Our impressive ability to learn facts—when we want to learn them

Dean E. writes:

It’s been a fast and furious investigation since Saturday’s failed car bombing in Times Square. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of investigators devoted time, resources, and brainpower to finding out who did it. Within four days the plot has been nearly unraveled and newspapers feature biographies on the Muslim bomber and his wife with quotes from their friends, details on their finances, religion, employment, and even a video tour of the home village in Pakistan. Impressive what we can learn when we’ve a will and motivation.

And yet, nearly nine years after the 9/11 attack, we’ve managed to learn nearly nothing about Islam. Odd, isn’t it? That’s not to say that many of us haven’t learned—we have, and learned a great deal. Some of us threw ourselves into the investigation and devoted time, resources, and brainpower to finding out the important facts about Islam. Within four days any reasonably bright, healthy infidel would be able to know the essential facts. (And really, for the infidel, the most important thing to know about Islam was perfectly learned on 9/11.) Within four weeks any reasonably bright, healthy society would be able to know the essential facts about Islam and commence a vigorous defense.

But we’re not a reasonably bright, healthy society. We’re a society blighted by a madcap ideology whose existence depends on obliterating the most obvious and essential facts about Islam. And so we watch once again, agog, as our lunatic liberal minders in blinders describe yet another Islamic jihad attack as a mystery. Maybe due to financial problems? Stress? Anger at the U.S. military? Who knows? Not us liberals. All we’re allowed to know is that Islam is a Religion of Peace! (Who could do poetic justice to such a screamingly funny farce? Where is our Moliere, our Ionesco?)

?
Posted by Lawrence Auster at May 06, 2010 09:54 AM | Send