Blindness

Every day, I try to spend some time reading left-leaning commentary on the WoT, Iraq, and now, the broadening conflict in the ME. Whether its op-ed in the NY Times (e.g., Bob Herbert, Paul Krugman, or MoDo), the BBC, or the rantings presented as thoughtful commentary via DailyKos, it fascinates me how all of this is: (1) the fault of a corrupt Bush administration, and/or (2) corrupt corporate interests (Haliburton comes to mind), and/or (3) America’s “thuggish” interaction with the rest of the world, and/or (in Senator Christopher Dodd's words) our inability to "engage" our allies and enemies (under the Bush administration). When the transgressions of the Islamofascists are noted, they are often attributed to oppression (by us), poverty, etc., etc.

I present the following comment by Wretchard, author of the The Belmont Club without further expansion. He does a far better job than I of discussing this phenomenon—something that I believe is akin to observational blindness.

It's not his [Robert Fisk an Angry-left writer] fault that the West can never draw the appropriate conclusions. Faced with categorical declarations that they will be exterminated, converted, enslaved and beheaded the most sophisticated thinkers in the West look for nuance. They don't really believe those threats, however explicit, however open. Even when huge skyscrapers come tumbling down it's understood in terms of installation art. Someone is sending a message. What could it be? Maybe, like Moussaoui, the senders simply had a bad childhood and really need someone who understands them. And that's exactly who they need: someone who understands them. A lesser mortal who will painstakingly write down in pencil, word by word, just exactly what Osama bin Laden and Ahmadinejad have been uttering all these years and who will look up from his paper and say, "you know boss, I think they want to kill us".