
 |
|
Nov, 21, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?
Caroline B. Glick:
Civilization walks the plank
Nov, 20, 2008
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness
The Kosher Gourmet
By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto
Nov, 19, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality
Elliot B. Gertel:
'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?
Nov, 18, 2008
Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason
Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?
Nov, 17, 2008
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason
Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?
Nov, 14, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia
Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead
Nov, 13, 2008
Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic
The Kosher Gourmet
by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla
Nov, 12, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers
Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks
Nov, 11, 2008
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?
Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate
Nov, 10, 2008
Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?
Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist
Nov, 7, 2008
Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality
Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy
Nov, 6, 2008
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism
The Kosher Gourmet
By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes
Nov, 5, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors
Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie
Nov, 4, 2008
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law
Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East
Nov, 3, 2008
Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?
Jonathan Tobin:
Was He Wrong About Everything?
Oct. 31, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Our Immutable Noble Essence
Caroline B. Glick: Running against Bush
Oct. 30, 2008
Jonathan Rosenblum: The End of the Special Relationship?
Steve Lipman: 'Kid Kosher' Gets A Title Shot
Oct. 29, 2008
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: GET US THE TAPE THE L.A. TIMES REFUSES TO RELEASE, AND WE'LL GIVE YOU CASH!
Dr. Ari Korenblit: Making The Write Choice for President
Oct. 28, 2008
Mona Charen: Denial runs through American Jewry
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Sell-off to capitalism or sell-out to Islam?
Oct. 27, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Are tax deductions for charitable donations moral?
Jonathan Mark: The Mystery Of The Arab-American Vote
Oct. 24, 2008
'Why aren't all religious people vegetarians?': Response by Miriam Kosman
Caroline B. Glick: Testing Obama's mettle
Oct. 23, 2008
Daniel Pipes: Obama Would Fail Security Clearance
The Kosher Gourmet
by Linda Gassenheimer: A fast chicken dish with an Asian accent
Oct. 20, 2008
Gary Rosenblatt: Still One Torah
Jonathan Tobin:
Government 'Gifts' Are Not Free
Oct. 17, 2008
Jonathan Rosenblum: Sukkos and the Great Meltdown
Caroline B. Glick: The disappearance of law
Oct. 16, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Copying DVDs: RIP OR RIPOFF?
Cal Thomas: Blaming the Jews (again)
March 22, 2007
J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)
|
| |
Jewish World Review
July 29, 2005
/ 22 Tammuz, 5765
Life in post-identity America
By
Diana West
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Will the American identity the save-the-world American, the quiet
American, the ugly American, the generous American, the can-do
American disappear during the long war on Islamic terror? In the
following three quotations of the week random, but not
unconnected you can see it slipping away, the victim of a
debilitating cultural amnesia. Which may be pretty tough stuff for
the middle of the summer, but that's the way 2005 goes.
The first quotation is a headline: "Poll Shows Americans, for First
Time, Divided on Use of A-Bombs in 1945." According to this
Associated Press poll, commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of
the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a "historical switch"
has taken place. The strong majorities that always supported the use
of "the bomb" to end World War II in the Pacific have, for the first
time, dwindled to an almost even split, with 48 percent of Americans
"strongly" or "somewhat" approving, and 47 percent "strongly" or
"somewhat" disapproving.
Whether this shift is inspired by plain ignorance or a
civilizational death wish, it hardly reflects a robust culture bent
on military triumph, let alone survival. In their disapproval of the
Truman decision that spared a million American casualties (the
projected cost of an invasion of mainland Japan), 47 percent of
Americans reveal a lack of will, even in historical terms, not only
to prize American lives, but also to support the hard decisions to
save them. If not defeatism exactly, such national torpor, stemming
from an unrequited empathy with the enemy, tends to make any victory
ambiguous. Remember Iraq, where, upon liberation, the American flag
draping Saddam's toppled statue had to be whisked away in deference
to similar, politically correct tendencies. And that was just the
beginning.
We muddle through, but the terrible tendencies remain as revealed
in a stunning installment of In the Red Zone, a blog from Iraq by
journalist Steven Vincent. Mr. Vincent reports from Basra, where he
says crooks and corruption are the problem, not terrorism. There, a
Gary Cooper-esque U.S. Air Force captain is in charge of awarding
contracting jobs of up to $1 million. Mr. Vincent's Iraqi friend
Layla has her doubts about the bidders: How does the captain know,
she asks, that he isn't funneling money to extremists or religious
parties that have put a woman's name on their letterhead to win a
bid?
And here goes quotation No. 2: "I certainly hope none of these
contracts are going to the wrong people," he replies, continuing:
"But should we really get involved in choosing one political group
over another? ... I mean, I've always believed that we shouldn't
project American values onto other cultures that we should let
them be. Who is to say we are right and they are wrong?"
Et tu, Captain America? It's one thing to get this mindless mantra
from a Montgomery County public school teacher with rings on his
toes and multiculturalism on his agenda. Maybe projecting American
values onto certain cultures is a stupid idea, but clearly that's
their loss. Meanwhile, there we are, doling out the dollars. Just
listen to Layla: "These religious parties are wrong! Look at them,
their corruption ... the way they treat women! How can you say you
cannot judge them? Why shouldn't you apply your own cultural
values?"
Why, indeed. Do "American values" still exist? Or have they been
re-educated out of existence? Maybe their absence is what explains
the insipid mania for Democracy, The Process, across the Middle
East, regardless of whether terrorists run for office or sharia is
the law of the land. Such non-judgmentalism is everywhere, even
informing Security, The Process, at home.
Or, rather, especially informing Security, The Process, at home.
Consider quotation No. 3, from a New York Times editorial on
commuter safety measures, which post 9/11, 3/11, 7/7 and 7/21
are a brave new way of life. The topic is pretending to search for
bombs, which is what we do in post-identity America. "The police
officers must be careful not to give the impression that every rider
who looks Arab or South Asian is automatically a subject of
suspicion. ... Those who are selected simply because they are
carrying packages should be chosen in a way that does not raise
fears of racial profiling by, for example, searching every fifth
or 12th person, with the exact sequence chosen at random."
Anything to avoid "fears of racial profiling" even death by
murder-bomber. As the captain said, who's to say? In the Exact
Sequence Chosen at Random We Trust. If we deny their identity long
enough, our own will cease to matter.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Diana West is a columnist and editorial writer for the Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
Diana West Archives
© 2005, Diana West
|
|

Mitch Albom
Michael Barone
Dave Barry
Tony Blankley
Andy Borowitz
David Broder
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Rod Dreher
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
John Fund
Frank J. Gaffney
Lloyd Garver
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
David Harsanyi
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Laura Ingraham
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
James Klurfeld
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Jonathan Last
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
The Medicine Men
Dick Morris
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Jonathan Rauch
Celia Rivenbark
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Culture Shlock
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Jonathan Tobin
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
Gary Brookins
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holber
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Ranan R. Lurie
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Jeff Stahler
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters

How 2
Lori Borgman
The Savvy Consumer
Elder matters
Fixit
Dr. Peter Gott
Marybeth Hicks
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Tech Maven
Nutrition Myths
Bruce Williams
How Stuff Works
|