04 July, 2007

A Father Speaks Out

I caught this on Real Clear Politics, damn. The article is brutally honest. That kind of brutality that makes people nervous to hear and ashamed to on the wrong side of.
Here are the last few paragraphs, I recommend you read all of it.

Moral relativism and A Mighty Heart. Back to Focus
by Judea Pearl, father of Daniel Pearl

Drawing a comparison between Danny's murder and the detainment of suspects in Guantánamo is precisely what the killers wanted, as expressed in both their e-mails and the murder video. Obviously Winterbottom did not mean to echo their sentiments, and certainly not to justify their demands or actions. Still, I am concerned that aspects of his movie will play into the hands of professional obscurers of moral clarity.

Indeed, following an advance screening of A Mighty Heart, a panelist representing the Council on American-Islamic Relations reportedly said, "We need to end the culture of bombs, torture, occupation, and violence. This is the message to take from the film." The message that angry youngsters are hearing is unfortunate: All forms of violence are equally evil; therefore, as long as one persists, others should not be ruled out. This is precisely the logic used by Mohammed Siddiqui Khan, one of the London suicide bombers, in his videotape on Al Jazeera. "Your democratically elected government," he told his British countrymen, "continues to perpetrate atrocities against my people ... . [W]e will not stop."


Danny's tragedy demands an end to this logic. There can be no comparison between those who take pride in the killing of an unarmed journalist and those who vow to end such acts--no ifs, ands, or buts. Moral relativism died with Daniel Pearl, in Karachi, on January 31, 2002.

There was a time when drawing moral symmetries between two sides of every conflict was a mark of original thinking. Today, with Western intellectuals overextending two-sidedness to reckless absurdities, it reflects nothing but lazy conformity. What is needed now is for intellectuals, filmmakers, and the rest of us to resist this dangerous trend and draw legitimate distinctions where such distinctions are warranted.
Just let the words sink in. Think about what he is saying. These may be the most profound and honest words written during this War on Terror.

3 comments:

Brooke said...

Mr. Pearl is an astute man, whom we would do well to listen to.

WomanHonorThyself said...

I read reviews that the movie is beyond liberal..seein angelina is in it and doesnt do D. Pearl justice at all!

Anonymous said...

why is it always "Our fault"
Never blame the real louse.

Kissinger Doing the Weather

Kissinger Doing the Weather
Back in the early 90s, I awoke with a wicked hang over one morning. As I sat on the floor watching the morning news, I swore I saw Harold Kissinger doing the weather. No one believed me. Professors discounted me. I have been vindicated.
      
Marriage is love.

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