Dogma: an authoritative, arrogant assertion of improvable principles. “President Bush is Hitler!” “Bush is the World’s Worst Terrorist!” “Bush Lied, People Died!” These are but a few of the extremist slogans one hears emanating today from the Left. Folks such as: Howard Dean, Al Gore, the Dixie Chicks, Al Franken, George Soros, MoveOn.org, Air America, Michael Moore and scores of others, representing both Hollywood and the Democrat Party, are becoming unhinged in their irrational and dogmatic hatred of President Bush. Cindy Sheehan, friend and ally of Left-wing dictator Hugo Chavez, has defiantly declared, “this war is a crime, and we represent millions of Americans who withdraw their support from this government!”
Sen. Joe Lieberman of CT, though voting with his Party 90% of time, is apparently not “dogmatic enough” to satisfy their leadership. Even if he wins in November as an Independent candidate facing anti-war zealot and Democrat-nominee Ned Lamont, he has been promised by his Party Leadership that he will be stripped of all his former power in the Senate. This is a purging type of dogmatism that would make even Stalin proud!
The danger of this totalitarian trend is that it is eclipsing all reasonable debate. Instead of offering legitimate political alternatives within the mainstream of moderate opposition, the Left resorts to ad hominem attacks such as, “Bush is stupid,” or “Bush is an idiot!” When one points out that Bush is the first president to hold a MBA degree, (from Harvard), that he completed the rigorous training of F-102 flight school, and that he had higher grades at Yale than John Kerry, such facts simply fall on deaf, dogmatic ears!
One of the worst examples of this empty-headed rhetoric is the shameful bumper sticker I’ve seen recently, displaying the sixth letter of the alphabet above the words, “The President.” It’s an obscene parody of the popular Bush bumper sticker, “W, The President.” One has every right to choose whomever one desires for President, but must we condone such divisive and distasteful childishness? This is the very type of coarse attitude that is poisoning our ability to come together now as a Nation during this most critical time. Such strident militancy is more the temperament of selfish brats than the respectful communication of mature adults. Where is the bipartisan decorum of the Past that worked to bridge our political differences in a civil and constructive manner?
Another example is Congressman John Murtha’s baseless accusation that, “[American Soldiers] have killed innocent civilians in cold blood!” He willingly obscures the truth, in an effort to score cheap political points against our Commander-in-Chief in a time of war. What’s intriguing to me is the consideration of where all this recent strain of counter-productive, hateful, political discourse came from.
I believe the roots for this “Coalition of the ill-informed and over-indulgent” can be traced back to the cultivated insanity that was- the Clinton years. Those who swallowed the Clinton lies then were seduced into drinking the proverbial Kool-Aid, and just like Alice who fell through the looking glass- nothing for these deluded individuals has ever been the same since! They have become willingly blind to all reality.
Clinton should have followed Nixon’s honorable example of “putting his country ahead of himself” and resigned. Instead, he preferred to model a very different character to the Nation. His selfish and obstinate resistance to the truth, in spite of all evidence against him, stubbornly set our country upon a needless course toward further embarrassment and division. This is the foundation, in my opinion, for much of today’s unreasonable Liberal Establishment- they’re simply following in lock step behind Clinton’s example.
Choosing to defend the indefensible Clinton Administration a decade ago, in the face of a multitude of undeniable and complicit misadventures, sealed the fate for many, whose willing participation then, leaves them firmly adrift now, with no moral compass to faithfully guide them. Simply put, rational thinking has been jettisoned for short-term, political gain.
This loss of objectivity and reason is the anarchy of “Will To Power,” and results in the mindless dictates of today’s anti-Bush propaganda that is now rooting for us to lose in the War on Terror. I guess they haven’t figured out that, “Death to America” means death to them too! The virulent, unforgiving and illogical aspects of both eras, (the Clinton 90s and today), engender the exact same results: Ignore the Truth and Defend the Party, at all costs. What perhaps they haven’t realized yet, is that they have sold their souls to the infernal whims of a devilish dogmatism that won’t stop until it has devoured us all.
What should be most alarming to Americans is the way in which the Liberal Media aid and abet this strategy by refusing to expose it’s true, anti-democratic nature! In our American Politics, the dogma of party factionalism remains, the enemy of government that has pledged itself to be: Of, By and For- THE PEOPLE. (Send comments toWFC83197@aol.com)
Monday, September 18, 2006
Friday, September 15, 2006
You Can't Force Faith
The struggle between Western Culture and Islam comes down to one undeniable difference: Freedom vs. Fascism.
The core values of our competing belief systems are diametrically opposed. They are polar opposites which can’t be resolved even by the most tolerant graduate of the Jimmy Carter Center for Peace. In our Western, Judeo-Christian tradition we value freedom of conscience in equal proportion to our claims of Revealed Truth. However, in the Islamic tradition, one finds religious virtue perverted into a dogmatically defined adherence to strict behavioral codes which are absent any consideration for individual choice.
As we contemplate the value of our culture in light of this global struggle we’re now confronting, we should remember: there is NO virtue without choice! If the element of decision is removedfrom the individual’s sovereign capabilities, then virtue cannot possibly exist as part of any integral thing he, or she, does. In the Muslim world, great power is imposed upon the followers of the Koran to model certain distinct forms of “worship.” The desire of the will is irrelevant to the task. To be found sufficient in their faith and acceptable to their culture, they simply must conform to such duties as: reciting a liturgy of prayers in Arabic five times a day; giving to the needy; fasting one month each year from food, drink, sex and smoking; and, making a pilgrimage, at least once in a lifetime, to worship in Mecca. There are additional dress
codes, social segregations and dietary laws which add to the burden of works that the good Muslim must follow, (or else). It is according to their subservience to this strict litany of rules that they find out, at the end of their life, whether they have earned the right to enter a sensual “paradise.” For the men, it is a reward of 77 virgins on 77 beds in 77 different mansions!
In the West, under the particular teachings of Christianity, a person’s individual choice remains paramount to the exercise of religious virtue and redeemable Grace. If one is coerced into making a statement of faith, or into keeping certain rituals, such coercion is regarded, by our orthodox tradition, as foolish and absent all integrity required which make such religious acts both authentic and meaningful. It matters not, that a person may be manipulated into performing more good deeds through coercion, because, we in the West agree, it is the sincerity of the heart along with the joyfulness and willingness of the spirit, that determine the true value, and virtue, of any good deed.
Sure, we have our legalistic tyrants in the West too! There are many fringe religious groups in our country which, to varying degrees, enforce fascist-like standards on their members, but they don’t bomb our buildings and crash our plains. When was the last time you saw an Amish suicide-bomber, or a Seventh-day Adventist hijacker? Conformity is a wonderful thing in the pursuit of a holier life, but in America, if you resort to violence we consider you a Cult that’s to be avoided at all costs.
In the Middle East, such behavior is honored as a great testament to the strength of one’s “virtuous” commitment to “the Faith.” They often reward such militant individuals with positions of national leadership. In the West, we indict you! The difference is in how we measure and value freedom.
The Muslims look at our decadent lifestyles in the West and criticize our departure from holy living. They are correct in their judgments regarding our many sinful failings. But, they are fundamentally wrong to believe that the answer lies in forcing compliance. We should never fall into the fallacy of making “the Perfect” the enemy of “the Good.”
The ends, no matter how desirable, never justify the means. The promise of Islam, which tempts so many to follow, is the desirability for a more perfect holiness when everything isfinally accomplished according to their strict formality of conduct. There is, in this idealistic process, an undeniable extinguishing of the Independent Will which will be replaced by the dominance of an autocratic sovereignty. In this condition, one is programmed to lose all originality and independent purpose for the greater “good” of the assimilated group. This is the way of all Fascist Societies, but such oppression of the individual spirit is anathema to both: Christianity and the American Way of Life. The Virtue, alas, is ours to uphold.
(send comments to WFC83197@aol.com)
The core values of our competing belief systems are diametrically opposed. They are polar opposites which can’t be resolved even by the most tolerant graduate of the Jimmy Carter Center for Peace. In our Western, Judeo-Christian tradition we value freedom of conscience in equal proportion to our claims of Revealed Truth. However, in the Islamic tradition, one finds religious virtue perverted into a dogmatically defined adherence to strict behavioral codes which are absent any consideration for individual choice.
As we contemplate the value of our culture in light of this global struggle we’re now confronting, we should remember: there is NO virtue without choice! If the element of decision is removedfrom the individual’s sovereign capabilities, then virtue cannot possibly exist as part of any integral thing he, or she, does. In the Muslim world, great power is imposed upon the followers of the Koran to model certain distinct forms of “worship.” The desire of the will is irrelevant to the task. To be found sufficient in their faith and acceptable to their culture, they simply must conform to such duties as: reciting a liturgy of prayers in Arabic five times a day; giving to the needy; fasting one month each year from food, drink, sex and smoking; and, making a pilgrimage, at least once in a lifetime, to worship in Mecca. There are additional dress
codes, social segregations and dietary laws which add to the burden of works that the good Muslim must follow, (or else). It is according to their subservience to this strict litany of rules that they find out, at the end of their life, whether they have earned the right to enter a sensual “paradise.” For the men, it is a reward of 77 virgins on 77 beds in 77 different mansions!
In the West, under the particular teachings of Christianity, a person’s individual choice remains paramount to the exercise of religious virtue and redeemable Grace. If one is coerced into making a statement of faith, or into keeping certain rituals, such coercion is regarded, by our orthodox tradition, as foolish and absent all integrity required which make such religious acts both authentic and meaningful. It matters not, that a person may be manipulated into performing more good deeds through coercion, because, we in the West agree, it is the sincerity of the heart along with the joyfulness and willingness of the spirit, that determine the true value, and virtue, of any good deed.
Sure, we have our legalistic tyrants in the West too! There are many fringe religious groups in our country which, to varying degrees, enforce fascist-like standards on their members, but they don’t bomb our buildings and crash our plains. When was the last time you saw an Amish suicide-bomber, or a Seventh-day Adventist hijacker? Conformity is a wonderful thing in the pursuit of a holier life, but in America, if you resort to violence we consider you a Cult that’s to be avoided at all costs.
In the Middle East, such behavior is honored as a great testament to the strength of one’s “virtuous” commitment to “the Faith.” They often reward such militant individuals with positions of national leadership. In the West, we indict you! The difference is in how we measure and value freedom.
The Muslims look at our decadent lifestyles in the West and criticize our departure from holy living. They are correct in their judgments regarding our many sinful failings. But, they are fundamentally wrong to believe that the answer lies in forcing compliance. We should never fall into the fallacy of making “the Perfect” the enemy of “the Good.”
The ends, no matter how desirable, never justify the means. The promise of Islam, which tempts so many to follow, is the desirability for a more perfect holiness when everything isfinally accomplished according to their strict formality of conduct. There is, in this idealistic process, an undeniable extinguishing of the Independent Will which will be replaced by the dominance of an autocratic sovereignty. In this condition, one is programmed to lose all originality and independent purpose for the greater “good” of the assimilated group. This is the way of all Fascist Societies, but such oppression of the individual spirit is anathema to both: Christianity and the American Way of Life. The Virtue, alas, is ours to uphold.
(send comments to WFC83197@aol.com)
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