[Dean's World] Dave Price: Western Self-Flagellation and D'Souza

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Dave Price:
Western Self-Flagellation and D'Souza
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1172598779.shtml


   Scott Johnson of Powerline [1]comments on [2]Ron Coleman's "breach"
   post, and wonders how large a breach has actually opened. Paul
   Mirengoff also weighs in, saying it's a disservice to conservatives to
   say that this nascent "Dineshism" needs to be confronted the way
   conservatives confronted right-wing cranks in the 1950s, but it's not
   clear whether he's defending Dinesh or just saying his views aren't
   widely held.
   In addition to the apologetics for extremism noted by [3]Scott's
   excellent essay, I think [4]Victor Hanson's take was a convincing
   rebuttal: as Victor points out, Dinesh's thesis is enormously
   self-contradictory and doesn't stand up to the briefest empirical
   analysis.
   My own take, having glanced at the book: Quelle dommage! It's
   unfortunate enough when the looniest segments of the left blame
   American policy for terrorism. It's even worse when the cultural right
   try to blame terrorism on the exercise of Western freedoms. We might
   just as well go ahead and anoint the terrorists as our rulers if we're
   going to let their faux outrage dictate how we live. Even if we
   disagree with how some of our fellow Americans live their lives, we
   have a duty to protect their freedom, especially if their behavior
   angers foreign enemies; it's the old "politics stops at the water's
   edge" rule.
   Fortunately, as Scott points out, the book seems to have few, if any,
   defenders.

References

   1. http://powerlineblog.com/archives/016894.php
   2. http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1172543504.shtml
   3. http://www.newcriterion.com/archives/25/03/sjohnson/
   4. http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/hanson021307.html