Demagogue

This is so wrong on so many levels.

Breeding Terrorism [John Derbyshire]

I can't resist pointing out (since Andy McCarthy is apparently too much of a gent to do so) that this latest plot illustrated an important point about terrorism: If you want to breed terrorists and give them the opportunity to mature their plans, there is no environment better than a free, open, "diversity"-whipped Western nation.

Rubble doesn't make trouble. Neither do complaisant amoral dictators, so long as you keep their Swiss bank accounts well stuffed. The trouble comes from neat English suburbs with herbaceous borders and privet hedges, with bobbies on the beat and milkmen making daily deliveries.

Nor do poverty, oppression, and madrassas make terrorists. Comfortable lower-middle-class surroundings, authorities terrified of being called "racist," and the British educational system, will accomplish the job perfectly well.

In the worldview according to Derbyshire our freedom, diversity and support for equality is our worst enemy. All we need to do to eliminate terrorisism is rid ourselves of all of those terribly undesirable qualities and we'll be safe and sound.

Seriously, is he really blaming British society for "breeding" terrorists? What remedy is he suggesting exactly, that we cast a suspicious eye towards anyone who isn't white, Christian and Republican? Round up all the A'rabs and Muslims? Close our borders, toss out anyone and everyone who represents "diversity"? Bomb the suburbs? What about kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out-- just to be on the safe side?

What a knee-jerk hack.

Um, how about blaming the terrorists themselves? Or giving credit to, oh, I don't know, the intelligence operatives who foiled their plot? (More of that, please.) Or recognizing that there is nothing we can do to truly eliminate terrorism-- it is a strategy-- but we can do things to minimize the things that feed it, for starters we could take a closer look at our foreign policy that seems to have no long-term strategy outside of turning everything into "rubble."

There have been and will always be crazy people with crazy, destructive ideas. The best way to combat them isn't to spout off crazy ideas yourself and start thinking that the enemy is lurking everywhere, behind every shrubbery, that if you don't embrace an entirely xenaphobic outlook then we are all doomed. Well, unless you're a Republican and it's an election year. Then do that, a lot.