Centrerion Canadian Politics

Freedom versus Religious Extremism

Cross-posted at Blue Grit

(Forgive the generalization, as it is just that - obviously there are exceptions.)

One thing that continues to trouble me about, broadly, the "Left", is the tendency for leftists to ally themselves with brutal enemies of western civilization. There were many leftists during the Cold War who empathized with the Soviet Union. In the same vein, today, there are many who try to make excuses for the Islamists. The ironic thing is that they (correctly) attack Christianists for their extremism, yet remain silent when it comes to the Islamists, or if they do have something to say, it is understanding, even sympathy. A perfect example is Michael Moore referring to the terrorists killing civilians in Iraq as "freedom fighters". I wonder if he would apply the same label to the Islamists who are threatening to kidnap and murder innocent European civilians over the silly Muhammed cartoons? Well, I'll cut Michael some slack on this one - they are freedom fighters, in the sense that they are fighting freedom, along with their allies, the PC Left. Take this example of a French newspaper editor who has been sacked for printing the cartoons. Also take note of the lefties on the Wikipedia talk board attempting to get the article censored.

It troubles me because I identify much more strongly with left of centre values than I do with right of centre, yet the values of the left are so frequently and disturbingly used to make excuses for the twisted values of the far right. Political correctness is a decent idea in principle, but when it is used to justify the shutting down of free speech and expression, something is terribly wrong. Liberal ideas should not be used as a weapon against liberalism.

It becomes that much more perplexing when, as mentioned above, these same people will (again, correctly) vehemently opposed and attack the ignorant, irrational, anti-science, anti-freedom, anti-logic, anti-everything-that's-fun Christian right, but they will often go so far as to be apologists for the Islamic right.

Personally, I will have none of it. People of the left must start to recognize that what we are dealing with here is actually something even more dangerous than the Christian fundamentalists - they may be neurotic, sex-obsessed control-freaks, but they do not carry around guns and threaten to kidnap people in order to force "self"-censorship.

posted by Ryan Ringer @ 5:04 a.m.