What Will They Think Of Us?
by George W. Cordero
What will they think of us? Of course this is a legitimate question isn’t it? Prudence and reason demand that a nation take into consideration the impact of its actions and the possible consequences. Surely it would be the height of foolishness to act in a manner that would inflame or provoke an Islamic world that we have already caused to hold us in such disdain? We must make an effort to understand and respect the culture of these peoples; otherwise we will be doomed to failure. Every bomb the United States drops on its enemies is but another 100 new volunteers for terrorism, every soldier patrolling the streets of Baghdad is a stain on the honor of Islam that will cause hatred, and with each use of force America takes another step backward in its image as a compassionate global leader.
What will they think of us? This question pours out from the editorial pages of every major newspaper, it can be heard from the mouths of our television broadcasters, and it is the consistent drumbeat of the appeasement faction of our own politicians. These words are insinuated into every discussion concerning America’s war against terrorism, and hover over our every decision. Like a hangman’s noose dangling over our heads, these words act like a ‘grim reaper’ shadowing our every move. But is there really a question being asked here, or is it in reality a moral condemnation masquerading as a question?
Two skyscrapers are obliterated along with nearly 3000 lives, but still we ask, what will they think of us? Americans are beheaded and their bodies desecrated, but still we ask, what will they think of us? Terrorist cells continue to plan murderous attacks against our civilian population, and still we ask, what will they think of us? American soldiers lose their lives engaging an enemy that fights without a single regard for the established rules of warfare, and still we ask, what will they think of us? Almost daily the religious leaders of our enemy pronounce edicts for jihad, and still we ask, what will they think of us? A theocratic Iran ruled by hate-filled fanatics flaunts its desire for a nuclear capability, and still we ask, what will they think of us?
But why, why is this question posed to us and in the manner that it is? What is being implied, and is there a moral judgment being made with these words? I suggest to you that the question is posed to us in order to imply that we are the morally guilty party, with our enemy a victim simply reacting to our aggression. I suggest to you that the question is an intellectually dishonest one. The implication is loud and clear–America has brought this violence upon herself. Conversely there lurks in the background a condemnation of America's actions, and any possible future actions. Within the context of the current struggle the question is illegitimate–its goal is not prudence or foresight; its goal is to morally disarm.
The question could be a legitimate one, but it is being asked to the wrong people. It is the Islamic leaders who should be slapped with this question on a daily basis, not America. One does not ask an Elliot Ness about to arrest a criminal, what will Al Capone think of him? One does not ask a rational person to take into consideration the feelings of murderers and fanatics. But this is precisely what is being done. And although many well-meaning persons ask the question, the most strident and articulate posers of this question come from those whose motives are far from well meaning. It comes from those within the West itself, from an intelligentsia that began its intellectual war of terror against Western values, long before the Islamic extremists began their physical one.
This is not a trade dispute with Canada, where such a question would be valid. It is a conflict between civilizations. One that has codified into law a system to protect the unalienable rights of all of its citizen with the pursuit of their own happiness as the highest virtue, and one that views human beings as inherently depraved, a chattel to be ruled over and controlled in every manner. It is a war of ideas: political freedom vs. tyranny, religious tolerance vs. zealotry, reason vs. mysticism, capitalism vs. collectivism. The stakes are nothing less than our highest values, and perhaps even our own lives.
History is replete with the carcasses of civilizations that had become so morally uncertain that a primitive, but committed, foe was able to vanquish them. The analogies are endless, but in all of them there is a common thread: the more advanced civilization being undermined from within. And so too, the current conflict that America is waging will put to the test at which stage of our development are we. Are we still a young, vibrant, and virile nation whose vast repository of reason and courage will see us through? Or are we a nation in its death throes, a dying civilization sabotaged from within and under siege from the outside?
What will they think of us? It is a question that should be asked, asked as a hypothetical to a posterity that will inherent the fruit of our actions, or inaction.
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