A majority of Americans wished it were not so, but the sad reality was that the nation was at war and battles were being fought.
An orator rose to announce the bad news:
"It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
The orator was Patrick Henry. The time was 1775 just after the Battle of Lexington in which conflict ended any hope that negotiations could stop the brewing Revolutionary War between England and America. The audience was a Virginia legislature that still hoped that the violence could be stopped by the appeasement of King George III.
I use this page from history as an example of what is going on today. The United States has been at war with Islam (NOTE: ISLAM!) since September 11, 2001, yet even the President of our Republic does not acknowledge this historic clash of civilizations, perhaps the greatest since the First Crusade of 1095. Why ignore the reality of a world wide battle with recent engagements even in this country as Islamists carry out continued acts of terrorism and plot many more, and our miltary deployed in overseas are fighting and dying even as I type these lines.?
Yes, gentle readers the time has come to face reality: In 2006 the United States is just as much at war as we were in 1775. The only difference is that the opponent is the most ruthless and barbaric this country has ever faced, but the option is the same: "Liberty or Death."
http://www.americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=4619
The American Thinker
While we-are-the-world politically correct naifs, including President Bush, babbled that September 11 was merely the work of a few disgruntled, unrepresentative Moslems and that most Moslems are really and truly willing to accept others and live in peace, such events as the bombings in London and Spain, riots in Paris and the violent reaction to the mild Danish cartoons are indicative of a harsher, another world mind set analyst Martin Kramer argues.
The secular West had flattered itself, believing it had pulled the Muslim world into modernity. Yes, Islam has sent forth suicide bombers and terrorist insurgents. But they and their sympathizers were in the minority—so the pollsters and analysts told us: “Don’t judge Islam by the acts of a misguided few.”
This faith in the pragmatic Muslim majority has underpinned every Western policy, from the Israeli-Palestinian “peace process” to the Bush administration’s democracy promotion. The Muslim masses, the assumption goes, will choose peace and freedom, if given the chance. But they haven’t. 9/11 could be attributed to a fanatic minority.
Not so the Danish cartoon protests: Millions have taken part.
What about the Iranians who elected a president openly bent on confrontation with the West? What of those Egyptian voters who gave the Muslim Brotherhood a stunning success in parliamentary elections? And what about the supposedly secular Palestinians, who have swept Hamas into power? A poll conducted last year showed that 60 percent of Jordanians, Egyptians and Palestinians want Islamic shari’a law to be the sole source of legislation.
In other words, this is a clash of civilizations that can lead to “a war of the worlds.” Can it be averted?
But they lack power, resources and weapons. Today they burn flags; a united West can still deny them the means to burn more. It can do so if it acts swiftly and resolutely, to keep nuclear fire out of Iran’s hands, and to assure that Hamas fails.
Now will we have the resolve to heed the message or play Neville Chamberlain for a phony “peace in our time”?
Ethel C. Fenig 3 12 06
While we-are-the-world politically correct naifs, including President Bush, babbled that September 11 was merely the work of a few disgruntled, unrepresentative Moslems and that most Moslems are really and truly willing to accept others and live in peace, such events as the bombings in London and Spain, riots in Paris and the violent reaction to the mild Danish cartoons are indicative of a harsher, another world mind set analyst Martin Kramer argues.
The secular West had flattered itself, believing it had pulled the Muslim world into modernity. Yes, Islam has sent forth suicide bombers and terrorist insurgents. But they and their sympathizers were in the minority—so the pollsters and analysts told us: “Don’t judge Islam by the acts of a misguided few.”
This faith in the pragmatic Muslim majority has underpinned every Western policy, from the Israeli-Palestinian “peace process” to the Bush administration’s democracy promotion. The Muslim masses, the assumption goes, will choose peace and freedom, if given the chance. But they haven’t. 9/11 could be attributed to a fanatic minority.
Not so the Danish cartoon protests: Millions have taken part.
What about the Iranians who elected a president openly bent on confrontation with the West? What of those Egyptian voters who gave the Muslim Brotherhood a stunning success in parliamentary elections? And what about the supposedly secular Palestinians, who have swept Hamas into power? A poll conducted last year showed that 60 percent of Jordanians, Egyptians and Palestinians want Islamic shari’a law to be the sole source of legislation.
In other words, this is a clash of civilizations that can lead to “a war of the worlds.” Can it be averted?
But they lack power, resources and weapons. Today they burn flags; a united West can still deny them the means to burn more. It can do so if it acts swiftly and resolutely, to keep nuclear fire out of Iran’s hands, and to assure that Hamas fails.
Now will we have the resolve to heed the message or play Neville Chamberlain for a phony “peace in our time”?
Ethel C. Fenig 3 12 06
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