Is it possible a couple of enduring myths perpetrated primarily by the left were shattered on the same day? Consider such a premise as it relates to the release of terrorist Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
First myth shattered: life in prison actually means life in prison. In previous columns, I have mentioned that I am against the death penalty–yet support it without reservation. The release of al-Megrah demonstrates exactly why. A thug responsible for murdering 270 people, a man who has never offered up an ounce of remorse for this monstrous atrocity, gets freed from jail because he is suffering from terminal prostate cancer and only has months to live.
Why? Compassion. Apparently there is something hard-wired in the brains of bleeding heart types which completely over-rides common sense and common decency. It is the idea that no one truly deserves to die in jail, regardless of the crime one has committed. Such insanity is justified by the phrase which invariably accompanies it:
“He’s suffered enough.”
Compared to whom? Certainly not the 270 men, women and children snuffed out in a mid-air explosion and the ensuing plane crash. Certainly not to the friends and relatives of those same people whose lives were irrevocably damaged by grief, despair, guilt and anger. Certainly not compared to those of us who realize there are far too many misguided souls for whom no amount of depravity or heinousness is enough to dampen their “compassion.”
Thus, the death penalty becomes the only sensible fallback position. Better to hang a mass murderer like al-Megrahi from the neck until dead–and endure all the touchy-feely candlelight vigils–than allow the promise of life in prison to be broken whenever weak-minded individuals in positions of authority decide “he’s suffered enough.”
Second myth shattered: the “overwhelming majority” of Muslims are on our side in the war on terror. Really? It certainly looked like al-Megrahi received a hero’s welcome at the Tripoli airport. Somehow I find scenes like that one–along with the scenes of Muslims celebrating the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001–far more compelling than much of the diplo-speak offered up by Western politicians.
Perhaps it is nothing more than my affinity for the old adage, “actions speak louder than words” which colors my thinking. And perhaps such reactions don’t reflect the majority view of the Muslim community at large.
On the other hand, I am hard-pressed to believe that silence, which IS the most prevalent reaction of the Muslim community with regard to most jihadist atrocities, equals support for the West. Fear of the murderous crazies within their own community has a much more realistic ring to it. But again, how fear automatically translates into being on our side is
something beyond my understanding.
Why do so many people buy into such abject nonsense? One can’t ignore the stench of moral relativism, which hangs in the air over Western societies like un-refrigerated meat. When good and evil are elusive concepts, all things are possible. Stupidity can become compassion and silence can be construed as support.
That such delusions rarely withstand the harsh light of reality never seems to faze the deluded.
So Scotland releases a convicted terrorist who gets a hero’s welcome in Tripoli for killing 270 innocents. There’s still a hole in the ground where New York City’s tallest buildings once stood. Jihadist atrocities, such as the most recent bombing in Iraq, pile up like so much cordwood amidst the silence of the Muslim community. And world waits for the next monster to be released in the name of compassion.
Stop the bus. I want to get off.
atahlert@comcast.net
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