Nothing Unwitting About It

YARGB, which is short for “Yet Another Really Great Blog” has an interesting post titled, “Munich is an Unwitting Indulgence in Nihilism“:

Somewhere along the line, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner bought into the absurd myth that much of the Arab terrorism of the past fifty years is the inevitable blow back response of Palestinians whose land and heritage were allegedly stolen by Jewish imperialists . Munich is their recently released creation—and it is an appalling piece of work. Based on the highly questionable book by George Jonas, Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team, this film is far too long and exhausting. It is often boring. A group of four assassins are sent on a mission, to kill one by one, Palestinians suspected of collaborating in the massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes during the 1972 games held in Munich. These misfits soon wonder if they are morally any better than their pursued quarry. The latter often come across as warm and fuzzy human beings doing the best they can. There is even a ridiculous scene where the Israelis and the Palestinians inadvertently spend the night together. It suggests that a little love and understanding will bring about peace. The violence of the terrorists would cease if only the Israelis were more open to dialogue. Throughout of the film, the recurring theme is that violence is ultimately useless in fighting terrorism. It will probably even make things far worse. Needless to add, the creators of Munich are also indirectly commenting on our post 9/11 existence.

Spielberg and Kushner, to be kind, are unwitting nihilists. The logical conclusion of their morally equivalent premise is that the defenders of Western Civilization values are little better than their attackers. We have no one to blame but ourselves for allowing our elected leaders to exacerbate the tensions. Violent responses to terrorism must give way to improved communication and good will. After all, our disregard of the rights of the Third World