The Real Reason Liberals are Soft on Terror

The Real Reason Liberals are Soft on Terror

Ed.- Yesterday I broke the serious-post-followed-by-silly-post cycle. But I cheated, since the UN Induction bomb is really just a list of links. Thus a silly post is due. I’ve come to realize I lapse into silliness when I reach too far. (Not too high, since that implies I’m trying to prove something magnificent or, at least, insightful. Comparing the UN to a cheating girlfriend, or Islamist terrorists to Shakespeare’s Falstaff, probably qualifies for far, but not high.) Today’s post is a reach, but I’ll not lapse into silliness. I promise.

I can’t prove to you, now, that liberals are soft on Islamists. If you don’t already believe it, it would require a Liberals Are Soft on Terror Induction Bomb, and I don’t have time for that. This entry presupposes that liberals ARE soft on terror. So the question is, why? The following breaks down some areas where liberals and Islamists differ:

Gay Marriage:
Liberals- "Make it happen. By fiat if necessary!"
Islamists- "What gays do in the privacy of their own homes is an abomination. We will kill them."
Free Speech:
Liberals- "Yes! (Well, except on college campuses.)
Islamists- "Yes! As long as you quote the Koran. If you blasphemy we will kill you."
Feminism:
Liberals- "Of course!"
Islamists- "No Burkha; No penis; No life. We will kill you."
Democracy:
Liberals- "Even the dead should be allowed to vote!"
Islamists- "Sharia is the will of Allah. Allah's will trumps that of the people. Sharia rules, ore we'll kill ya'.
Death penalty:
Liberals- "NEVER!!!"
Islamists- "With ROCKS!!!"
Rape:
Liberals- "Don't blame the victim. Keep her identity secret."
Islamists- "Kill the victim. She should have worn a looser burkha. Don't laugh or we'll kill you."

So you would think liberals would not be soft on Islamists. Yet they are. The following shows some areas where liberals and Islamists agree:

George Bush:
Liberals- "We wish Gore or Kerry won."
Islamists- "We wish Gore or Kerry won. (It would be easier to kill ya."
Israel:
Liberals- "Israel needs to make peace with the Islamists. Even if that means they can't retaliate to terrorist attacks, when doing so would stifle the peace process."
Islamists- "Israel will have peace only when every Jew is pushed into the sea. But, we totally agree about the no retaliation thing. (Btw we're gonna kill u libs, too.) Pagans!"

Many conservatives believe the list above sums it up. Liberals are so focused on hating George Bush they have embraced the enemy of their enemy (George Bush, not Islamism, is that enemy). So they really can’t get excited about fighting Islamists. I mean, if the Islamists lose, Bush wins. Add a dash (the vermouth in the hate Bush cocktail) of sympathy for Palestinians, drink it down, and a liberal’s mind is numbed just enough to forget the first list.

I don’t buy it. That first list is entirely too compelling. Liberals are NOT stupid, nor are they ignorant. They are more than capable of recognizing realities and quantifying evil. Hating Bush is one thing, but being soft on terror is really a separate issue, and while liberals may conflate issues for advantage (Michael Moore and Patty Murray come to mind) that doesn’t mean those issues are conflated in their minds.
As for Israel, that’s a whole ‘nother entry, but suffice it to say that, if push came to shove, American liberals would side with Israel. I don’t think American liberals are anti-Semites, but I do believe their anti-Israeli stance is an indirect result of European anti-Semitism. Thus American liberals have learned to mimic having a symptom of a disease they’ve not (yet) contracted from their continental cousins. Israel is not that much of a factor.

So, having established that liberals should be hard on Islamists, and explained away (however weakly) two of the more popular reason given for why they are not, the question remains- Why aren’t they?

Ed.- The temptation to lapse into silliness is strong in this one. No! I’ll not succumb. Succumb sounds like succubus, hehehe- STOP IT! Get a hold of yourself man! Okay. I’m better. I wish I smoked or something. I hate Mark Steyn. How’s he DO IT?!? Okay… this is now a two-parter. I should probably do SOME work at work. Geeze.