Is it only political correctness?

Submitted by Jason Pappas (United States), Feb 10, 2005 at 12:56

Many of your letter writers have noted the difficulty we have facing the threat of Islamism and the culprit is said to be political correctness. But, why is it political correctness? I see the "kid glove" treatment of our Islamic enemy across the political spectrum. Political correctness is something invented by the left.

Why do conservatives have a hard time facing the religious nature of our enemy? They were able to ignore the politically correct left when the left condemned anti-Communists as more of a threat than Communism itself. Glib charges of McCarthyism didn't stop the hard-hitting condemnation of Communism as the evil it is. Indeed, the ferocity of conservative opposition to "Godless communism" is in stark contrast to the tepid hand-wringing bend-over-backwards treatment when it comes to jihadists.

Sure, there are exceptions among conservatives just as there were Scoop Jackson Democrats. However, something is different this time and the conservatives – ecumenical intellectual conservative leaders – can't seem to muster and maintain the ferocity of opposition against Islamism as they previously did in the Cold War against Communism. Ever wonder why?

Now, I know some of your readers will point to the sharp difference between the appeasement posture of the far left (or even outright support for the Islamists) and today's Republican Party. Yes, it can be much worse. But why hold the bar so low for a positive comparison? We need an intellectual defense, in absolute terms, as much as we need a military defense. We need more than one Daniel Pipes or one Robert Spencer.

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