The Capitulation Of The West

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Henryk Broder, a German writer, wrote a book recently titled "Hurra, Wir Kapitulieren".  In English, "Hurry, We’re Capitulating!"  Spiegel Online put an excerpt from the book onto their website in english and it’s a must read.

Mr. Broder makes the case that when the whole silly Prophet cartoon controversy came to a close we all saw where this war was heading.  While the Danish tried their best to stand up to the ridiculous idiocy coming from the various Muslim groups the west fell all over themselves arm-twisting the Danish to capitulate:

Objectively speaking, the cartoon controversy was a tempest in a teacup. But subjectively it was a show of strength and, in the context of the "clash of civilizations," a dress rehearsal for the real thing. The Muslims demonstrated how quickly and effectively they can mobilize the masses, and the free West showed that it has nothing to counter the offensive — nothing but fear, cowardice and an overriding concern about the balance of trade. Now the Islamists know that they are dealing with a paper tiger whose roar is nothing but a tape recording.

As different as the West’s reactions to the Muslim protests were, what they had in common were origins in feelings of powerlessness and helplessness. Critical souls who only yesterday agreed with Marx that religion is the opium of the masses suddenly insisted that religious sensibilities must be taken into account, especially when accompanied by violence. The representatives of open societies reacted like the inhabitants of an island about to be hit by a hurricane. Powerless against the forces of nature, they stocked up on supplies, nailed doors and windows shut and hoped that the storm would soon pass. Of course, whereas such a reaction may be an appropriate response to natural disasters, such a lack of resistance merely encourages fundamentalists. It completely justifies their view of the West as weak, decadent and completely unwilling to defend itself.

Those who react to kidnappings and beheadings, to massacres of people of other faiths, and to eruptions of collective hysteria with a call for "cultural dialogue" don’t deserve any better.

Wow! 

He shames the West, and especially the leftists, on their new found love for religion and their attempts to deny that there really is a war going on. 

In the past, an attack on an embassy would have been reason enough to go to war. But this time the affected countries did their utmost to "de-escalate." The victims were repentant and begged the perpetrators for forgiveness. Indeed, the West was intent on not doing anything that could possibly give offense and cause these fanatical Muslims to become even angrier.

[…]"The West should desist from engaging in all provocations that produce feelings of debasement and humiliation," says psychoanalyst Horst-Eberhard Richter. "We should show greater respect for the cultural identity of Muslim countries. … For Muslims, it is important to be recognized and respected as equals." In Richter’s view, what the Muslims need is "a partnership of equals."

But Richter neglects to describe what this partnership might look like. Does achieving such equality mean that we should set up separate sections for women on buses, as is the custom in Saudi Arabia? Should the marrying age for girls be reduced to 12, as is the case in Iran? And should death by stoning be our punishment for adultery, as Shariah law demands? What else could the West do to show its respect for the cultural identity of Islamic countries? Would it be sufficient to allow Horst-Eberhard Richter to decide whether, for example, a wet T-shirt contest in a German city rises to a level of criminal provocation that could cause the Muslim faithful in Hyderabad to feel debased and humiliated?

You cannot appease the fanatics in any religion.  It cannot be done.  You only show weakness which then breeds contempt on the part of the offended party.  Look at the recent airport incident.  Those six Imam’s purposely made a scene so they could then tell the evening news how insensitive we Americans are.  I mean,so what if they act like a terrorist.  It is their god given right to act like a terrorist, who are we to question them?

While many in the country see the need to stand up to these religious thugs, the left in this country want to emulate the Europeans.  They whine constantly about the Christian influence in our society but care little about the outrages and crimes carried out by Islamists.

If we continue on this road in capitulation we will soon see scenes of burning cars as France does. Just one more reason that the left should not gain the White House in ’08.

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