The war is over

How many times have I said it? If you make the false distinction, fundamental to the liberal world view, between Muslim “moderates” and Muslim “extremists,” and set out to ally yourself with and empower the “moderates” so as to help contain the “extremists,” you will inevitably end up allying yourself with and empowering the extremists. The Palestinian Authority has formed a unity government with the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas, yet the Obama administration has announced that it will give as much funding to the PA in the coming year as it gave this year. So we are funding our jihadist enemies.

When will conservatives recognize that it’s OVER—that, apart from our efforts to stop actual terrorist attacks against America, our supposed great war against Muslim extremism has turned into a campaign to advance Muslim extremism? How long will they keep cheering our war against “radical” Islam, when that “war” is the opposite of what it claims to be? When will they recognize that if there is to be a real defense of America and the West against Islamism (i.e., Islam), it must be mounted on a completely different basis from the false and self-contradictory defense erected by G.W. Bush in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack?

- end of initial entry -


February 20

Bartholomew writes:

You wrote:

“When will conservatives recognize that it’s OVER—that our supposed great war against Muslim extremism has turned into a campaign to advance Muslim extremism?”

Your comment reminded me of a popular song by the far left rock band, 30 Seconds to Mars, entitled “This is War.” Here is the official music video (which sets the song to scenes obviously made to resemble the Afghan theater), and here is an excerpt of the lyrics of which your comment reminded me:

“A warning to the people
The good and the evil
This is war
To the soldier, the civilian
The martyr, the victim
This is war

It’s the moment of truth and the moment to lie
The moment to live and the moment to die
The moment to fight, the moment to fight, to fight, to fight, to fight …

A brave new world
The war is won
The war is won
A brave new world

I believe in nothing
Not the end and not the start
I believe in nothing
Not the earth and not the stars
I believe in nothing
Not the day and not the dark
I believe in nothing
But the beating of our hearts
I believe in nothing
One hundred suns until we part
I believe in nothing
Not in satan, not in god
I believe in nothing
Not in peace and not in war
I believe in nothing
But the truth of who we are.”

Considering particularly the band’s overt political convictions, the song has always struck me as triumphal. It’s as if they see what we see—the ascendancy of liberalism—and, unlike their anti-establishment brethren—they accept it and are happy about it. I think it’s evidence, however anecdotal, that at least some leading liberals recognize their power and revel in their conquests, rather than deny it and pretend that the fight for the grand liberal utopia somehow continues.

One only wonders, though, how liberals like this band deal with the horrors of the modern world. If they accept, as they say in the song, that “The war is won” and they have their “brave new world,” well, why is it so bad?

P.S. Note to the nihilism on which the song ends. You’ll notice that the music video I linked—the most recent—omits the last few stanzas, unlike the initial release of the song.

LA replies:

I confess that I don’t follow Bartholomew’s points, and normally I don’t post comments that I myself don’t understand. But in this case I think it’s possible that the fault is in me, not his comment, and that others will understand it, so I’m posting it.


Posted by Lawrence Auster at February 14, 2012 01:15 AM | Send
    

Email entry

Email this entry to:


Your email address:


Message (optional):