Nothing divides the right like war. It seems the second war comes up, everything else gets thrown out the window. It's ridiculous.
A recent episode of this happened on Larry King Live with Rep. Ron Paul and actor Ben Stein. As everyone knows, Ron Paul is against the war and was on Larry King to defend that position. And how did pro-war Ben Stein respond to what Paul had to say?
He called him an anti-Semite.
In other words, Ben Stein had no actual argument in his favor. Click on the post title below to watch the video.
Now let's dig into this a little deeper by picking on my friend Mike at The Western Experience.
Ron Paul, Occupiers, and Rasmussen
Usually I ignore what Congressman Ron Paul has to say on any foreign policy issue. Why? Because, simply put…he is an idiot. Although, he does ask a fascinating question as to why Islamic fundamentalists hate us. His answer is what I have the problem with.
In the video, Ron Paul says "they're terrorists because we're occupiers," to which Mike replied:
Accordingly, it was King Fahd of Saudi Arabia’s co-opting of American forces to protect Saudi oil fields and provide a launching point against Saddam Hussein in the Persian Gulf War which fueled Bin Laden’s already growing hatred towards America and the West.
At this point, I'm not sure what these guys disagree on. Both claim it started with U.S. military bases in the Middle East. So let me ask you this ...
Let's say Swedish forces had been here in Michigan for the last 20 years to "keep the peace." In my eyes (a Michigan resident), I'd consider them occupiers. Wouldn't you?
Let's go further and say the Swedish really were here fighting for freedom, goodness and rainbows, and they're doing a good job defeating the enemy. But sometimes they wipe-out whole neighborhoods of innocent people, or storm through houses uninvited.
How would that make you feel?
Then some articulate speaker comes along, saying the words we want to hear ... "hope," "change," "the oceans will cease to rise" ... He asks us to join him, saying he'll help us if we help him. He "gives" to charities and schools, helps the poor, speaks of social justice and about the empire who is trying to destroy us ...
I think you can see where I'm going with this. Nobody should be surprised that military aggression creates enemies. It should be no surprise either, that they would want to strike back.
AMERICA HATER!
No. Accepting the reality of blow-back hardly makes me anti-American. And a note to Ben Stein, it doesn't make me an anti-Semite either. People who say such things are either intellectually lazy, or don't really have anything to say.
This is a cultural war not a case of freedom fighters attempting to overthrow an imperialistic and tyrannical invader.
I consider it a religious war, but all-in-all the same thing. So if it is a cultural war, then how can a military win it? Nation building?
Fine, but then why not support nation-building at home too? Iraq's "new nation" has socialized health care, so I suppose we should too! Maybe the smart grid is a good idea too, after all, Big Government knows best! In fact, it'd be great to have the military come occupy Detroit, rebuild the city, and install a new regime ...
Radical Islam is winning the war my friends. As Mike says, it's a "cultural war." Looking at our culture, we're in a heap of trouble ...
- California's going under.
- The federal government is trucking towards bankruptcy.
- The Empire State Building was lit green to commemorate the end of Ramadan.
- Sharia law is being taught in Fairfax, Virginia.
- The Legal Advisor to the State Department advocates Sharia being accepted in U.S. courts.
- The Flight 93 Memorial is being built as a mosque.
- Our individual liberties continue to disappear.
- We've been at war for 8 long years and have 2 more terrorist attacks on American soil to show for it!
So if Ron Paul is right in that bin Laden wants to bog us down in the Middle East, bankrupt us, demoralize us, and have us help him recruit for his radical movement, and if Mike's right too, in that it's a cultural war ... I'd have to say we're losing!
I may be against the war, but I'm still against radical Islam. I think radical Islam wants our government to crack down on our freedoms. I think they want the government to act in violent ways overseas. Whether they clamp down on freedoms here at home, or bomb-away abroad ... radical Islam is happy.
I don't want to make them happy.
And please understand the significance of TARP. It was a peek into George W. Bush's soul. It proved there isn't a reason in the world to trust a word the man ever said. Personally, I view TARP (and the subsequent bailouts and stimulus) as nothing short of treason, because George W. Bush sold the American Creed down the river.
I don't trust politicians, and there's no historical reference for me to feel otherwise. And since they screw everything up domestically, why would I trust them to handle things internationally?
P.S. - I emailed Mike and asked him if he'd be interested in a pro-war/anti-war debate discussion, and he replied that he's all for it. This post is a little too all over the map (I think) to start on a proper note, so I'll write something more specific to start tomorrow.
Stay tuned ... this could be fun!
[...] development which took place. Our friend CL of the Classical Liberal blog offered a riposte in support of Ron Paul’s anti-war sentiment. This led to an interesting offer from CL to me. That was a discussion over the small but growing [...]
Mr. Stein has become a sad shell or what he once was. It is to be mourned that this highly intelligent man has lost his reasoning. And I say this as the King Of Warmongers and a not-very-big fan of Ron Paul. To throw around willy-nilly the charge of anti-Semitism is to diminish the word and is most often a tactic of the Left; to see a man of the Right use it is deheartening.
Bob, you’re a good man. Although we disagree on this one issue, you don’t discount anything I say, wish to banish me from the movement, or question my allegiances. I really appreciate that! Thank you.
I’m not anti-pro-war, I’m just old school anti-government.
As for Stein, that was pathetic. But as a guy who’s been a stockbroker and banker for the past 15 years, I’ve never been much impressed with Stein. His bad calls rival Bernanke for crying out loud!
In all fairness you hit on something that I should have mentioned also, CL. That was Stein’s jumping the shark and attacking Paul with the anti-Semitic argument. It befuddles me why he did that. I might disagree with Paul with his reasoning there is nothing in this particular exchange that indicates any racist tinges against Jews or the such. Stein was being quite ridiculous.
What most people don’t understand about radical Islam is Muslims want to end our way of life and force to live under Sharia law. That would be the case whether we had troops in the Middle East or not.