Submitted by John Spencer Yantiss, Aug 7, 2008 15:11

I venture to say that the key to understanding the perversion of liberal elements in Western societies is double-toothed. One sentence in your editorial succinctly, if subtlely, sets forth one edge: "It may be that Hamdan came to realize the ghastly implications of his minor deeds; it was reported that as the verdict was brought in, he wept." Many in the materially blessed West live in a true la-la land of delusion, apparently coasting along through life as if the mortal struggles that engage many in the world are either purely fictional, or romantic adventures in far-flung regions of the world. Insulated from the actuality of armed conflict, severe deprivation, and intense oppression, most Westerners are completely oblivious of the real struggles that confront most of humanity on a daily basis. Caught up in worries about whether their selection of goods is wide enough, or the cost of fuel will allow cross-country jaunts, they have no conception of what it means to struggle to survive, or to live in a society/nation which suppresses basic individual freedoms. They are free pursue the most extreme behaviours and precepts, free because they live in societies that allow dissent, and feel under no obligation to fight the forces that would kill such liberties. The second edge is the most vile, and that is the goal of in fact undermining the very principles and processes which allow the freedoms which give them the liberty to dissent. It is just such a goal which fostered Naziism, "Communism" (though there has never been a true such system, just as there has never been, and can never be a pure democracy--neither is workable), Baathism, radical Islamic fundamentalism, and ad infinitum. Such "liberals" are not liberals at all, but masquerading totalitarians.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.