Surely you've heard the line many times before: President Bush diverted resources from capturing Osama bin Laden -- the only terrorist chieftain in the non-global war on terror -- to pursue his recklessly quixotic vendetta against Iraq. This unprovoked, preemptive strike on the non-threatening Saddam has caused Muslims the world over to hate us and swelled the ranks of terrorism.The assumption here is really quite astounding. Every Muslim who is a terrorist has been a terrorist forever and will be a terrorist forever. Every Innocent Muslim (assuming Limbaugh assumes the existence of such a creature) has been an Innocent Muslim forever and will be forever. Good people stay good. Bad people stay bad.
When will these tone-deaf people get it through their heads that Islamic extremists have hated us since before the flood (figuratively, of course)? When will they comprehend that Osama attacked us before we attacked Iraq?
That doesn't correspond to my observations on human nature. Humans are constantly being pushed one way or another. Muslim humans are seeing the example of an America that invaded a country that was no threat to it, tortured innocent Iraqi civilians, killed Iraqi civilians, and seems poised to invade the rest of the middle east as well. In that climate the arguments of Islamic Terrorists take on more plausibility. Why doesn't David Limbaugh understand this?
Because he chooses not to. Because he would rather see Muslims as irrational creatures, completely different from himself. That is more palatable than admitting that Muslims are humans the same as he is. Kind of sad when you think about it.
But Pity for Mr. Limbaugh's condition (one he shares with many Conservatoids) shouldn't blind us to the kinds of errors and disasters his blindness would lead us into.
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