View From the Bushes

It's nice to see that yesterday's entry generated some discussion. Dan Brown and Dutch Tolerance, like peanut butter and chocolate, two great tastes that taste great together. Speaking of tolerance, one of the chief complaints of the Dutch is that while traditionally (with their mix of Protestants, Catholics and Jews) tolerance has been a two-way (or I guess three-way) street, but that with the Muslims it's a one-way street. The Dutch are suppossed to be tolerant of them, but there's no expectation that the Muslims will reciprocate.

This idea struck me powerfully this morning while I was driving into work. I was listening to NPR describe the shooting in the mosque, where a Marine shot and killed a wounded and unarmed man who was laying on the floor. Now that was bad, obviously, but when you consider a) they kind of stuff "their side" is doing (kidnapping the prime ministers family, killing the director of CARE) and b) the things this wounded guy could have been getting ready to do (suicide bomber, etc.) then the question becomes how long can we continue to fight in a "civilized" fashion while our enemies fight like barbarians (or worse). And what are people smoking when they compare the Iraqi terrorists to George Washington's army?

There are two dangers here, that in fighting barbarians we will become barbarians, and that we won't. Or in other words, our "civilization" will end up being the weakness which destroys us (as oppossed to the first option when our barbarity destroys us...) In any case, the suituation is pretty messed up. A few people complained that my links, of late, have not been very interesting, so here's a link to a page full of personality tests.

Carpe Diem Quam Minimum Credula Postero
Ross