A group of pro Iraq-war/pro-Bush demonstrators is forming to counter the anti-war demonstrations going on in the country, particularly on college campuses. The name of the new group is Protest Warrior. According to news reports, they are greeted with taunts of “shame” and “Nazi” and “fascist” when they show up to protest the protestors.
Clearly the protestors are not used to being challenged or questioned in any way. They have all of academia on their side, nearly all of the major media and–half the time–even an apologetic, humble Bush administration on their side (whether they realize it or not).
I find it interesting that representatives of the left–so prone to decry the lack of “civility” and “sensitivity” in today’s public discourse–are so quick to call names at the first sign of disagreement.
They claim to be progressives and liberals but in reality they are the more conservative of the two. They seek to freeze in place a policy of appeasement–towards terrorists–which has not worked over the past 25 years. Our present government is only beginning to fight back against these elusive enemies, hiding throughout governments and caves in the Middle East, and so far the embattled Bush Administration has taken comparatively small steps in relation to what will ultimately be necessary (if more attacks eventually come as nearly everyone expects).
What’s more, today’s young liberals and progressives offer no alternative. Nor does their current spokesperson, John Kerry. It’s well and good to criticize Bush’s foreign policy. I do so all the time. But I offer an alternative, in the form of being tougher and going after the real enemies such as Iran and P.L.O. leaders as opposed to only Saddam Hussein; of spending less time trying to nurture the Iraqis into democracy and more time simply toppling dangerous dictatorships when they threaten us, and leaving it to the people to show they are ready for a constitutional republic. At the same time, I modestly respect Bush for what he’s trying to do. The so-called progressives and liberals have no alternative to Bush’s foreign policy except to do absolutely nothing. They phrase this as letting the U.N. handle it or “working with our allies.” But what they want to do is nothing, because, we can only assume, they either hate their country or assume that in the end it’s not worth it to put up a fight.
The people who call themselves liberals and progressives have reached the dead end of their ideology of appeasement, pacifism and anti-Americanism. They might have Hollywood stars on their side, but this still doesn’t give their message the power that accurate, logical and clearly stated ideas do. Yes, John Kerry very well might win in November; but if he does, he will simply be forced to carry out Bush’s policy in Iraq and when terrorists next strike our country, he will express outrage, call the U.N. and then do absolutely nothing.
Our country faces serious problems and our current political leadership displays dangerously contradictory thinking. President Bush’s biggest contradiction is trying to reconcile fundamentalist, pacifist Christianity with the hard line of preemptive war and fighting terrorism with greater force. However, the opposition to Bush at this point in time offers nothing more than a policy of appeasement and retreat, a freezing in time the policy since the Iran hostage crisis of the late 1970’s–a policy which culminated, as we all know, in 9/11. This is the policy today’s liberals and progressives have to offer. They are the true conservatives.
