Guest Column (A letter to a son about Islam)

Guest Column

This column was constructed for you. You can write about anything, be anonymous if you want, or give a brief biography. You may even want to write a column calling us a dirtbag or commenting further on something we may have said on this website, whatever your heart desires, this page is for you, we only ask two things, that you back up your column with some facts and it be emailed to us. We won't edit anything, just post what you have written and emailed to us. Enjoy.

My step-Father is one of the most intelligent, honorable men I have the privilege of knowing. His extensive studies in the realms of Philosophy, Psychology, and especially Religion have earned him the title of Scholar here at Patriotic Thunder.

I recently asked him to ponder writing a few words down about anything he wished, so that we could post it on the site. And as he is as concerned about the future of our great nation as we are at Patriotic Thunder… that is what he chosen to opine about. I strongly urge all of you looking at this to read every word of this column… as my step-Father is also a carpenter… he’s not only hit the nail on the head… he sank it with one swing.

Posted by Demolition Darby

Dear Son,

It has been a few weeks now since you asked me to say a few words to your
readers, and I have given this invitation no small amount of reflection. I
have a hard time knowing what to say to a cyber-crowd of total strangers,
though. Some of them may be liberals, some conservative, some
reactionaries. Writers sometimes wish to please, and sometimes to challenge
the sensitivities of their audience. Sometimes writers wish to reinforce
the opinions of the readers, sometimes to defy it, sometimes to alter it.
Fortunately, I am no writer, and am therefore under no obligation to do any
of these things.

I am, however, your stepfather, so I will write you a personal letter, and
if there is anything in it that you deem fit to print, then please feel free
to do so. I worry a lot about the future, and what it will hold, not only
for me, but for you, and your children, and my great grandchildren, who are
not yet here. I worry about everyone who will have to live in the world
they inherit from my generation, and everything that might be wrong with it.

That is what I will write to you about. I will write about what worries
me, and why, and what we should do about it, and why we probably won't, and
what I believe all of this means. You may agree or disagree, either partially
or in totality, with what I have to say, but say it I shall, and then I
shall close my mouth.

I believe invading Iraq was a mistake of strategic proportions. I believe
Islam, in one or more of its various guises, has declared war on the world,
and that invading Iraq was like treating the symptoms of a very sick patient
without addressing the underlying causes. I believe our goals were
worthwhile, and our tactics were effective in dealing the deathblow to
Saddam Hussein's reign of terror, and he probably deserved what he has
gotten. Evidently, however, the long-term implications of having done these
things have not been considered carefully.

I will explain.

Hussein was secular. He was not a particularly religious man, but he
understood the ways in which religion could be used in the accomplishment of
his goals. One of his first official acts was to declare war on Iran, with
whom war has existed intermittently for thousands of years. It was Cyrus
the Great, of Persia, who defeated Babylon in the sixth century before Christ
and devoured its empire. Enmity between these two populations has existed
for a very long time.

In the present day, however, southern Iraq is populated primarily by
Shiites, who are the spiritual allies of the Islamic state of Iran. We
initially supported Hussein in his efforts to defeat the minions of the
Ayatollah. It is a shame that, after initially impressive military
progress, Hussein stood down his attack. Much recent history might have
played out very differently if Iran's Islamic government had been demolished
and replaced with something secular.

Iraq then became our enemy by successfully invading Kuwait, and threatening
our other big oil buddy, Saudi Arabia. I understand that the economic and
personal ties between Big Oil in general and the Bush dynasty in particular
dictated that we should interpose ourselves between Iraq and Saudi Arabia,
but at least in retrospect, one wonders whether it is a regime worth
protecting.

The House of Saud is despised by most of the population. The Saudi
government keeps the Wahabi priesthood off its back, partially and
temporarily, by funneling vast quantities of oil profits into the hands of
those clerics. They, in turn, support terrorism abroad and increasingly in
their own country, fund the construction and operation of madrassas and
mosques all over the world, and can rightfully be considered as serious a
threat to the non-Islamic interests in the world as the Iranian mullahs.
My point is, who is the real enemy? Sometimes the enemy of my enemy is my
friend, even if he does things that seem to be contrary to our interests.
Up until we declared Iraq enemy of the world, they were actually in a
position to do us some favors. If we would have given them free reign, they
might have transformed Teheran into something more secular, and might even
have done so in Mecca. Unfortunately, this is an opportunity which has been
lost and will not return.

In the meantime, while the Shiites in Iran are officially at odds with the
Sunnis of Arabia, they are increasingly making common cause against the most
visible of their mutual opponents, mainly, us.

After 911, the world understood why we attacked Afghanistan. Not so with
Iraq. I personally believe Iraq had sufficient time and motivation to hide
their WMD's in Syria and other places, and if we had found them in large
numbers, part of the domestic and foreign political opposition to the war
might have been mitigated. We should at least have erred on the side of
caution, and planted some here and there to be discovered in a timely
manner. Because of their absence, and because the situation has
deteriorated so badly in the meantime around Baghdad, Ahnbar Province, and
Mosul, the world in general and the bleeding heart liberals in particular,
have judged us harshly, and even with some limited justification.

They, of course, do not realize that the parameters of the struggle against
the forces of Islamic world domination are of such surpassing magnitude that
this is merely a skirmish, one of many in a long series of battles, which
are part of a war which has been going on for fourteen centuries.
Now that we are in Iraq, we will need to stay there forever. Not that this
is necessarily a bad thing, since it is better to fight wars on foreign soil
than on our own. There is a problem, however, with the definition of
victory. Now that we are there, there is no other viable option other than
victory, but what is it, anyway? How do you define victory in such a
tumultuous environment?

They are now fighting each other as much as they are fighting us. The
Sunnis held the upper hand in Iraq for many generations, and grew accustomed
to power, prestige, and oil revenues. The Shiites now form the majority of
the government, have axes to grind, and also desire to wallow in oil wealth.

The Sunnis are aligned with Al Qaeda and its imitators and with Wahabbism
in general. The Shiites are aligned with Iran and its leaders. I find it
difficult, under these circumstances, to clearly distinguish between who are
our enemies and who our friends are. No matter who ultimately prevails
in Baghdad, between these two major factions, we stand only to loose in the
long run. We probably even stand to gain something by keeping Sunnis and
Shiites at each others throats, in perpetuity.

The only realistic definition of victory in this context which I can
imagine is for our initial goal to be achieved, that is, the establishment
of a secular, unified, functional democratically elected republic. This is
indeed a worthwhile goal, but its realization seems increasingly
problematic. Between sectarian violence amongst indigenous Iraqis, the
infiltrators from without, and interference from our liberal politicians and
the world in general, this goal will take a very long time to achieve. And
in the end, given the political and social realities both now and in the
near term future in Iraq, it seems like some form of brutal dictatorship
would have a better chance of restoring order than anything we might help
broker.

Even a stable Kurdish autonomous region has a political price, inasmuch as
Turkey, our historical ally, where I served in my youth, has no interest in
an independent greater Kurdistan. The Turks have been fighting a Kurdish
insurgency for decades, and are in no mood to cede larger portions of their
eastern provinces to such usurpers.

But there remains the broader question of the long-term goals of Islam
toward the non-Islamic world. They see things, by and large, in very clear
terms. They have one overarching priority, and that is to gain and hold
political and military power, by any means necessary. This is something
liberals, and the world in general, have yet to come to terms with.
Why is this? Liberals want political power, so they will oppose anything
Bush does, even if it is intelligent. They also have roots in the "make
love not war" generation, and do not understand that when you are attacked,
you need to fight back with such overwhelming devastation that the enemy is
either destroyed, or so demoralized that he loses the will to continue.

The former, actually, is preferable. The world, particularly Europe, is undergoing two simultaneous processes. They are experiencing secular consolidation, where the earlier Christian
nation states are abandoning these roots and becoming one political entity.
They are also becoming Arabicized, Africanized, and Asianized to such an
extent that their central essence as a culture is being altered before our
very eyes. Within a generation whites will be a minority in the lands of
their fathers, and the rising subcultures, increasingly unassimilated and at
odds with one another, will throw that civilization into such spasms of
transformation that the whole of Europe will eventually become very much
like Baghdad is today.

Why? Mostly, socialism. The very antithesis of our capitalistic way
of life, socialism and its predatory politicians have gained power in European nations and are firmly at the helm. And they need immigrants to…

1) Pay the bills, in terms of bloated and unsustainable social service promises
made to their constituents, and

2) keep the economy and the society running,
because Europeans have bought into the zero population growth fallacy and
have dutifully neglected to reproduce.

Into this vacuum will enter Islam. It will offer an attractive
alternative… order. If Islam ever gains a grip over the economic,
cultural, and military resources of Europe, we will have a fight on our
hands which we might not be able to win.

Meanwhile, we continue to wallow in cultural self-delusion, trying to
justify our toleration for those who, if they come to power, have no
intention of tolerating us. We are committing cultural suicide.

Immigration, both legal and otherwise, in this country and in Europe, and
the breeding that is done once those people are here, will transform our
demographics with such devastating consequences that our very identity as a
civilization will be threatened from within as well as without.
Perhaps it is politically incorrect, but why, if mosques and madrassas are
being used as meeting places for those who are militarily and culturally
devoted to our extermination, are they not considered legitimate military
targets? Why, since we have recently grown so intolerant of "hate speech,"
do we not rise up as one being, to extinguish what is by far its most
virulent form, the kind that spreads hatred of Christians, Jews, Americans,
and every non-Muslim form of human life?

The answer is that culturally, we are being emasculated. We, especially
men, are being taught that we should be passive, not aggressive, agreeable,
not hostile, and forgiving, not retributive. Cultural values change in
response to emerging realities, and maybe we will wake up before it is too
late. There is strength in tolerating those who are willing to tolerate us,
but it is folly to embrace those who are training children to don suicide
vests and walk into shops in Israel. We need to acknowledge who the enemy
is, and resolve to deal with him decisively.

We need to understand that our own leaders are complicit in this conflict.
What sense does it make to declare war on terror, and then turn control of
our ports over to a business owned by Arab Muslims? Why is the insanity of
this not evident to our President?

Why did we make war on a government which was formerly our friend, even
though their leaders were guilty of various forms of moral repugnancy, when
they stood at least to engage, if not out rightly defeat, those who had sworn
to destroy us?

Why do we throw our southern borders open to those who brazenly defy our
laws and our sovereignty, who bring us crime, disease, and cheap labor, who
burden our social safety network, and some of whom intend to take back
Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of southern California?
Why is there such a cozy relationship between large transnational
corporations and our own government, when their goal is to export jobs to
foreign countries while continuing to import illegal aliens of every
nationality? Why do we run up such an inconceivable federal deficit, such
that our descendants will be indentured to bondholders from all over the
world, including Communist China, for all eternity?

Why do we teach our children that Christianity is bad, while Islam is good?

Christianity at least pays lip service to peace, love, and forgiveness.
Are we really afraid of Islam? Is this why we fight it half-heartedly with
one hand, while capitulating with the other? Why do we abandon our values
and our cultural identities? Why are we so intent on self-destruction?
If we knew the answer to questions like these, and were prepared to act on
them, we could prevent the annihilation of our culture from without, and
decomposition from within. The answer is really very simple, but acting
accordingly is the challenge. We are who we are, and if Western culture has
done badly with regard to other cultures, that is too bad. It is in the
past. We have nothing, as a people, to be ashamed of. For all of our
faults, Western culture has been a light of progress and tolerance the likes
of which the world has never seen before.

If there is anyone who is ashamed of who they are, then let them go to
another country, convert to Islam, or relinquish their citizenship. Let us
start with our own politicians and other luminaries. Let all of the Ted
Kennedys, Nancy Pelosis, Harry Reids, Jesse Jacksons, and Barbara Striesands
of the country do the rest of us a tremendous favor, and immolate themselves
publicly in penance for the damage they have done to our culture.

Let there rise up in this land a new coalition of all of those who
celebrate their heritages, regardless of where their roots may lie, but not
place their past before their futures, but rather, value their identities as
Americans over their ethnic and religious separateness. Instead of African
Americans, why not Americans of African descent? Instead of Christian
Conservatives, opposed to Pagans and Jews and Buddhists, let them all see
where their common interest lies with those other people of good moral
conscience who happen to frame their worldview in different terminology.
And let Muslims, who earnestly disagree with their more radical brethren,
stand up and say so publicly, and let them take their stand alongside the
rest of us against brutality, murder, intimidation, the devaluation of
women, and all forms of unprovoked barbarity.

Let businesses who have profited from conditions in this country repent of
their globalistic greed, and recycle their riches into the population which
has made it all possible: the good, the noble, the self sacrificing
Americans, upon whom the world, especially Europe, and even China, has
called for shelter and relief. Let things bought and used in America be
made in America, and let the greedy CEOs who profit from human bondage in
foreign sweatshops either repent or be stripped of their wealth. Let
everyone willing to work have the opportunity to earn a living wage and
invest themselves with pride in the American dream.

Let our politicians take their oaths seriously, and renew their pledge of
allegiance to this country, not the whole world, to the American people, not
their global alliances, and to their own sons and daughters, and not to the
skraelings of the world who spit upon us and revile us, while holding their
hand out for payoffs and bribes. Let us be one people, against whom none
can stand, if we stand together. Let us fight for victory against our real
enemies: those who would abuse and mistreat us, take advantage of us,
betray us, and sell us, like their own souls, to the highest bidder. Let us
stand tall, and proud, and pick our battles wisely, and dedicate ourselves
to nothing less than everlasting victory over all who would defile the
sanctity of the human spirit. We owe this to our children.

Well, my son, be careful what you ask for, because you might just get it.
I hope there are at least a few items here that will meet with your
approval. In the meantime, please accept my best wishes to you and yours,
my heartfelt desires that you will continue to do that which in your eyes is
right. Please give my love to your family.

Your step-Father

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