Liberalism in the Face of the Apocalypse

When people ask me if I'm more liberal or conservative I'll generally say the former. I believe that all people should have equal rights in a society if they pay their taxes and respect their countrymen. I think that women should be able to choose if their first term pregnancy should be able to run its course and that if two people of the same sex want their legal union to be called "marriage" then our society won't face problems of rampant polygamy and bestiality 10 years down the road. I believe in free speech and all those other rights and freedoms in the Canadian Charter of Human Rights.

The point where my liberalism reaches its limits is when we talk about foreign and internal entities who disrespect the "immoral" views that I hold so dear because it offends their own cultural values. It is no great generalization for me to say that these entities all share one common belief system which we all know as Radical Islam.

I am by no means intolerant of the Muslim faith. I AM intolerant of any faith that interprets its holy texts (written in different millennia) to justify intolerance of human rights and respect for other cultures. At their fundamentalist extremes, Judaism and Christianity have the potential to be as dangerous as radical Islam (just look at the KKK and the Kahane Chai organizations respectively for examples of Judeo-Christianity gone wild). The difference is that in this day and age, as much as Republican Middle America tries to hold back such threatening progressions as legalized gay marriage, abortion rights and the metric system, the mainstream Christian culture still guarantees all American citizens certain basic rights and respect. Even the Vatican has made major steps into the 21st century by apologizing for its oppression of Jews over the centuries and cracking down on inappropriate conduct in its clergy.

The case is very different with countries who base their law on the Quaran. After the optimistic atmosphere of progress and a movement towards rights in Iran under the Khatami government, the populace votes in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to fulfill the Ayatollahs' agenda of taking Iran back into the stone age in terms of human rights and relations with the West. Likewise, Lebanon's great strides to liberate itself from the oppressive control of Syria and their local agents Hezbollah were derailed with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri last year. Along with the Saudi (and other OPEC sourced) oil money that is funding all of these groups is the problem that democracy in the Arab world is a farce. Generally, when given the opportunity to elect their government representatives, Arab populations have voted for the parties with the strongest armies and the most violent anti-West agendas. (We have to question the Palestinian desire for peace after Hamas - an organization recognized as a terrorist group by Canada whose main platform is the destruction of Israel - won an overwhelming victory in this year's Palestinian Authority election over the relatively moderate and dovish Fatah).

The situation is not much better in Western countries. Immediately after the 7/7 bombings of the London transit system last year, a poll of British Muslim citizens yielded some scary results. To summarize, "more than half of British Muslims want Islamic law and 5% endorse violence to achieve that end." The situation is similar if not worse in most of Europe where growing Muslim populations cultivated by the EU's extensive mobility rights (ie immigrants to any EU country can settle in any other EU country). I consider the Muhammad cartoon scandal in Denmark to be one of the most effective terrorist attacks orchestrated by radical Islam and its proponents. Denmark's rapidly growing and increasingly politically active population caused such concern that one of the world's most receptive countries to immigration felt compelled to start a campaign limiting Muslim immigration. The situation is far scarier in France where race riots broke out last year and Jewish citizens are scared to identify themselves as such for fears of beatings or worse.

The problems are exacerbated by the impotency of the United Nations. In the UN, more resolutions are passed against Israel for human rights violations than against Sudan, China, Iran and North Korea combined. Meanwhile, Israel (while far from perfect) guarantees its citizens a bundle of rights that is basically equivalent to those enjoyed by the most liberal Western Democracies, as illustrated by Gay Pride Parades in downtown Jerusalem and the proportional representation of Arab parties in the Israeli Knesset. The reason for this is that the Arab bloc in the UN spends more time passing resolutions against Israel than it does paying attention to the dismal reports that UNICEF and other humanitarian bodies are lodging against their own countries.

So now when looking at the current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah it is extremely hard for me to characterize the Israeli offensive as "disproportionate" as I have comfortably characterized the US offensive against Iraq. Israel launched the offensive to recover two soldiers who were kidnapped during a Hezbollah incursion onto Israeli soil. Israel has not had a military presence in Lebanon for 6 years and was making great headway in strengthening relations with Saad Hariri's Lebanese government. Meanwhile, Hezbollah and its charismatic leader Hassan Nasrallah have committed their selves to their mantra of "Death to Israel". There is no two state solution as far as Hamas, Hezbollah and their compatriots are concerned. The free Palestinian state that they envisage will follow the agenda began by Nasser and Arafat to "throw the Jews into the sea" and establish Palestine on all of the land they now occupy. These groups do not protest Israel's treatment of Palestinian refugees. They protest Israel's very existence.

The current offensive was launched by Israel to recover it's kidnapped soldiers, Eldad Regev, 26 and Ehud Goldwasser, 31. Israel's zeal to recover kidnapped soldiers is no secret to her enemies - Hezbollah need look no further than Israel's powerful incursions into Gaza to recover 19 year old Gilad Shalit less than 3 weeks ago. Israel initially promised to cease its bombing of Lebanon the moment their boys are released - even now they are promising to return to the negotiation table if their soldiers are returned. Hezbollah has had the power to stop the rain of Israeli bombs from its very beginning but has not done so. The committed fighters of Hezbollah may be willing to die for their cause, but they never got any confirmation of that dedication from the innocent Lebanese civilians (including members of a Canadian family who were visiting relatives in Beirut) who are dying every day for a cause they do not necessarily support. The blood of all these Lebanese innocents are on Hizbullah's hands as is that of the innocent Israelis who have perished in the constant barrage of rockets raining down on northern Israel.

And the world, for once (!), is supporting Israel rather than condemning it. Israel has vowed to totally liquidate Hizbullah's infrastructure as is necessary to protect its citizens. If the Lebanese government and its army were able and willing to do that job, I am sure that Israel would gladly allow them to clean up their own mess (the offensive is costing Israel around 200 million NIS per day) but right now Israel's is the only army willing and able to take on such an offensive. Prime Minister Ehud Omert recently asserted that unless they involve themselves, Israel will not attack Syria or Iran for fear of destabilizing the region. Right now, we just have to wait and see if Syria will just watch it's controlling influence in Lebanon wither away under Israel's fire of retribution. The involvement of Syria and Iran in the wake of their ally North Korea's recent defiant rocket tests has me realistically considering Newt Gingrich's recent observation that World War III has already begun.

I applaud Stephen Harper's strong stance in support of Israel as it fights the good fight in a microcosm of the war that I believe we may all be drawn into when the leaders of Radical Islam the world over, decide that it is time to launch the ultimate jihad and the radicalized Muslim citizens of Western countries choose their loyalties.

Yes, I am a self-described liberal when I consider the rights that I and my countrymen should enjoy and the respect that my government should have for its citizens. However, I am proud that I had the foresight and the international perspective that prompted me to vote for the Conservative party in the last federal election. The thought of a Liberal or NDP government condemning Israel for an entirely justified war is enough to make me gag in disgust and anger.

I believe that every person who considers themselves a proponent of democracy and human rights owes Israel its allegiance in its current war. If they can not echo my unconditional support of Israel's hardline approach, they must at least tacitly acknowledge the right of a democratic nation to protect its citizenry against attack from those who have vowed to destroy them and their way of life.

God Bless Israel. Am Yisrael Chai.