The Western Disease

[alchemize]

I don't usually post conservative opinion articles, but after some of the tripe that has been posted as topics lately, this superb article deserves mention.

The Western Disease - The strange syndrome of our guilt and their shame.

Some good snippets for the lazy that remind me of several threads here:

Our Western intellectuals are sheltered orchids who are naïve about the world beyond their upscale hothouses. The Western disease of deductive fury at everything the West does provides a sort of psychological relief (without costs) for apparent guilt over privileged circumstances. It is such a strange mixture of faux-populism and aristocratic snobbery. They believe only a blessed few such as themselves have the requisite education or breeding to understand the ?real? world of Western pathologies and its victims.

To sum up the Arab street: It appears to care not a whit that a native psychopath butchered hundreds of thousands of its own ? only that his anti-American braggadocio was revealed to be a sham to millions and that Americans of all people had to free Iraqis from such a menace. Honor and shame ? the stuff of tribal societies ? matter more than the lives of innocents. If a pundit from Paris was riled that Saddam was not yet advised by an international human-rights lawyer, the masses on the West Bank trumped that concern by lamenting that he had not even machine-gunned an American on his way out ? or indeed done anything to restore Arab tribal pride.

It was the genius of bin Laden, after all, that he suspected after he had incinerated 3,000 Westerners an elite would be more likely to blame itself for the calamity ? searching for ?root causes? than marshalling its legions to defeat a tribe that embraced theocracy, autocracy, gender apartheid, polygamy, anti-Semitism, and religious intolerance.

When Europe frets over the ?Right of Return? do they mean the over half-million Jews who were sent running for their lives from Egypt, Syria, and Iraq? Or do they ever ask why a million Arabs live freely in Israel and another 100,000 illegally have entered the ?Zionist entity?? Does a European ever ask what would happen should thousands of Jews demand ?A Right of Return? to Cairo?

Instead, the elite Westerner talks about ?occupied lands? from which Israel has been attacked four times in the last 60 years ? in a manner that Germans do not talk about an occupied West they coughed up to France or an occupied East annexed by Poland. Russia lectures about Jenin, but rarely its grab of Japanese islands. Turkey is worried about the West Bank, but not its swallowing much of Cyprus. China weighs in about Palestinian sovereignty but not the entire culture of Tibet; some British aristocrats bemoan Sharon?s supposed land grab, but not Gibraltar.

 

[maluckey]

Good article....

I might add that the most of Western ideals that we (maybe my age is showing) grew up with are now changed to that of a spoiled child. The current Westerner only thinks about himself, and rarely considers his own actions and how they might affect others, good or bad. They do not look at both sides of any argument, just as a spoiled child will not. They won't do the hard chores if it is unpopular, just like my eight year old.

 

[sandorski]

fluff

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: sandorski
fluff

Insightful analysis.

 

[sandorski]

Yes, just like the article. He basically does what the others he has condemned has done, that being given an opinion from a We= Good, Them = Bad position. He is preaching to the Choir, just like those he is condemning are doing.

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: sandorski
Yes, just like the article. He basically does what the others he has condemned has done, that being given an opinion from a We= Good, Them = Bad position. He is preaching to the Choir, just like those he is condemning are doing.

Yah not quite as "sexy" as the fascist thread, is it.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: sandorski
Yes, just like the article. He basically does what the others he has condemned has done, that being given an opinion from a We= Good, Them = Bad position. He is preaching to the Choir, just like those he is condemning are doing.

Yah not quite as "sexy" as the fascist thread, is it.

Nope, not even close.

 

[Gravity]

That's a nice compilation. I had to put my ice cream down to focus all my attention on it.

Thanks for the note.

 

[DragonMasterAlex]

The only validity I can find is that we DO have a lot of guilt in Western Culture, and much of it seems to be related to the fact that we're better off than the rest of the world.

I for one REJECT that guilt; we're better off because our founding fathers gave us the right moral grounds to start with, the right governmental system to protect the liberty of our citizens, and the spirit of human creativity and industriousness built the wealth we see today. America is better off because it is built on better ideas and by people who are creative and work hard.

The rest of the world should follow OUR example, not the other way around.

Jason

 

[ReiAyanami]

if it weren't for us, the middle east countries would have nuked each neighbor to the right by now.

kuwait hates iraq hates iran hates saudi arabia, throw in a syria or two and they all hate israel.
as for north/south korea, if it weren't for our presence/backing u can bet china+NK would have steamrollered them a long time ago, likewise if NK didn't slightly have china's backing, we mighta steamrollered them as well.

i think the all nations in the world need to realize that the top nation (currently america), whatever it may be, has to act as the world's policeman for the benefit of the world whether it appreciates it or not, because this is how a few world wars started...

if china becomes the lead country in the next 50 years, then the reponsibility would fall upon them to police the world (shudders) because the biggest economy always has the most to lose from catastrophic globular warfare (nukes, neutrons, bioweaps, WW3 will be the very last).

 

[DragonMasterAlex]

There is definitely some sad truth to what you say. In the case of the middle east, those people are a bunch of bloody, mindless savages who blow each other up for the most STUPID reason in the world: Disagreement about how to worship the Invisible Man in the Sky. Hell, even KINDERGARTNERS fight for better reasons than this tripe!

Yet another reason I support the war in Iraq: Maybe we can infect THOSE people with some of our better ideas, like maybe, Religious Freedom, for example

Jason

 

[chess9]

Alchemize:

Paper and pixels demand re-fills. This is a re-fill for the passionate flag waving right wing who like to be told that burning the American flag is the moral equivalent of killing babies. Since you don't "see" what you are being fed, posting the article says more about you than the author.

On the other hand I like the guy's writing style. Unfortunately, he has no facts to support his creative juice and when you strip away the elegant phraseology you are left with, again from yet another journalist, trite aphorisms.

Oh well, the Mercedez payment must have been due....

-Robert

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: chess9
Alchemize:

Paper and pixels demand re-fills. This is a re-fill for the passionate flag waving right wing who like to be told that burning the American flag is the moral equivalent of killing babies. Since you don't "see" what you are being fed, posting the article says more about you than the author.

On the other hand I like the guy's writing style. Unfortunately, he has no facts to support his creative juice and when you strip away the elegant phraseology you are left with, again from yet another journalist, trite aphorisms.

Oh well, the Mercedez payment must have been due....

-Robert

No facts?

Are you saying.....

1) it wasn't a remarkable military achievement?
2) the 60 countries in Iraq are "hijacking and looting"?
3) the French didn't profit from trade with saddam?
4) Saddam has not killed more muslims than any other?
5) The "arab street" was not upset about him not fighting/killing himself when captured?
6) That the media rarely mentions the total lack of elections in the Arab world?
7) Al Qaida, and islam fundies, don't embrace theocracy, autocracy, gender apartheid, polygamy, anti-Semitism, and religious intolerance?
8) Gays aren't in the Isreali military (openly)?
9) Syria, Yemen, Egypt and Kuwait, "palestine", Saudi Arabia don't abuse/kill their own with regularity?
10) Citizens (including arabs - 1,000,000 of them) in Israel don't have the right to vote?
11) Russia didn't grab Japanese Islands? Turkey didn't swallow Cyprus? China didn't eat Tibet?

 

[Jhhnn]

The author fails to mention the biggest western guilt trip of all- the holocaust generational guilt card, the radical zionist get out of jail free card. It's their shield, their magical talisman, their ultimate excuse.

"Don't look at what we're doing today, look at what your grandfathers allowed to happen to us. STFU, Jew-Haters! Give us more money to rid yourselves of guilt!"

Yeh, as with any affliction, there's always somebody willing to exploit the condition.....

 

[chess9]

The following are demonstrably false:
1., 4., 5., 6.

8 is entirely irrelevant.

The rest are nothing new, and do not support his thesis any better than the rest of his points. The problem with so many political writers is they can't get past their catch phrase or "hook". They get bogged down in irrelevant chit chat and their pet peeves (the article is loaded with the typical buzz words of the right wing) and ignore their premise. Well, he is't the first and won't be the last. I'd suggest he find an English teacher who will make him write tight prose that is ON POINT. By way of example, and just to pick on somebody at random , Tnitsuj always says less rather than more. Whitling (sorry old boy) is also very good at saying more with few words. On balance, I'd rather hear less than more, but sometimes less isn't enough. (Am I starting to sound like Rumsfeld yet? ) After his hook, this guy has almost nothing meaningful to say that hasn't already been said 10,000 times by the talking heads on t.v. and at his mag. These guys would be better off reading Shakespeare than Drudge. Unfortunately, they have an I.V. connected directly to Drudge and the Fox Cartoon Network. Serious drugs are required, I fear.
-Robert

 

[Rmex]

Originally posted by: Jhhnn
The author fails to mention the biggest western guilt trip of all- the holocaust generational guilt card, the radical zionist get out of jail free card. It's their shield, their magical talisman, their ultimate excuse.

"Don't look at what we're doing today, look at what your grandfathers allowed to happen to us. STFU, Jew-Haters! Give us more money to rid yourselves of guilt!"

Yeh, as with any affliction, there's always somebody willing to exploit the condition.....

When did all of the racist Hebrew haters come on Anandtech ?

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: Rmex

Originally posted by: Jhhnn
The author fails to mention the biggest western guilt trip of all- the holocaust generational guilt card, the radical zionist get out of jail free card. It's their shield, their magical talisman, their ultimate excuse.

"Don't look at what we're doing today, look at what your grandfathers allowed to happen to us. STFU, Jew-Haters! Give us more money to rid yourselves of guilt!"

Yeh, as with any affliction, there's always somebody willing to exploit the condition.....

When did all of the racist Hebrew haters come on Anandtech ?

Actually, Israel's "get out of free jail card" is the fact that it is a democracy that has been attacked 4 times in the past 60 years by the dictatorships that surround it , as previously mentioned as previously mentioned. Even France with it's socialist-democracy and US hatred would find friends in the US again if they were attacked.

But anti-semitism is now sheik again, haven't you noticed? After all, we all know palestine would be better represented under Allah by a pillar of democracy such as Arafat.

 

[DragonMasterAlex]

Even France with it's socialist-democracy and US hatred would find friends in the US again if they were attacked.

I like to think we WOULDN'T help France again, but you're probably right. I saw a cool bumper sticker awhile back that said "The next time we have a world war, the loser has to keep France" LOL.

Of course, all you have to do to take control of France is send them a threatening letter folded into the shape of a bomber plane, heh

Jason

 

[chess9]

Hey! THe next time you need the flu vaccine, don't ask France.

The criticisms of Israel I read above are not anti-Semitic. I don't believe the primary poster is that low.

I have almost nothing but love for Israel, but under Sharon. ugh.....

Please, in this holiday season, let's not assume that everyone is terrible.

Peace and love is ok. Tolerance is ok.

I've been drinking quite a bit of wine, which I almost never do, so if this doesn't make sense, too bad.
I'm giving a party for my Bush supporters and my anti-bush supporters and everyone is having a good time. Cohen is not beating up O'Reilly. At least not yet. A few more bottles of Riesling and who knows.....

Bless everyone and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Robert