> But hatred of some of the most positive Western values (yes, there are some)
> is not as inconsequential as some on this list would like to believe,
> either. The left is in for a rough ride until we're all willing to
> acknowledge that.
There may be a grain of truth to this, but it goes both ways too - and in any case the widespread acceptance of it as the primary explanation for the tragedy, stoked by the media, runs roughshod over our ability to provide a more nuanced and useful accounting. It seems to me that our efforts should be directed at overcoming abuse of the presumption and offering alternative explanations wherever we're able, not carelessly batting it around ourselves unless we're intimately familiar with whomever we're engaged in discussions with and their predispositions. Not that you were advocating batting it around, but still.
> As for positive Western values, tolerance of various religions is one I
> think bin Laden (who was declared a jihad against the Christian and Jewish
> world) probably lacks a great affection of.
Solely a Western value? The problem that you don't touch on here is that in day-to-day conversation, explanations for bin Laden's behavior are transformed into explanations for why "those people" behave the way they do in the blink of an eye. So while you may think you're making the point about bin Laden's supposed intolerance of other faiths, others may take it as carte blanche to continue to spread all manner of rampant misinformation about Islam. Which, as we know, has shown itself to be anything but intolerant under most circumstances, and certainly not any less so than Christianity has been down through the ages. So it's an uphill battle to say the least.
The other night at the post office, a woman in line told the postal clerk that "their mothers tell them all to fall down on their own swords - it's written right in their Bible, the Koran. It's just awful!" to which the clerk responded with the tried-and-true "yeah, they resent our freedom and our way of life" remark. Just one small example of the state of things. And I will say that, when Jessica Tuchman Mathews, the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, uttered the same "they resent our way of life" argument, mentioning *no* other factors in her "analysis" in response to a listener question on NPR (purporting to be a question-and-answer thing with "experts" in the studio to clear up lingering questions about WTC), I about went postal myself. Were anyone to hear the string of expletives that rained from my mouth as I sat working here at my computer on an otherwise quiet afternoon, including one gender-specific word I'd previously consigned to the dustbin of my pre-enlightened state, my credentials as a progressive might well have been revoked. But perhaps some would understand.
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/ dave /