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George Orwell would be proud: Freedom means Oppression

Consider the person who writes this in the wake of the Fort Hood massacre:

The Muslims in this country have to cooperate with law enforcement to identify the jihadists among us, so we can be protected from them. Otherwise, at some point, the threat of spontaneously-arising jihadists from the Muslim community will convince us that we need Muslims to pass through metal detectors or otherwise be made secure from them.


Now imagine the same paragraph rewritten to feature anti-abortion Evangelical zealots [who target abortion providers for murder]:

The Evangelicals in this country have to cooperate with law enforcement to identify the anti-abortion zealots among us, so we can be protected from them. Otherwise, at some point, the threat of spontaneously-arising zealot assassins from the Evangelical community will convince us that we need Evengelicals to pass through metal detectors or otherwise be made secure from them.


I have not written about Fort Hood because the torrent of words so far has not facilitated understanding and guided sensible future policy--it has simply reiterated the simplistic mirror positions of opposing political camps.

Fort Hood was lone-wolf domestic terrorism.

So was the assassination of Doctor George Tiller.

Both killers spawned from a religious culture whose edges are tinged with the dangerous extremism, whose uncensored voice is the unfortunate but absolutely necessary pre-condition of a free society.

Go back and read the first paragraph, which tells you that our fears will lead us to cower behind metal detectors while burying our convictions that the Bill of Rights is essential, not simply preferred, in a free society.

Robert Heinlein often said that you could not coerce free people, only kill them.

Part of me is glad that he is no longer alive to see the cowards taking over.

Comments

Libertarian in Colorado said…
"I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to " [insert politician name here]
Nancy Willing said…
Tiller's murderer was tied into the leadership of the anti-abortion movement. The disgraced and violent leadership of this movement. There's evidence to show that that support was tied to the Tiller murder, no?

There's nothing to show that the Ft. Hood murders were directly tied to and supported by a larger structure of terrorism.
Chris Slavens said…
It matters little if the Fort Hood murders were related to some far-reaching plot. The fact that they are a direct result of the intolerance of radical Islam is enough for most Americans to equate the attack with terrorism. Was it connectd to bin Laden? Was this planned for years? Perhaps; perhaps not. The important thing is that a particular sect of a particular religion is committed to destroying the West, and this officer is apparently a part of that. By furthering the goals of his own distorted sense of religion, he simultaneously furthers the goals of Islamic terrorist groups.
Delaware Watch said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delaware Watch said…
"By furthering the goals of his own distorted sense of religion, he simultaneously furthers the goals of Islamic terrorist groups."

I suspect that the psychological reality in this case is more complicated than just he was motivated by his religious values. It probably has more to do w/ what he was inclined to do under the circumstances in any case and his religious values merely provided further sanction ex post facto. Nothing provides sanction for a person's latent misanthropy more than divine approval and Islam, as history has shown amply, hardly has a monopoly on that.
Mark H said…
"The important thing is that a particular sect of a particular religion is committed to destroying the West, and this officer is apparently a part of that"

Really? This same exact statement could be made about almost EVERY religious organization/sect/denomination. Just change the West to East, South, etc.
Mike W. said…
So the Muslims in this country are supposed to know who the jihadists are?

Can we stop blaming entire groups of millions of citizens when one person goes on a killing spree?

He sounds like a disgrace to the term "Libertarian."
Hube said…
prove your statement, Nancy.
Hube said…
Nancy: Here, I'll help you with your loose "facts." Scott Roeder, Tiller's killer, had anti-government ties, not anti-abortion movement ties, most especially not to any "leadership." His biggest "association" was to the Freemen group. (Link.)

ABC has reported today that the US government knew that Hasan had attempted to contact al Qaeda months ago. Even so, it is suspected that "Hasan was in contact with the former Imam of a mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, who now operates out of Yemen. Anwar al Awlaki, an American, runs an English language website that advocates worldwide jihad, and overnight called Major Hasan a hero and a man of conscience who did the right thing." (Link.)

It seems both Roeder and Hasan had at least some external ties and at least motivations; however, as noted, Roeder's wasn't explicitly anti-abortion (especially not in a leadership role), while it appears Hasan's actions were indeed tied to and supported by a larger structure of radical Islam.
Chris Slavens said…
"Really? This same exact statement could be made about almost EVERY religious organization/sect/denomination. Just change the West to East, South, etc."

Not really. With the exception of Judaism, there are no legitimate religious groups of the West that advocate a violent form of jihad. Christianity, in its many divisions and denominations, seeks to convert, but not to destroy. That so-called Christians did in the past is simply a reflection on their hypocrisy, not on the teachings of Christ. For the most part, the Western world wants to live in peace, with the exception of racist organizations, which are hardly a part of the mainstream. Radical Islam's very definition of peace depends on the complete eradication of the "infidel".

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