The first time as farce, the second time as tragedy

The farce is what I once described as the hilarious dilemma of liberal patriotism, in which liberals felt required in the wake of 9/11 to demonstrate their patriotism and wave the flag, but, because full-bodied patriotism is anathema to them, were only able to do so in a desperately uncomfortable, off-key manner.

The tragedy is the “war on terror,” in which Bush and Blair feel required to assure us that they are protecting us from our enemies, but, because discrimination against any group is anathema to them, feel desperately uncomfortable about saying who the enemy is. As Larry Hall describes this tragi-comic “war”:

Fight terrorism “resolutely” while blurring the identity of the terrorists. Allude to the fact that they are Islamists, but do so rarely. When you do, immediately state that they are a tiny minority within “this great monotheism” and “religion of peace.”

Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 13, 2005 02:48 PM | Send