Islamo-Fascism Awarness Week

[Dr Ron]

Originally posted at Liberal Values--see original post for links:

http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=2292

Islamo-Fascism Awarness Week

It’s just getting harder to keep track of all those holidays. I mean, is Sweetest Day which just occurred a real holiday or just an excuse to sell more candies and cards. Now I learn that this is Islamo-Fascism Awarness Week. Is this a real holiday, or just an excuse to sell more right wing paranoia? Does this sound just a little bit too much like Big Brother warning us about the enemies in Eurasia–or is Eastasia the enemy this month? Might spreading hysteria like this be exactly what the terrorists want to achieve?
I certainly don’t mean to say that this is not a threat we should not be aware of. There’s no question that there are people who would like to kill us or destroy our way of life. It’s just that for those of us who lived through the Cold War, in which we faced an adversary who wanted to kill us or destroy our way of life, and had nuclear weapons pointed right at us, the jingoism from the right wing seems a bit excessive.

I would also take this a little more seriously if they cared a little more for historical accuracy than shock value in coming up with the label “Islamo-Fascism.” A theocracy which engages in suppression of liberty at home and terrorism abroad is certainly bad, but not every bad form of government is fascist.

I’d also take this a little more seriously if the majority of blog posts I’ve seen on this topic weren’t as interested in bashing liberals as they are in discussing Islamic fundamentalism. I guess they are afraid that there is a War on Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week. The main site for this event even features a selection of Feature Presentations. The top video attacks not Osama bin Laden but Jimmy Carter. It was bad enough when the Republicans confused Saddam Hussein with Osama bin Laden, but Jimmy Carter?

If only they got their facts, and enemies, straight there might be some value in a week to study the problems of Islamic fundamentalism. Of course there are other weeks I would also propose. How about a week to study the dangers of surrendering our liberties in the name of fighting Islamo-Fascism, or a week to also study the problems of Christian fundamentalism?

[C_U_L8R]

1. Yes indeed, everyone should be well aware..

that there are freepin' knuckle dragging idiots
across this country who don't know the vast
difference between islamism and fascism.
doh!