Looking at Ourselves

Three seemingly unconnected events - Pope Benedict XVI's speech angering Muslims, the three Republican Senators opposing rigorous interrogation of terrorists, and the United Nations speeches by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - and our reactions to them say much about the state of Western and American society today. Thomas Sowell connects the three events in a way that should give pause to those who doubt the seriousness of the threats our nation faces.

First, media coverage and reaction to the Pope's speech has focused on criticizing him for driving a wedge between Christianity and Islam, trashing the inter-faith dialogue of his predecessor, or for uttering words that he should have known would cause outrage and violence. Very little coverage has focused on or criticized the obvious - that criticism of Muslim violence cause more Muslim violence. It is not the responsibility of Westerners nor Christians to censor themselves to prevent others from reacting to their free speech with violence. The condemnation lies solely with those Muslims that reacted to Pope Benedict's speech with violence or threats of violence.

Second, self-indulgence lies at the heart of opposition to President Bush's efforts to vigorously interrogate terrorist suspects. The feel-good rhetoric of not wanting our soldiers (of whom I am one) to be subject to harsh treatment from terrorists is misleading and false. We already know how our soldiers and civilians are treated by the enemy. Extending Geneva Convention protections to terrorists who are not signatories to the Conventions does not protect our soldiers. Sowell makes the point that moral one-upmanship is dangerous in a struggle for our society.

Lastly, when leaders of states are condemning the United States and the West, we should not be asking how to placate our critics. We should be asking how to defeat them. If we are not ready to oppose them now, we will be forced to oppose them later and then it may be too late.