...Gentle Reader will, of course, wish to read the whole thing.
So [summarizing Richard Reich's, late of the Clinton administration, analysis of opposition to the "Ground Zero Mosque"] if some Americans are afraid of people "who have what seem to be strange religions," it must be a totally irrational reaction to "economic insecurity." It couldn't possibly have anything to do with an act of mass murder committed in the name of the religion in question.
And Reich doesn't just fail to see the obvious. He dehumanizes his fellow Americans by treating their values, feelings and opinions as no more than reflexive reactions to material conditions. Americans in fact are a very tolerant people. Even in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, there was no serious backlash against Muslims. What makes them angry--what makes us angry--is the bigotry of the elites.
The Ground Zero mosque is an affront to the sensibilities of ordinary Americans. "The center's association with 9/11 is intentional and its location is no geographic coincidence," as the Associated Press has reported. That Americans would find this offensive is a matter of simple common sense. The liberal elites cannot comprehend common sense, and, incredibly, they think that's a virtue. After all, common sense is so common.
The British philosopher Roger Scruton has coined a term to describe this attitude: oikophobia. Xenophobia is fear of the alien; oikophobia is fear of the familiar: "the disposition, in any conflict, to side with 'them' against 'us', and the felt need to denigrate the customs, culture and institutions that are identifiably 'ours.' " What a perfect description of the pro-mosque left.
...
"The liberal elites cannot comprehend common sense, and, incredibly, they think that's a virtue. After all, common sense is so common." -- that is the heart and soul of 'oikophobia.'
1 comments:
I recently seen Keith Olbermann on MSNBC "where he said that the Muslims who would use the proposed Islamic centre "will have more to fear from us than us from them."
Even though Americans haven't actually attacked Muslims we should just presume they will even if the evidence points to the complete opposite, cause white guys are always the aggressors and minorities are always the victims.
And I not sure what he actually means. Is anyone saying Muslims shouldn't be allowed to build a Mosque here, because the people who will use this specific Mosque are dangerous. No, there saying it is inappropriate to build a Mosque next to a site where there was an act of Islamic aggression and that it will empower and embolden more Islamic aggressors and the Mosque itself will be held up as a sign of victory and as a symbol of the Islamic conquest of the West.
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