THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume V, Issue # 70, March 17, 2003
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
LIBERAL LEFTISTS & THE WAR WITH IRAQ: LIBERAL LEFTISTS
PUT THEIR FINGERS TO THE WIND
By Paul Walfield
How can you be true to your "convictions," against a war," and still be a loyal, patriotic American?
Well, you let everyone know that when the shooting starts, you will do a 180, and be for the war, er, the troops. Being a Liberal has to be the hardest job in America, as opposed to being a Liberal in Europe, which has to be the easiest job on the planet.
In the U.S.A., after spitting on the Bush administration's efforts to secure the homeland, scoffing at the idea of individual initiatives thwarting terrorist activities, or damning the President as being a greater threat to world peace than Saddam Hussein, you need to project a semblance of patriotism, which is quite difficult when you belong to the same group that believes that the benefits of waving the American flag are outweighed by the offense it might bring to others. It really can be a tough row to hoe.
While it is true that some of the "loyal opposition" have ostensibly jumped ship and declare they believe war is just against the madman Hussein, if you scratch the surface of most of most of them, the Liberal comes shining out.
At one end of the bell curve there are those who truly have seen the light and realize they were wrong all their lives and, whether their realization was due to Colin Powell's speech at the UN or some Divine intervention, they now see the "cowboy" George Dubya as their knight in shining armor.
Then there is the not-at-all silent majority of Liberals. Some famous, most not, these Liberals proclaim their patriotism is exhibited by their vehement opposition to going to war against Iraq. They see the world through multinational glasses and naturally drift to the Franco-German school of world affairs. If "old Europe" is unafraid of the threat Saddam poses to the world, or more particularly to the United States of America, they defer to the wisdom, knowledge, and insight from either the folks who slaughtered more people in a seven year period than the plague, or the people (French) who, even after getting hit across the head with a two-by-four (the takeover of Czechoslovakia), didn't see the slaughter coming.
The American Liberal, or as they prefer, the "elite," walk a fine line in their pursuit of European acceptance (France, Germany, and, of course, the USSR, um, Russia, though they still pine for the good old days). In order for a true Liberal to remain in good standing, they must continue to talk the party line, but they must also maintain their credibility here in the U.S.A..
They have to be against President Bush, and that means against everything he does, says or contemplates, and against anything that can be imagined as something he will do, say, or contemplate. They need to be against American hegemony, expansion, or even its strengthening.
So, you do what any other self respecting hypocrite would do--play both sides against the middle. You are against the war, unless the war starts. You are against the President, until he becomes Commander in Chief and not just on paper, and you deplore the vio- lence of war until the U.S.A. installs a free and democratic constitutional government in a liberated Iraq.
In effect, you have remained on the high ground, or, rather, on your high horse. You hate war. You hate America because of its arrogance, bullying, and unfairness. Yet, you sup- port a winner, in the event America wins on your terms, terms you can change depending on the direction in which the wind blows.
According to a February 19, 2003, article in Slate, Henry J. Aaron, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute (a bastion of Liberal ideology), is for a war against Iraq, so long as America "follows up what we all hope would be a quick victory with the determination to help stabilize the resulting political situation and support a transition to a representative government. Failure to follow up a military victory with patience and tenacity could easily convert a shortterm success into a longterm calamity." How convenient. He says war is good so long as everything works out ok. Otherwise, what? He is against it? Talk about playing both sides.
Then there is Eric Alterman, a columnist for The Nation (a magazine that is slightly to the Left of, well, the Left) who says, "I will support it once it begins, as a patriot, and in the belief that a quick victory will result in the most minimal loss of life, I continue to oppose its commencement." Mr. Alterman lists a slew of reasons as to why he is against the war actually starting. Some of the reasons listed even appear to be made with the deep and unbending conviction of the Liberal soul.
However, if the shooting starts, all that heart felt angst goes bye-bye and Mr. Alterman waves the flag and yells "follow me boys." Actually, still being a Liberal, he probably doesn't say "boys," but rather "people," and he doesn't really mean "follow" him, as he will no doubt be watching the action from the comfort of his living room.
To be sure, there are Liberals who, for all their idealism and aversion to reality, have determined that Saddam and his regime needs to be taken out by force.
Then there are Liberals who simply haven't a clue, and being true to their delusions of a grander world than there is, see tyrants and threats to human existence as nothing more than the delusion of others. The defeat and elimination of the tyrants and aggressors constitute the real "threat," rather than the tyrants and aggressors that are being de- feated and eliminated.
Most Liberals realize that war against Iraq is inevitable. With this realization, some Liberals see a need to cover their bases, some switch sides without blinking an eye, and some stick to their idealism.
What is important is that it really doesn't matter what Liberals do or think. What mat- ters is what America does.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, & Other Leftists
The Middle East & the Problem of Iraq
Page Two
Page One
The Problem of Rogue States:
Iraq as a Case History
The Middle East & the Arabs
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Paul Walfield is a freelance writer and member of the State Bar of California, with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and post-graduate study in behavioral and analyt- ical psychology. He resided for a number of years in the small town of Houlton, Maine, and is now a California attorney. His articles appear in numerous periodicals and on numerous websites. CONTACT INFORMATION: Email: paul.walfield@cox.net
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity