Thoughts Aloud

Although one of my favorite sites is The Objective Standard, I rarely share links to the excellent content there, because much of it is behind a pay wall. While I have been a subscriber for years, I can’t expect others to be. However, today’s article, “9/11 and America’s Failure to End the Jihad,” is openly available to all, and worth considering:

The anniversary of 9/11 is here, and another year has passed without America naming, much less eliminating, the cause of the attack.

The cause of the attack on 9/11 and, more broadly, of the jihad against the West is the fact that Islamic regimes—most notably those in Iran and Saudi Arabia—take Islam seriously and thus seek to convert or kill everyone who doesn’t. Toward that end, these regimes materially and spiritually support jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State, who, in turn, attack and murder Americans and others who refuse to submit.

That, in a nutshell, is why al-Qaeda attacked America on September 11, 2001. And it is why jihadists and their supporters are constantly planning or sponsoring more attacks. Everyone paying attention knows this. But the U.S. government refuses to acknowledge the cause and thus refuses to eliminate the source of the problem: the Islamic regimes that sponsor jihad.

Like he said, we all know this; but it is not considered Politically Correct to say so out loud. A very good question is why?

The short of it… is this:

A large percentage of Americans embrace moral relativism and multiculturalism and are eager to blame America for any and all wrongs in the world. These people refuse to judge any culture negatively, except Western culture—especially that of America—which they judge as evil. Consequently, this sizable portion of the U.S. citizenry refuses to call jihadist groups or their sponsors evil, much less demand that our government eliminate them, because, hey, who are we to judge?

Few hereabouts would argue with that; but some may choke on his second issue:

Another large percentage of Americans embrace religion—the pretense that faith is a means of knowledge, the fantasy that “God” exists, and the nonsense that being moral consists in obeying his commandments. These people refuse to acknowledge the fact that jihadists and their supporters are driven by their belief that faith is a means of knowledge, that God exists, and that obedience to his commandments is morally mandatory. Because these Americans are wedded to their own religion (whether Christianity or Judaism), they are unwilling to face the fact that jihad is a product of faith, belief in God, and obedience to “divine commandments.” Instead, religious Americans either condemn Islam as a bad religion or deny that it is a religion at all. This enables them to feel that they are opposing Islam when, in fact, they are supporting the very essence of Islam—which is the notion that faith is a means of knowledge, that Allah exists, and that everyone must obey his commandments.

While not Piously Correct, I have been trying to make this point for years, in discussions with godly Bible thumpers; but Biddle states it rather elegantly and succinctly.

Finally, both relativists and religionists—along with practically everyone else in America—embrace the idea that selflessness is moral and selfishness is immoral. Consequently, almost everyone in America is unwilling to advocate a foreign policy of self-interest because, well, that would be selfish.

Widespread acceptance of these three myths—moral relativism, religion, and the virtue of selflessness—renders Americans unable to name, much less eliminate, the cause of the jihad against America. Thus, Americans who want to end the jihad must reject these false ideas and embrace correspondingly relevant truths.

Agreed. To rationally argue against altruism, is neither Politically nor Piously Correct. 😉

If we want to end the jihad against America, we must spread the truth about what causes jihad—and, correspondingly, about what America must do to end it. There is no other way.

The following articles flesh out the foregoing and related points in great detail and from many perspectives. Please share them with people you think are open to reason.

• The Jihad Against America and How to End It
• The Causes of War and Those of Peace
• U.S. Foreign Policy: What’s the Purpose?
• “No Substitute for Victory”: The Defeat of Islamic Totalitarianism
• “Just War Theory” vs. American Self-Defense
• On the Anniversary of 9/11, Relativism and Religion Still Paralyze American Self-Defense
• “Gifts from Heaven”: A Vital Historic Lesson for America
• Ten Steps to End Jihad Against the West
• Yes, Conservatives, Islam Is a Religion
• Islamic Jihad and Western Faith
• William Tecumseh Sherman and the Moral Impetus for Victory
• Obstacles to a Foreign Policy of Self-Defense for America
• The Atrocity Following 9/11
• The Evil of Whitewashing Islam
• Islam vs. Free Speech
• Don’t Tolerate Islam, Condemn It
• Morally Judging Muslims and Other Religionists
• Religion Versus Morality

Since they appear to also now be on this side of the pay wall, and most all of my readers are open to reason, I am more than happy to – and just did. Although timely again today, I have read and enjoyed most of these articles over the years. I hope you do too. All discussion on any of them welcome. 😀 â—„Daveâ–º