork of generations. Obama and the eiltist ilk have never produced one single thing of true productive value, or much less, intellectual insight.
My first job(s) was a newspaper route and working, for free at a skateboard shop.
Are newspapers still delivered via bicycle?
The skateboard shop being my cousin’s, I ‘helped out the family’.
Greatest 4 years/lessons learned in my life. Casting me and later shaping me to be a responsible adult, loving husband and soon-to-be parent.
If Hansen would only read Montaigne’s essay, “On Cannibals,” he might approach the level of intellectual rigour reached by French intellectuals circa 1580 a.d..
Professor Hanson, Dude, you’ve got to let me cross-post some of your stuff on EnergyBulletin.net. I tried with “Are We All Romans Now” and they said your permission denied. This one is good stuff too.
If it’s built, it will be the Middle Finger Mosque to me. I’m a little surprised they didn’t want to name it in honor of Mohammed Atta. With what kind of twisted logic did Rauf think this kind of throwback to the age of Muslim conquests would be welcomed in a place where the calls to prayer could echo through Ground Zero?
I believe they have changed the name/ignored it because it is not only the Cordoba House, the group behind it is called The Cordoba Initiative, which would seem to suggest that the group wishes to make advances into enemy territory similar to the ones Islam did when they established the capital of al-Andalus in Cordoba in the 700s. I believe the leadership might be worried that a sly, knowing, inside joke for Muslims could play incredibly poorly given the national mood.
“I have been lectured to by European elites how horrific the U.S. is for (1) its global crimes…”
The irony is so thick, you could cut it with a knife.
That’s about as impressive as a communist saying that other people have no respect for private property.
Now that the soviet empire has fallen and the Chinese have unleashed their inner free market soul, there are a lot of fellow travelers wandering through the world who have no place to go. A power vacuum exists.
Various groups including jihadis, college faculties, environmentalists, Vladimir Putin, and Hugo Chavez are trying to fill it. Consequently, lots of tired old ideas are being resurrected as these would-be Kings-of-the-World try to crawl out from under the shadow of the last remaining superpower that’s U.S.).
It is not unlike living in NYC and discovering you have bedbugs. Can’t nuke ‘em but can’t live with them because they may carry a fatal disease.
Prof. Hanson,
Critical Theory is not concerned with making choices between systems or entities that abide on this Earth. It is designed to relentlessly criticize that which the Critical Theorists focuses on, with the goal of its total de-legitimization, and ultimate destruction.
Therefore you question is moot, given the modus operandi of the enemies of Western Christian Civilization, America, Israel, and so on and so forth.
i didn’t write this.
i didn’t even find it. (SapperSgt did)
but i do believe the gentleman has an interesting take on things:
———————————————————-
I don’t know what ‘the west’ wants, but Americans are simple: we want
the rest of the world to go away and stop bothering us.
Understand I’m not speaking for myself – I’d be on a plane somewhere
365 days a year if I could manage it. But Americans generally don’t
like being forced to confront the outside world. We have quite a large
country of our own and if we find it cramped there’s always Canada
(America Lite).
Americans want to spend their days working. We like working. We like
coming up with crazy plans and turning them into billion dollar
businesses. If we’re not working we want to hang out with family. We
don’t like thinking about politics, we’re not the French. We don’t
like having to learn the differences between Shia and Sunni because,
quite frankly, we don’t give a damn. We just want to work and hang out.
From time to time Americans are forced to recognize the existence of
some other piece of the world: Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq. We resent
being forced to do so. We didn’t really know these places existed,
didn’t care, and don’t wish to be irritated by them because we have
work to do.
So we fall back on simple, direct solutions to ease the irritation:
nuke ‘em all. Nuke ‘em all, and then get back to work. It’s not that
we harbor particular malice toward one country or another, one religion
or another. What we harbor is indifference. If you threaten our
indifference by forcing us to pay attention to you and your intractable
foreign problems we may have to blow something up just so you’ll go
away. There is, after all, money to be made, and work to be done, and
family to be hung out with.
We’re busy: don’t make us kill you.
I grant that in some cases it’s our own government’s actions that force
us into the position of having to learn where Fallujah is
(answer: who cares?) but that doesn’t alter our underlying sense that
the whole world should just stop bothering us and let us get back
to work.
Said by M. Takhallus in http://tinyurl.com/y48yao (link is dead/Live Journal acct was closed)
“Is it really fair that a caring and committed progressive in high-tax San Francisco or Manhattan has to pay at the same federal rates as a Neanderthal reactionary in selfish, low-tax Boise or Carson City?” Yes, it is fair, but what isn’t fair is the fact that those people from SF and NYC receive far less in return for their same tax dollars than the people in Boise do. Blue states subsidize red states, and always have. As far as people hating America, I’ve traveled a bit and never, not once, have I heard people claim to hate America, or Americans. Not even criticism. They were a little bewildered by GW Bush, but that was about it. Oh, and re: comment by Mr. Takhallus, if you want the rest of the world to stop bothering you, start with removing a few of the 725 U.S. military installations that somehow found themselves into other people’s countries. Just as you would like to be left alone, many (though not all) others would also like to be left alone.