How Much Do You Have to Hate Someone Not to Proselytize?

Francis Schaeffer on the Origins of Relativism in the Church

Words to Remember

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

One of My Favorite Songs

An Inspiring Song

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Sunday, August 22, 2010

We Have Forgotten How to Fight a War

Well, the Marines remember how, no doubt, but unfortunately, they're not in charge of making policy.

I read Diana West's latest and just cringed.

Soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are not diplomats. They are who you send in when the diplomats fail. Their job, bluntly, is to impose the will of the United States on our enemies by killing people and breaking things. When we are training troops on whether or not they should remove their gloves before shaking hands with some backwoods Afghan police chief, we have left the sphere of rationality.

Look, every time I write along these lines, I just know somebody out there is going to interpret my remarks as meaning that I'm opposed to the War on Terror. I'm not. You can read a bit more of my viewpoint on the subject here.

Some things in life ought to be obvious. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war--or to withhold such a declaration. It does not give anyone the power to conduct ongoing conflicts without a declaration of war.

Dadgummit, either declare war or change your dadgum approach to dealing with the problem!

It is stupid to refer to this conflict as a war on "terror." Terror is a tactic employed by an enemy. Who is our enemy in this struggle? Those who adhere to what some dimwittedly refer to as "radical" Islam--though it is nothing but Islam, period, if you take its scriptures and history at face value. That is how you recruit a jihadist, don't you know: you take a "moderate" Muslim and just convince him that the words mean what they say.

Simmer down. I am not for an instant saying that it is possible to exterminate every radicalized Muslim in the world. All I am saying is that you have to have the (insert Sarah Palin's recent euphemism here) to correctly identify the enemy.

Sooner or later we have to give up this insane idea that we can win societies dedicated to a seventh-century madman's deluded visions over to doing things the way we do. If we don't, we will never lift our eyes high enough to see real solutions.
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