Bad faith

Tiny warms up on Goomp's terrace last weekend preparatory to field exercises designed to rid her world of the enemies of freedom (read field mice, squirrels, chipmunks, small birds, insects).

"The tone of condescending smugness, however, is identical," writes Stephen of Horsefeathers in a tour de force deconstruction of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's preachy, holier-than-thou letter to the Leader of the Free World, locating the enemies of freedom both within and outside of the gates:

Horsefeathers finds Liberal aversion to religion -- with the politically correct exception of Islam -- amusing. This is because we regard contemporary Liberalism as itself a primitive faith, having much in common with Islam. . . . Where can we find the origins of such primitive belief systems? The clue lies in the childlike modes of thinking they manifest, which resemble the everyday thought processes of the very young. Horsefeathers would therefore call Liberalism and Jihadi Islam religions of arrested development.

Exactly, as we've written here, early and often. A couple of examples of our own similar sentiments from these pages:

Benjamin perceptively identifies the liberal project with the intolerance of religious fanaticism. In their blind hatred of the West -- and particularly the Great Satan -- the Chomskyites and Islamic extremists are not far apart . . .

"From a psychological and anthropological point of view, what kind of culture produces human bombs, glorifies mass murderers, and supports humiliation-based revenge?" asks Phyllis Chesler in a FrontPage article. We would suggest it is a culture of arrested development.

Stephen continues:

True believers in each are impervious to rational argumentation and become enraged and belligerent when their beliefs are challenged. Their shared craving for power over the lives of their fellow human beings is palpable, as is their fascination with and yearning to submit to tyrants (see Jimmy Carter) or to the will of Allah . . .They're so convinced of their righteousness that it becomes a moral duty to convert or destroy those who disagree.

As for that letter to President Bush:

Were it not so serious, Mr. Ahmadinejad's letter would be a laugh out loud funny appropriation of the Western therapeutic mode of thought. At one point it reads like a letter from the President of the American Psychiatric Association, rather than the President of Iran. "For some years now", he writes, "the people of your country and neighbors of world trouble spots do not have peace of mind. After 9.11, instead of healing and tending to the emotional wounds of the survivors and the American people -- who had been immensely traumatized by the attacks -- some Western media only intensified the climate of fear and insecurity -- some constantly talked about the possibility of new terror attacks and kept the people in fear.

"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter reads like it came out of the DNC, filtered through the New York Times editorial board," writes Stephen, echoing our own thoughts earlier this week when the letter first burst upon the scene, eliciting the same-old, same-old responses from the usual suspects. Be sure to head over to Horsefeathers and treat yourself to the whole thing.

Update:  "The Iranian President should get his own blog," quips blogdaughter Pat of Pat's Pond in the comments:

By the time I'd read through the letter, I was checking to be sure the translation wasn't a deliberate parody or spoof.

Another similarity between adherents of the liberal project and religious fanaticism: Unwitting humor. More good thoughts from blogpal Teresa of Technicalities:

What's funny is that they don't seem to realize they've only replaced one religion with another. What's scary is how very stupid they can be in following this religion.

Our species would appear to be hardwired for faith. The actual stuff of our belief? All over the map. Tolerance? At least as hard to find as an honest man.

Comments

[pb]

By the time I'd read through the letter, I was checking to be sure the translation wasn't a deliberate parody or spoof.

I thought it was a scream. The Iranian President should get his own blog.

[Teresa]

Excellent post Sissy. Thanks for the link to Horsefeathers.

The libs do have a religion (Communism) and high priests (MSM and Hollywood elites). And, just like when I was growing up and was told - these are the "rules of the Catholic Church", there is no questioning them - they make the rules and change them according their own whims. If we don't follow along - we are heretics and must be stoned accordingly.

What's funny is that they don't seem to realize they've only replaced one religion with another. What's scary is how very stupid they can be in following this religion.

Let's hope the rational side can eventually win out.

[goomp]

Let us hope that the Iranian President's letter alerts the poorly informed people of the true nature of our dangerous enemy. You and your blogger friends are to be commended for helping this to come true.