Maybe I’m Not So Smart
Their are some days, ladies and gentlemen, I have to admit, that I think I’m pretty smart. There are some days where I might get a bit too impressed with my powers of analysis and expression. But there are also times when I come across a meme in the public discourse that is truly humbling. There are times when I hear or read something and immediately say: “Why didn’t I think of that?” This, dear readers, is one of those times.
For years I have puzzled over the seemingly inexplicable support that the religion of Islam is accorded by American leftists, liberals and “progressives.” And I am referring here not to Islamic terrorists, of course, but to the religion itself. I just couldn’t understand how liberals could support a religion that de facto seems so utterly incompatible with the liberal agenda. Don’t the liberals know, I asked myself, that Islam mistreats and demeans women globally on a grand scale? (child marriage, genital mutilation, wife beating, stoning adulteresses, among other offensive practices)? Don’t they know that Islam persecutes (and murders) gays (the popular contemporary means of execution is to throw them from parking garages)? Don’t they know that Islam is incompatible with participatory democracy? Don’t they know that there’s no such thing as freedom of speech in Islamic societies? Don’t they know that leaving Islam is punishable by death? How is it possible that leftists, liberals and progressives (who proclaim the rights of women, the rights of gender identity, the supremacy of democracy, the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion), still support the religion of Islam under these circumstances?
Now, to help answer this question, it’s helpful to pause for a moment, and consider the reverse situation. In this case, the reverse situation is Islam’s tolerance of the leftists, liberals and “progressives”. This type of tolerance, I feel, IS easy to explain: Islam tolerates liberals because they are: 1. helpful to them and 2. because they know that their tolerance is only temporary. In fact, I have read that Islamists often refer, among themselves, to leftists, liberals and “progressives” as “useful idiots”. So Islamic support for liberals is easy to explain.
But what about the liberal’s support for Islam? Liberals, in general, are lukewarm about religion to start with. ANY religion. So, one would think, therefore, that they’d be even less enthusiastic about a militant, and totalitarian religion like Islam? One WOULD certainly think so. But that’s not the case. Nowhere does one see any serious liberal critique of Islam (with the often overlooked discourse of atheists Christopher Hitchens, and Pat Condell, being possible exceptions). Nowhere does one see any serious liberal “push back” against Islamic inroads and advances into our societies and our way of life. For a long time I puzzled over this glaring incongruity.
So, when a very simple and straightforward explanation came to my attention, I was stunned. The more I looked at it, however, the more convinced I became of the veracity of the explanation. I found myself shaking my head, thinking: “Why didn’t I think of this?…Maybe, I’m not so smart after all!” Such is life. The explanation was there all along.
But before I get to the explanation itself, I should give credit where credit’s due. The analysis I’m about to present, is taken from the writings of essayist and author William Kilpatrick. I would refer the interested reader to two of his excellent books: “Christianity, Islam and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West”. And, “The Politically Incorrect Guide To Jihad”. Both are available from Amazon, Kindle and other sources.
So, what is the explanation that I’ve been alluding to? Simple: The support given to Islam by American leftists, liberals and “progressives” is not because of what these two groups are FOR! It’s because of what the two groups are AGAINST! It’s not because of what the two groups LOVE! It’s because of what the two groups HATE!
And, what both groups are against is perfectly clear. Further, what both groups hate is also painfully clear: it’s the United States of America. That’s it, ladies and gentlemen. That’s the key. What both groups hate and what both groups fight against is nothing less that the United States of America. Despite massive, irreconcilable differences of goals and objectives, both groups are “soul mates” in their unbridled disdain for our great country. It makes them natural (if temporary) allies. No other explanation makes sense. No other explanation holds water.
With both groups, their disdain for America is easy to see. In the case of Islam, the chant “Death to America” is commonplace across the Muslim “umma” (the world wide transnational community of Muslim believers). The hateful demonstrations, speeches and articles are ubiquitous as well. Even among the so-called “moderates” in America itself, 51% of Muslims would prefer to live under sharia law (data compiled by the Center For Security Policy), which is absolutely INCOMPATIBLE with our Constitution, AND our way of life.
In the case of the leftist/liberal/”progressive” alliance, their hatred of America is also on display: The anti-American demonstrations following the Trump election (but present to a lesser degree even prior to the election) were wide spread. These demonstrations included violence, rioting, looting and flag burning. The seditious language of their leaders and spokespersons blare from every media source. Sure, some of these individuals will give lip service to “loving the ‘real’ America”, and wanting only to “make America better”, and the like, but their contempt for our country is obvious for all to see.
And, so, when viewed through the lens of this insight, the unholy union of liberals and the religion of Islam suddenly makes sense. And once this begins to make sense, we can then fashion our response and our resistance to both.