America has been the easy demon for 60 years now after rising to superpower status at the end of WWII. Our success and our, well, American-ness have made it easy to demagogue against us as the fat, mindless cowboys taking too much for ourselves and trampling the little guy all around the world. Any fair reading of history would show there has never been a bigger or better champion of the oppressed, or friend to humanity than than us. But that doesn't stop the haters, the deniers or the apologists from trying to drag us down. There have been a number of pieces written in this genre recently and (hmmph) they were all published in that perfect exemplar of hater-denial-apologism, that paper of record with all the news that is fit to spit upon us, The New York Times. First in the America Sucks Hit Parade was a screed from a Pakistani journalist explaining how all we have done in the Greater Hindu Kush metropolitan area is to alienate the freedom-loving, westernized, liberal Muslims. Now I am the first to admit that our policies in this region are about as well-designed as a submarine with a screen door, but this claim is pitiful in both content and style starting with the headline "And Hate Begat Hate". In their shock after Sept. 11, 2001, Americans frequently asked, “Why do they hate us so much?” It wasn’t clear just who “they” were — Muslims, Arabs or simply anyone who was not American? Well no. Actually we figured out pretty quickly who "they" were and yes many of them were Arabs, but not all, and yes they were primarily Muslim. But we didn't lash out in hatred at anyone who was not American. We could take a look around and see who our friends were and who cheered this “chickens coming home to roost”. The celebrations in the streets of some countries were in stark contrast to the heartfelt condolences of others. We noticed, we remember. Then our instructor outlines how our efforts against the terrorists in their midst have alienated those we purport to support and turns the question on its head. And so now there is something beyond just disliking America. We have begun to ask the question of 9/11 in reverse: why do Americans hate us so much ? If you are a true ally of freedom then you should be asking, why do the Islamists hate you so much. They have killed most of the victims in this war of civilization against theocratic fascism. They have killed your friends and relatives. They are your enemy and they hate you. Americans should not be particularly surprised by this. War diminishes everyone and all states, even the victors Well, that is one of the dumbest things I have ever read in the NY Times, which is a tremendous accomplishment. John Stuart Mill said it well, "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse." When we ascended to the position of Great Satan it was through war, and the evil we stopped in Germany and Japan would have enslaved the world if left unchecked. We were not diminished, nor were Great Britain or France. Even the vanquished Germans and Japanese were far from diminished. We broke their war machines; rebuilt their countries; gave their people a voice; and, provided the tools to join the free world. They used, and still use, them. Foolish as this been, this paragraph encapsulates so much politically correct drivel I will not even waste another pixel to flay it. Famine, hunger, poverty and economic failure have increased beyond measure, at least in this corner of the world, where the Sept. 11 plans were hatched, while climate change has set off enormous floods and drought brings untold misery to millions in unexpected places. The latter is not the fault of Sept. 11, but in the minds of many the catastrophes we face stem from America’s wars and the diversion of America’s attention from truly universal problems. In this, America, too, is a victim of its wars and the global changes it has not addressed. OK, I lied about not wasting another pixel. What claim to education or knowledge can someone who spews such nonsense have? Why would even the NY Times publish such ignorant claptrap? Where does the white go when the snow melts? There you go, I just injected more intelligence into this conversation than the entire contribution of this addlepated clown. Next slide. Which takes us to the fevered mewlings of the over-educated, under-reasoned Paul Krugman. What happened after 9/11 — and I think even people on the right know this, whether they admit it or not — was deeply shameful. The atrocity should have been a unifying event, but instead it became a wedge issue. Fake heroes like Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani, and, yes, George W. Bush raced to cash in on the horror. And then the attack was used to justify an unrelated war the neocons wanted to fight, for all the wrong reasons. In the interest of brevity and sympathy toward someone as emotionally crippled as this, I will simply say, “F**k you Paul.” Last, and least among equals in baseness, is a lecture from a member of terrorism's royal first family the House of Saud. Fancy the unmitigated gall it takes to deride the freest nation in history for supporting the freest nation in the Middle East against the claims of the “Palestinians”. This collection of professional victims have made the unfettered use of terrorism as the main defining characteristic of Palestinian-ness . Well that, and an all-consuming hatred of the evil Jooooos. So now the “Palestinians” petition the UN for statehood. They could have had this any time in the last 60 years if they had simply recognized the simple existence of the State of Israel. Instead they...
Read the complete post at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Blackfive/~3/ITToLh9hEEc/with-friends-like-these.html
Posted
Sep 12 2011, 01:15 PM
by
BLACKFIVE