some light from VDH

Victor Davis Hanson is becoming another daily read for me. He's one of the few true renaissance men on the planet and he hits the point on so many issues with deadly accuracy. His site is like those sites aimed at young Christians I used to read in college in that I could spend hours and hours there if I'm not careful with my time. Everything the guy writes makes total sense. You get the impression from reading his stuff that not only can he see the world for what it is and understand politics but he has the intellect and reasoning power that very few, if any, other commentators possess. And, of course, he does. It's crossed my mind several times what a shame it is he'll never be President, but I guess someone with that intelligence would see through the games and never want such a dreadful job. And we at least have Tancredo to hope for.

Anyway, just read his commentary from Monday on the London bombings. Every paragraph is good so I can't choose just one or two to copy here. Just go read it all for yourself. I will post his closer though: "What a strange way to fight a war." I couldn't agree more.

One thing that stays in my head is that the Islamicists and the American/western left are similar in more ways that either would probably like to admit. When one attacks the other, the attackee (there's your new word for the day) will always respond by focusing their attention in such a way as to invite more attacks. If each had enough control of their respective sides it would be a never-ending, increasingly deadly spiral with more casualties over here and worsening economic and societal conditions over there. As VDH points out, Islamic radicals resent the success that us infidels have and the freedom our residents, even Muslims, enjoy. So instead of look at themselves and ponder what could have caused them to sink toward the bottom in the global order of things, they take out their anger by killing a few of us. Then, instead of responding with indignation and defending ourselves to prevent this barbaric madness from reoccuring, the left cowers even more and begs to know what they have done to bring such terrible calamity upon themselves.

Seeing the confusion and general chaos their irrational antics have brought about, the terrorists stick with what works and kill a few more. This reassures the lefties that they really are at fault somehow and they cry even more about the need for self-examination. The fanatics continue to tear down their own societies by directing attention and resources away from progress and toward actions that will never help their own people out of the mess they're in. The left continues to tear down its own societies by insisting that the very ethics and ideals their success is built on are wrong in the new age and we must all, in effect, learn to avoid success so that the potentially unsuccessful don't feel bad. And the cycle continues.

What the terror-mongerers don't realize is that they will never help themselves through the actions they've chosen. The best they can hope for is to drag everyone else down to their level so they at least don't have to be reminded daily of how backward their ideas and methods really are. But they're so possessed by their twisted ideology that they're stuck in their own wacky version of reality. They'll never stop killing long enough to survey the landscape and figure out what the best move might be.

What the left doesn't realize is that no matter how much they try to change they'll never appease the terrorists. They're hated for who they are, not for what they do or how they do it. They're free, successful, non-Muslim pluralists, and in the Islam of the enemy that's enough to warrant their death. If they want peace their only option is to throw away what they've accomplished, put on some Muslim garb, and start following the teachings of their attackers. But they're either unaware of or unprepared to take that step. Instead they insist that us westerners act differently and become all warm and loving toward our killers. Apparently the reasoning here is that if we stop hating them, they'll stop hating us. Their holy laws and centuries-long tradition of violence that indicate otherwise are never considered.

So, what's the answer? Glad you asked. Go after the root of the problem, not the easiest or prettiest solution that comes to mind. If no matter what we do we keep getting attacked by radicals hell-bent on eradicating our kind from the face of the earth, then we should stop trying to be warm and fuzzy and start playing some defense. Or better yet, go on offense and try to do something to change societies marked by centuries of barbarism and hatred. A good place to start would be trying to spread the ideals that have made our part of the world successful to other parts of the world that don't have those ideals. Such a move, if undertaken with the right motives and methods, would not only address the immediate need to slow down the machine of terrorism but would plant seeds for a better culture in generations to come. This is the only way such a machine of death will ever be stopped. We might slow it down a little, or make it slightly less effective, or become more able to predict its next movements, but if we ever want to stop it completely we have no choice but to attack the core of the problem.

For all his faults, I think Bush and his allies actually see the clash of civilizations for what it is and are intent on laying a foundation for change in the Middle East. World leaders from Carter to Clinton to Chirac and many before our time have simply tried to appease the enemy or ignore the problem. But Bush has at least shown courage and boldness by taking some initiative in a long and hard fight. And nobody with any sense expects the fight to be short--after all we're dealing with centuries of ingrained hatred and violence here. But in 50 or 100 years we may very well look back on Bush as a President with many faults but ultimately the right man in the right place at the right time.

So many more ideas to include...getting tired...