printThe following is an excerpt from my new WND.COM column, “Media’s Sickening Sentimentality On Egypt”:
“… I’ve finally figured out what it was that repulsed me so about American opinion-makers’ slobbering response to [the revolt that began in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, and swept the Egyptian president, Mohammed Hosni Mubarak, from office.]
It was not so much that the media ignored the likely possibility that democracy in a country that has become progressively more Islamic since the 1950s might not have a happy ending.
It was not that the media pretended that the Muslim Brotherhood, also the “best organized opposition force in the country,” would not field a viable presidential candidate.
It was not that, in their jubilation, Anderson Cooper (CNN), Neil Cavuto (Fox News) and Christiane Amanpour (ABC) failed to mention the precedent set in Lebanon, where Hezbollah has deployed the democratic process to get the better of the country’s Maronite Christians.
It was not even the fact that the journalistic imperative to provide nuance, detail, and an economic and historic backdrop to the unfolding events was replaced, by the journalistic jet-set, with the telegenic drama of the man on the street.
None of this bothered me as much as the patronizing position these American reporters adopted; the neat bifurcation they managed to maintain between “Us” (the “free” men and women of America) and “Them” (those pathetic, shackled Egyptians).
The fact is that the heroic movement for democracy in Egypt dovetails with an ongoing flirtation with fascism in the U.S.; the twilight of individual sovereignty in the U.S. contrasts with its rise in Egypt. …
Read the complete column, “Media’s Sickening Sentimentality On Egypt,” now on WND.COM.
UPDATE I (Feb. 18): To the letter writer below: I am not a conspiracy theorist. Here is a post that explains why conspiracy is usually irrational.
“The premise for imputing conspiracies to garden variety government evils is this: government generally does what is good for us (NOT), so when it strays, we must look beyond the facts—for something far more sinister, as if government’s natural venality and quest for power were not enough to explain events. For example, why would one need to search for the “real reason” for an unjust, unscrupulous war, unless one believed government would never prosecute an unjust war. History belies that delusion.” …
UPDATE II (Feb 19): Daine: No; there are no conspiratorial. What we have are The Takers-–tax consumers—who want the Makers—the so-called rich—to support their parasitical life style. And the Über-parasites, the politicians, who make the most of this human nature.
Astute column!
Ilana, you just don’t appreciate American exceptionalism. Unlike a DICTATORSHIP like Egypt where a Hosni Mubarak tries to install his son Gamal in power, America is a DEMOCRACY where Daddy Bush helps Sonny Bush and Herr Clinton helps Frau Clinton. Unlike a DICTATORSHIP where elections are just farcical, the American people get a MEANINGFUL CHOICE between:
a Republican who bails out General Motors, continue the Wars on Drugs/Iraqis/Afghans, mandate Archer Daniels Midland, inflate the currency with Goldman-Sachs-Fed, and subsidize home ownership …. VERSUS
a Democrat who bails out General Motors, continue the Wars on Drugs/Iraqis/Afghans, mandate Archer Daniels Midland ethanol, inflate the currency with Goldman-Sachs-Fed, and subsidize home ownership
Besides, the media is full of aging baby boomers who remembers the “Strike Now End Finals” days of Kent State 1970 (Nixon “liberated” me from Organic Chemistry, Differential Equations, and Special Relativity) – Street demonstrations are certainly more exciting for TV ratings than some soporific budget hearing about some “budget freeze” that is “projected” to save a whopping 62 Billion bucks over 10 years….zzzz.
It’s not like America has leaders who imprison people without trials, conduct warrantless searches, equate dissent with “treason”, or have people tortured in Egypt!
Aren’t there some Christian factions aligned with Hezbollah? It’s baffling to me but it appears to be the case.
I agree with almost everything you wrote, since I wrote something similar in an email to the news media yesterday; except, if I recall correctly, you oppose the idea that Obama is an illegitimate President, not a natural born citizen, and the idea that the United States Government orchestrated and conducted the 9-11 attacks. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering, with years of structural steel analysis experience, and I and many other Engineers believe that the World Trade Center buildings were destroyed by pre-installed explosive demolition devices, pre-installed by an explosive demolition company associated with the Bush family, and with the complicity of the building owners, unwilling to pay millions of dollars for the then existing asbestos problem cleanup. And of course, the post 9-11 event coverup by the establishment news media. I support the TEA party conservatives, and wish they could overthrow the lying and treasonous United States Government, by twitter revolution, or any other type of revolution. If only all the Republicans were TEA party conservatives, instead of the otherwise cowardly RINO Republicans.
A thousand “Bravos” Ilana, for expressing these “forbidden thoughts”. The U.S. erects a garrison, Soviet-style surveillance welfare state, while the sheep practically beg for their chains.
On the current path, it’s impossible for this experiment to end well, but we’ll still encourage other countries to join us on the road to regulatory democracy hell.
There’s a real disconnect “out there”. I recall Tea Party protest signs in my town along the lines of “Cut taxes and Spending” juxtaposed with “Hands off my Social Security and Medicare”.
Could it be many Americans are more in love with the idea of liberty than actually living it?
Hi Ilana,
As always, you have hit the truth right between the eyes. The slavish acceptance of the Nazi-like gropers of the TSA and the “adulation” given to the most dangerous president ever, who is deliberately destroying the US financially proves that we are worse off than Egypt. As to the “conspiracy” of the World Trade Center destruction, simply watch the “controlled” collapse of both towers. Then watch ANY planned demolition of a skyscraper. The similarity is beyond chance. Had the trade center buildings collapsed from the melting steel girders both buildings would have fallen sideways since neither plane hit dead center. Even if they had, the collapse wouldn’t have been so perfectly vertically “controlled.” With that said, there is still no doubt the aircraft hijacking and attacks were carried out by Islamic Terrorists. The sad truth, is that even before the Bush regime was elected, the FBI KNEW that Islamics were taking large jet aircraft training without wanting to learn to land them. Wouldn’t ya THINK that might be suspicious??
Why do people believe that the government is COMPETENT enough to pull off any conspiracy? The government that cannot even remove some snow in DC is going to send airplanes into buildings with the location and time of the collisions correlated with pre-planned controlled detonations!
In fact, many events of history (like Pearl Harbor, etc.) are subject to two interpretations: (1) the government is just incredibly incompetant and one hand does not know what the other hand is doing OR (2) the government is extremely competent and deliberately planned and executed an elaborate scheme as IF it were idiotic. I go with # (1).
Hello Ilana,
If I were a “sexist”, I might ask, “how can a woman be so correct?” But
since I’m an “individual-responsibiltist and equal opportunist”, I’ll just
say, “thank you for another well written and thought out article.”
It reminds me of a book Larken Rose wrote/published recently, “The Most
Dangerous Superstition”, where the idea of “authority and government” ARE
the only problems that stifle “Liberty and Justice for ALL!”
I don’t know if you’re familiar with the book, or even if you’d like to be,
but it can be found at: http://www.larkenrose.com
Larken and his wife both spent time in a “Federal-Hotel” for taking a stand
for individual endowments and Liberty.
Thank you again Ilana for your forthrightness and courage of convictions.
Daine
Myron I completely agree with you on the government competency argument!
Hey Mike and Myron, thanks for your contributions. the 2 possibilities Myron puts forth have merit…AND…since there are two-sides to every coin, allow me to “test” #2 with this: Perhaps both 1&2 come under a “larger-umbrella” than just “government” in its classical sense. Perhaps there is (an almost unknown in terms of numbers of people of the world) a “Global-Elitist” (behind the scene) Functionary pulling all the strings of “government” for the purpose of “controlling-the-masses” and thus “the world.” There are any number of names we could apply…but basically the Banking-Cartel controlled by a few (namely 12 families)a few would win whichever way it went, and keep the world’s population “fighting” and away from UNITY! Just a Thought!
[Sorry to be a nag, but please read the Posting Policy, the part about a spell check and punctuation.]
If Myron Pauli is intelligent enough for Differential Calculus and Special Relativity, I would think he would be intelligent enough to understand that the general stupidity of Government does not preclude extremely intelligent small factions of conspiracy within Government, especially in the Military, where many of the top level Military have Engineering degrees, and furthermore, that explosive demolition of the World Trade Center buildings was performed by a commercial subcontractor with established expertise. I suppose Myron would say the the US Government was too stupid to be able to put men on the Moon.
For anyone who is curious, Robert Stinnett proved in “Day of Deceit” that FDR sought to provoke the Japanese into attacking Pearl, and that he knew as events unfolded that the “surprise attack” would be carried forth. There is no reasonable doubt about this.
In a similar vein, David Griffin has written several books that deal carefully with facts surrounding the 911 murders. Again, Griffin proves, beyond reasonable doubt, that the US government had to be involved.
I recently read an article online by some journalist who claimed the rioting Egyptians were “just like us Americans.” Well, yes, they are human beings (at least physically), but I’m sure the writer meant ideologically. Then Lara Logan was attacked. We’ve all seen how some American idiots react on the streets when their team loses (or wins!) Yes, Americans can get a bit ugly, too. But I believe most Americans would have stepped in to save Ms. Logan’s life, just as those Egyptian soldiers and a group of women did. I know I would have done so! Trying to shove Americans into the same gutter as all the Muslim countries is just another progressive ploy that they’re wearing out. Progressives are the ones with an unreasonable and destructive agenda. They are the ideological ones, but they won’t rest until they’ve convinced all Americans that we’re just like them. AND WE ARE NOT! A true American patriot doesn’t lie every time he or she opens his or her mouth. A true American patriot has a conscience and is honest and honorable.
As for conspiracies, I recently had a conversation with another WND columnist who adamantly opposed any possibility of a conspiracy within our government. I explained that I actually agreed with him. Most people think “conspiracy” means a bunch of spies and murderous henchmen sneaking around behind our backs, plotting to overthrow our government and our way of life with intrigue and secrecy, when it basically means an agreement between two or more factions to perform an illegal, treacherous or evil act. A conspiracy doesn’t necessarily have to be covert. Obama and his twenty thieves — AKA “czars” — is anything BUT covert in the way they’re destroying our economy and our nation! Obama says whatever he thinks Americans — dumbed-down or otherwise — will believe. All we have to do is watch what he does, NOT listen to what he says, and we’ll be way ahead of the game.
Mark – the part of the Pearl Harbor theory that has always remained unproven is that the Navy DELIBERATELY stopped a message from warning Pearl Harbor. Knowing how efficiently the Navy acts, let me reassure you that that message is still propagating through the system and will get to warn Hawaii any year now!
The basic premise of Stinett is fine. It is these convoluted conspiracies that I do not buy into.