Posted by
Steve on Saturday, October 21, 2006 6:43:07 PM
Unconscious Interests, Favorite Reads, and Unsatisfying Intellectual Explanations
When I read from week-to-week, I begin to notice that the diverse topics have an overarching theme to them. For example, a couple of weeks ago, I read every article I could get my hands on about Pope Benedict XVI's Regensburg lecture, and his reference to Islam. Then I began reading First Things Blog on the various interpretations of the quotation that the Pope referenced. Before I knew it, I wanted to read more about Islamic theology, and how it views the relationship between Allah (God) and its believers. This has led me to have an intense interest in the different Abrahamic religions and their theological views on the relationship between their respective holy texts and the responsibilities that believers have in following these tenets found in them.I do not know what this week's theme is, but I will list my favorite reads from this past week, and reflect upon the theme undergirding all of these articles.Articles/Author:1. A Dark Globalism, Mark SteynDiscusses Islamic imperialism in the modern world, and the terrorist networks that embrace the goal of having a global radical Islamic society. 2. Prosperity Among the Gloom, George WillHighlights the disconnect between a historically booming American economy and the feeling of unease among the American people.3. Worldly Ambitions: The history of centuries of Jihad and imperialism, Bruce ThorntonClassicist, Bruce Thornton reviews Ephraim Karsh's "Islamic Imperialism: A History".4. The New Old Ec0-Pessimism, Victor Davis HansonHanson discusses the Western self-criticism at the damage being done to the environment without acknowledging the role that Western societal advances have made in being able to protect the environment. Hanson briefly discusses the role that multiculturalism has had in viewing Western Civilization as equal to all other civilizations that have existed.5. Honor blog post, Victor Davis HansonHanson discusses the role "lost honor" is playing in the Middle East as well as other conflicts throughout the world. He also mentions how these societies choose violence in defense of their honor, while the West is losing their own sense of importance as a civilization.Update: After posting these various articles, I believe that the theme that I am interested in is the dangers of scourging Western Civilization for its successful governments, economies, militaries, and wealth and replacing these ideas with principles of multiculturalism, religious universalism, and "tolerance". Many Americans are being taught that America is not a special place at all, but rather the bully that takes all other countries' lunch money. America has not been a bastion for freedom, but rather a parasitic tapeworm on the ambitions of developing nations to gain freedom. Middle Eastern, African, and Asian societies are praised for their cultural uniqueness that has not been poisoned by American cultural imperialism and its vehicle of capitalism, but refuses to acknowledge the widespread poverty and squalor that the majority of these regions' peoples live in.Radical Islamic terrorism is viewed through this same lens of Marxism-the "have-nots" are waging war against "the haves" who are exploiting them. In this regard, the cultural principles of these societies are not discussed-after all, it is the West's ideals that are causing these problems. It would be "intolerant" to mention how Christian and Jewish minorities are not allowed to practice their religions openly and freely in Islamic countries. It would be "offensive" to discuss the Jihad against women who are killed in the cradle, oppressed throughout their adult lives, and the prevalence of honor killings and female genital mutilation. It is frivolous to discuss the wide-variety of oligarchies and autocracies throughout the Middle East who marinate themselves in their oil wealth, while their people suffer. It is much more convenient to discuss the role of Western capitalist societies who pray on these countries' people as in films "Syriana". Throughout this narrative is the transference of responsibility from the countries that wage war against their own inhabitants (the concept of "citizen" does not seem to apply) to the West. Although imperfect as all human endeavors are, the West has a historical track record of religious freedom, political freedom, and economic freedom unrivaled in the world. In addition, these Western countries are often the proponents of spreading these ideals in the Middle East and other societies that have failed in all three respective categories. I am ever-increasingly interested in reading the philosophy and primary source material about the religious figures, political figures, and military figures that have operated throughout the Middle East. It fascinates me to cut through the political correctness that shrieks that all cultures are equally as valuable, and examine the true ideas and their consequences as born out in world history.