"What if liberal democracies have now evolved to a point where they can no longer wage war effectively because they have achieved a level of humanitarian concern for others that dwarfs any real cold-eyed pursuit of their own national interests?"
The NYP's John Podhoretz, quoted above, raises a stark and troubling dilemma that is confronting the United States. Quoting Podhoretz in her Globe column, Cathy Young toys with the notion that democracies can become, in effect, unable and willing to engage in violent confrontations in the Middle East or anywhere else. Young determines that such reasoning, while thought provoking, is dangerous and counter-intuitive for a society as morally advanced as America.
I offer another reason, less complex, for the West's war jitters: we aren't scared. While terrible and scarring, 9/11 and its 3000 dead represent but a week, month, or year for persons in Israel, the Sudan, or other parts of the globe challenged by the carnage of warfare. 9/11 was an emotional tumult that awoke a country to the possibility of ominous horizons, but the threat seemed distant, abstract, and shockingly, easily fixed for far too many westerners.
Stubborn to the end, my friends, I refuse to believe that Americans or any people are somehow "above" self-defense! Human nature, while able to be shackled, cannot be overcome. Certainly, one of the 21st centuries great lies is the notion that war can somehow be easy, if not entirely unavoidable to begin with. The first Gulf War buoyed this fantasy, and now, Europe and the U.S. are faltering perilously before the dangers of Islamic fascism. But fantasies are not the result of achieving moral purity, but arise when the endangered subject feels no threat.
I am not negative by nature. Yet, as a reader of history and observer of my fellow men, I cannot help but think that only a nation as embattled as Israel, or as threatened as 1941 Russia, can appreciate and tackle attempts at its ultimate destruction. If the fateful and dark day dawns when New York City or Los Angeles resemble besieged Tel Aviv, Americans won't be restricted by liberal notions of "high purposes," dressing suicide up to appear acceptable to academic scrutiny. Americans, realizing the threat to their lives, liberties, and mortal happiness, will wage war decisively, passionately, and with impunity.
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Other News-nuggets from the WORLD at-large:
- Santorum and Lieberman, according to new polling posted at realclearpolitics.com, appear to be closing on their respective opponents. May be too late for Joe, but Santorum still might have a shot at keeping his seat warm for the GOP.
- The mayor of LA apologizes for appearing to take Israel's side in the current conflict, after angering Islamic citizens of his city. I'm glad I don't try to please everyone... looks exhausting!
- Bob Ney, embattled OH GOP congressman, bows out and hangs it up... the lobbyist scandal fallout claims another victim.
-Castro is still alive. I guess only the good do die young, Mr. Joel.
Until next post,
2 comments:
Nice to see another young mind at work. I'll add you to my blogroll. Best of luck!
Be sure to send me any particular posts that you think might interest me, and I'll be sure to link to your site.
Thats a good yet disturbing article. I agree with it. The West particularly Europe have gotten to complacent its pathetic. In Iraq in 2004 Spanish or Italian troops retreated from a fire fight, calling in the Americans to do the job for them. Armies can not show cowardice. Casualty counts also are not helpful and it shows how decadent we have become. It appears Israel is worried about their casualties despite how low it is. Third World countries and non state actors are coming to the realization that if they want to beat the West they have to fight asymmetrically. It looks like we can only fight wars conventionally. To successfully beat Hezbollah, Israel has take in causualties and fight behind enemy lines as well as not showing fear but resolve. The Left particularly in Europe are persuing a path in idealism, which will only lead to appeasement.
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