Cultural Response

13 Oct. 2006

I’ll admit that the entire western social and political reaction to the War on Terror has become a “hot button” subject to me, and it’s rather confusing really, with many facets that I don’t fully understand. Both culturally and religiously we seem to be on the defensive, which really makes no sense. The question that keeps coming to mind after the hysterical Muslim response to the Danish cartoons and now the Pope’s recent comments is, why are we so afraid of them? There is now, and was then, no real reason for them to react in the insane manner they did, other than perhaps as a staged show for the western press. Why must we apologize for anything we might say or do that seemingly upsets the Muslims around the world, and yet we inevitably fail to express our indignation over any but the most vicious terrorist acts.
We hold the moral high ground - we believe in individual liberty, religious tolerance, women’s rights, and a quite narrow concept of a “just” war. We do not practice murder and mayhem as an everyday fact of life. We should not be afraid to stand up and express our outrage at the violent Muslim activities we see around the world. Those violent actions do after all, prove the point made by Pope Benedict’s quote. It is all well and fine to be understanding of another’s feelings, but it is quite another thing when fundamentalist Muslims actually demonstrate what we criticize. It is quite another thing when there is lack of reciprocity in the Muslim treatment of Jews and Christians. They have yet to practice what they preach, except for the spread of Islam by the sword and the convert or be killed part.
Pope John Paul II was fond of telling the Christian faithful “Be not afraid”, as he wrote in his “Splendor of Truth.” He preached about the dignity of human life, human rights, and freedom. He preached about moral courage and standing up for values. He preached accountability. And John Paul II lived that moral courage and accountability as he faced totalitarianism and communism. Was he asking to much of today’s western world?
Pope Benedict has spoken of reciprocity in Christian-Muslim relations. Muslims however seem to not have the slightest concern about provoking the west, Christian or Jewish. And our perceived fear of them makes them even bolder. Now is the time for courage, to stand up for our values, and now is the time for some accountability. Our response to the recent Gaza church burnings and the murder of a nun in Somalia should be; “this is exactly what we are talking about when we preach against Muslim violence.” We preach “be not afraid”, and now its time to “be not afraid” and speak out with the courage of our convictions.
A product of the mindless “feel good” liberalism of the 1960’s, far left liberals have for the last fifty years conditioned Americans not to say or do anything that might offend religions, races, genders, transsexuals, alternate lifestyles, criminals, or left handed persons. About the only thing that does not cause hysterical protest among liberals is condemnation of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. The Muslims are alert to this, and they well know that our left leaning media, liberal education structure, and far left political factions will flay anyone who steps outside the standards they prescribe. Case in point, the current media treatment of President George W. Bush, for doing precisely the job he was elected for in the first place!

This is after all about western reaction to a religion of hate and violence. In case you don’t know it, the Quran is full of anger towards non-Muslims. The Hadiths (Islamic traditions) are even worse. They are full of tales about Islam’s great prophet killing, plundering, torturing, enslaving, and even beating his own wife. What we see today is Muslims doing what Mohammed did, and nothing more. The problem is now worse however, because Muslims have learned that the west seems to fear this violence, and that most westerners will fall all over themselves to avoid giving any potential offense.

Killing in the name of religion is wrong, period, and without any special exception for Islam. The Pope shouldn’t be worried about “offending” Muslims who advocate terrorism, no matter how many or how few of them there are. Just once I’d like to hear some world leader, the Pope, or some responsible journalist, come right back at these mobs of barbarians with an: “I do NOT apologize, I meant every word I said, and if you kill people in response to a perceived slight of some kind, then you are beneath contempt. Go to hell.”

There is a considerable body of reason in the Islamic world that decries the hatred and violence. It’s well past time the western world quit apologizing to the terrorists, and began supporting that thread of reason! Perhaps a good dose of righteous indignation directed at the apologists among us would do for a start.