# Is Common Wisdom post 9-11 Actually 'Wise'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 26, 2002, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660 "2002-08-26T18:16:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/121 "2002-08-28T20:50:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Next question becomes -what can the US do to change conditions in the Middle East toward those less favorable to terrorist organizations? In order to discuss that, we must put 9/11 into the context of US foreign policies in the Middle East and foreign extremist reactions to those policies. Oops! That’s kinda what we (you know, the “left”) have been shouted down for the past 11 months. No, that’s not why the left has been shouted down–any sensible person agrees with encouraging stability in the Middle East and defusing anti-American sentiment. You’ll find me bang alongside you on the issue. Why do some folks bash the left? [Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=87393)[are](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=93412) [some](http://www.zmag.org/jensenres.htm) [reasons](http://www.zmag.org/hermancalam.htm). BTW, I agree totally with **Apo** ’s last post. > [@](#): > > What is more likely is that Osama and the people who follow him are pissed off about something. It is reasonable to assume that they are pissed off at us, probably for something we did. Thank you for encapsulating so neatly and precisely why the American left makes ME angry. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/122 "2002-08-28T21:08:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\* > > Thank you for encapsulating so neatly and precisely why the American left makes ME angry. \*\* no, wait, lemme guess: because you see that sentence as saying that any such anger is JUSTIFIED? What a shock. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/123 "2002-08-28T21:09:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Thank you for encapsulating so neatly and precisely why the American left makes ME angry. But **gobear** , what, specifically, in **Stoid** ’s statement that you quoted is incorrect? I don’t mean _what don’t you like about what you think she meant_, I mean _what did she say that was incorrect_? It’s pretty clear from his interviews that bin Laden is pissed at actual stuff we did/are doing. This is a true statement. It’s also reasonable to assume that al Qaeda operatives are also pissed at actual stuff we did/are doing. As **Stoid** said, we can decide whether we should do things differently or keep doing things the way we’ve been. You seem to agree wholeheartedly with this idea, so why does it piss you off to hear it from “the left”? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/124 "2002-08-28T21:13:54Z")
Meanwhile, back at the _Gobear Show_… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > > Let’s see, you called me a “rabid little warmonger” and a host of other names, so you have some nerve accusing anyone else of slander. You got your apology. You only get the one. And the “host of other names”? This seems to be a rather typical ploy: one small truth and a big fat fib. > [@](#): > > I suggest that you ought to be embarrased for your unaplogetic attemtos to namecall anyone who disagrees with you. Noted, only to point out that I’m not gonna bother with it. > [@](#): > > …Unlike you, I don’t believe my politics convey moral superiority, and I’m not too good to apologize when I’m wrong… And so, having duly advised me that you are too nice a guy to use slander… And if your politics don’t “convey moral superiority” then what the hell _do_ they convey? An amoral Bismarck style _Realpolitik_. Of course my politics are part and parcel of my moral convictions. If yours aren’t, why not? > [@](#): > > Now you can continue to look down on the rest of us from your throne. Only have the one “throne”, as it were. Mostly, I sit there and read the morning paper, then wipe my Nixon and go have breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/125 "2002-08-28T21:18:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xenophon41 \* > \*\*…nor have I personally attacked you. I’ve questioned your honesty, and actively impugned **Jackmannii** ’s, but that’s because of your repetition of assertions you’ve been shown time and again to be incorrect. If the shoe doesn’t fit, quit trying it on. \*\* Before you start trying to use the big words like “impugn”, I suggest a remedial course concerning the meaning of “personal attack” and “honesty”. Hint: “honest” does not mean “agreeing with my interpretations”. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/126 "2002-08-28T21:19:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Why do some folks bash the left? Here are some reasons. You linked to two offensive threads from crazies on the SDMB and to two rational and well presented opinion pieces. I don’t understand why you think these things explain “left bashing”. Can you develop your argument a bit? ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/127 "2002-08-28T21:22:36Z")
Got anything worthwhile to contribute yet, **Jackmannii**? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/128 "2002-08-28T22:10:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xenophon41 \* > \*\*Got anything worthwhile to contribute yet, **Jackmannii**? \*\* One more word for your reading comprehension assignment. _Irony_: define and use in a complete sentence. Extra points awarded for spelling and punctuation. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/129 "2002-08-28T22:47:57Z")
xeno: I apologize if I misstated your assessment of my contributions. You (and some others) continue to call them dishonest, however. Do I think Lippincourt sides with Al Qaeda, and loathes America? No. Do I think he blames America and doesn’t blame terrorists for 9/11? No. Do I think he has some goofy and highly ideological views of 9/11, before it, and after it? Absolutely. I’ve outlined them ad nauseum. You and others say his words are being misinterpreted. OK. I disagree on some in particular. He means what he says. I’m not sure on some others. I’m pretty sure you’re right on still others. I clearly won’t be changing your mind. And you won’t be changing mine. Let’s move on. Apos - Believe it or not, I agree with every single thing you said in your “What can we do about OBL and Al Qaeda?” response. I would say on this point, however: > [@](#): > > \*\*The problem with terrorism in the modern age is that ever increasingly, anyone can do huge amounts of damage very easily, and there’s really not much we can ultimately do to prevent it beforehand \*\* I agree. But what I find maddening about the brand of terrorism we face today is how many people in the world, due to their hatred or jealousy of the United States, are outright supportive of what happened on Sept. 11, or at least not particularly outraged. It’s as if they don’t know what Osama bin Laden and his ilk are all about. What they stand for. The world they are trying to bring about. If it hurts America, they’re for it. Most of the shameful things the United States has done it its foreign policies in the past had to do with our fears over the spread of Communism. Rational fears in some cases; highly irrational in others. Since the Soviet Union’s fall, I’d like to think the U.S. has been more responsible in its foreign dealings. We still won’t do what other countries want us to do, just because they want us to do it (Kyoto). So while I think it’s important to engage the rest of the world in a dialogue and improve relations - [and we are](http://channels.netscape.com/ns/news/ns/story.jsp?floc=FF-PLS-PLS&id=404977143&dt=20020828152200&w=APO&coview=) - some of the onus falls on those who have extremely screwed-up worldviews to get their acts together. If you don’t roundly denounce what OBL has done and what he stands for, I don’t have much use for your opinion. And that goes for devout, Middle Eastern Muslims, as well as anybody else. Any attachment of criticism of American policies to the act of Sept. 11 goes beyond the pale, IMO. Talk about it in a different context, AT LENGTH. Don’t attach it to an event for which America cannot possibly be to blame. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/130 "2002-08-28T23:30:32Z")
> [@](#): > > no, wait, lemme guess: because you see that sentence as saying that any such anger is JUSTIFIED? No, we’re talking about your first condition “de he have a right to be angry” I think the question is moot because it doesn’t matter. He is a monster, and he needs to be put down. What offends me is not the “justified” but that you think his point of view needs to be respected enough to be answered. It doesn’t. He forfeited any right to be taken seriously on 9/11. Now he just needs to die, him and his whole rotten gang. In any event **Xenophon** and I agree on the substantive matters, and I’m done talking. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/131 "2002-08-28T23:44:41Z")
> [@](#): > > _from **Milossarian** :_ > I clearly won’t be changing your mind. And you won’t be changing mine. Let’s move on. Damn. That (and what preceded it) was not only reasonable but approached pretty classy. Abashed, I accept the invitation to move on. > [@](#): > > Any attachment of criticism of American policies to the act of Sept. 11 goes beyond the pale, IMO. Talk about it in a different context, AT LENGTH. Don’t attach it to an event for which America cannot possibly be to blame. As an American, I find it irksome to hear pointless criticism of American policies, whether it’s connected with September 11 or not. But IMO the importance of _pointed_ political criticism in the context of the attacks is that it addresses the climate of fear and distrust for America that enables monsters like bin Laden to operate with some support. It’s that _support system_ I think we must work to eliminate. There will always be sick creatures like ObL; the real work of necessity will have to be concentrated on reducing their recruitment opportunities and limiting/controlling their range of operation. Which, arguably, requires widening the criteria of our policy decisions to include not only _our_ immediate and long range interests, but the future best interests of the people of the region. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/132 "2002-08-29T00:00:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\* > No, we’re talking about your first condition “de he have a right to be angry” I think the question is moot because it doesn’t matter. \*\* HELL-FUCKING-LO! > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ME \* \*\* > legitimate to consider whether the actions of one nutcase reflect the feelings of millions of others who wouldn’t take such drastic actions > \*\* Is that so hard to understand? Jesus, man, you are unreal. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/133 "2002-08-29T00:08:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Some of us believe it is perfectly legitimate to consider whether the actions of one nutcase reflect the feelings of millions of others who wouldn’t take such drastic actions? If you’re going to quote, do it right and get the whole quote up there. You may think it is legitimate to consider whether OBL’s actions reflect the feelings of millions of others–I find it offensive that you would lend legitimacy to his views. Since you’re going to be abusive, and I’ve struggled to be pretty decent, I’m gone. Have the last word. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/134 "2002-08-29T00:24:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xenophon41 \* > \*\*As **Stoid** said, we can decide whether we should do things differently or keep doing things the way we’ve been. You seem to agree wholeheartedly with this idea, so why does it piss you off to hear it from “the left”? \*\* I don’t want to speak for gobear, and I don’t really consider myself part of “the right” (I certainly have never voted for them!), but I think what pisses off some people, including me at times, is that there is a very vocal segment of the left (usually the most radical segment) that automatically assumes that the answer is “Do things differently.” That is to say, that thinks we should change our actions _vis a vis_ the Middle East no matter how the Islamic fundamentalists think we should do it. They seem unwilling to even entertain the idea that we should keep on doing just what we have been doing. This isn’t the opinion of all of the left, or even most of the left, but it is the opinion of a lot of the most vocal members. And it makes me angry because I think we should only be willing to examine our policies to the extent that we intend to change them; once the demands of the “opposition” stray out of the bounds of rationality, we are no longer under an obligation to consider what we can do to accommodate them. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/135 "2002-08-29T00:34:08Z")
Fine, I will. (and where I’ve “abused” you I have no idea) I quoted as little as I could because to my eye it seemed pretty obvious you were uninterested in reading any more than you had to to justify finding some way to accuse me of defending OSL. Give you too much to work with and you find too much to ignore or distort. And I think your position is pathetic: you appear to be saying that because OSL chose to murder people as \*\* his \*\* way of expressing \*\* his \*\* rage, anyone who agrees with his rage is therefore agreeing with his acts , and therefore they are meaningless and unworthy of consideration. How incredibly convenient. Certainly keeps things simple. To borrow from xeno: feh. ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/136 "2002-08-29T02:22:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoid \* > \*\* > And I think your position is pathetic: you appear to be saying that because OSL chose to murder people as \*\* his \*\* way of expressing \*\* his \*\* rage, anyone who agrees with his rage is therefore agreeing with his acts , and therefore they are meaningless and unworthy of consideration. > > How incredibly convenient. Certainly keeps things simple. > > To borrow from xeno: feh. \*\* Ok, Ron goes to Nicole’s house to return some glasses that were left behind at the restaurant he works at. Nicole answers the door, possibly with soft music in the background, candles lit, and maybe even wearing “skimpy” clothing. As Ron is about to enter the house, he and Nicole are brutally sliced to death by her ex-husband. Now, no one agrees with his acts, but millions agree with his rage. After all, how many men get royally pissed off that their ex is dating a younger, cuter, man? Do we fret and worry that the ex-husband was enraged? Do we try to justify his rage? Do we say that because other people share his rage, that maybe we should look into why he and they are enraged? NO! So why even consider what OBL and the rest of the terrorists think? You say you don’t “justify” the terrorist acts, (and I’m not saying you do) but why even _consider_ their reasons? Their reasons are irrelevant. Murder is murder. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/137 "2002-08-29T02:39:03Z")
\*\* milroyj. \*\* your example does not apply. Millions of people did not agree with OJ’s rage, because millions of people were not married to Nicole. I am not saying we should concern ourselves with the terrorists themselves, but with the millions of other people in the world who MAY be pissed off at us for exactly the same things that they are pissed off at us for. They did not forfeit their rights because of acts they had zero control over. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/138 "2002-08-29T03:39:26Z")
> [@](#): > > _gobear states_: Or let me put it more plainly: Is there a course of action the US can take right now that will make bin Laden call off his campaign against us? Please be specific. Ok. Let me quote Stratfor, 10/13/01: > [@](#): > > The goals of Al-Qa’ida’s members are essentially simple. They see the Islamic world as occupied by non-Islamic forces, either directly or through puppet regimes. They wish to end the occupation and unite Islam. The United States, as the leading power in the world and the patron of many Islamic regimes, is the center of gravity of the anti-Islamic world. If the United States can be broken, or at least expelled from the Islamic world, other anti-Islamic powers such as Russia, China and Israel will crumble. > > Al-Qa’ida does not expect to destroy the United States directly. It fully understands the severe limits on its resources. Rather, bin Laden’s strategy is to force the United States into a series of actions that will destabilize the governments of Washington’s Islamic partners and lead to their collapse. For instance, such an outcome could occur for Islamic countries that cooperate – due to pressure by Washington – with the U.S. campaign against terrorism. So, to answer your question, I trust that the US’s unilateral withdrawal from the Middle East, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc. would satisfy bin Laden. > [@](#): > > _gobear_: But when the first words out of the mouths of the left after 9/11 are to call Bush a warmonger and blame the State Department and exculpate bin Laden, when they wish to impede the effort to find and punish al-Qaeda and call the US response to 9/11 a “racist war,” they have shown themselves unworthy of respect from any decent person. ## I really can’t figure you out, guy. This is the sort of unsubstantiated mischaracterization of left-of-center US opinion that makes one wonder about your commitment to fighting ignorance. For a good restatement of this POV, I would recommend **pldennison** ’s articulation, above. Let’s review. Bin Laden wants to expel the US from the Muslim world; he believes he can do this by forcing the US to do something that the Arab street will object to, thereby destabilizing the US’s client regimes in the Mideast (Bin Laden’s POV). By understanding the enemy, we can take steps to thwart him. One medium term strategy (for example) might be to appeal the hearts and minds of democratically oriented Arabs. We could (for example) withhold aid if an Arab client state jails a prominent and peaceful democrat. Another strategy would emphasize the importance of low-key nonpublic help from our authoritarian allies. (That might be an example of a pldennison “more of the same” strategy.) We could also engage ourselves more in the Arab-Israeli peace process than we did in the Spring of 2001. I could go on. But my point is simple: understanding your enemy helps. I’m sorry that this even needs to be debated. Where is **Collounsbury** when you need him? ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/139 "2002-08-29T04:30:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoid \* > \*\*\*\* milroyj. \*\* your example does not apply. Millions of people did not agree with OJ’s rage, because millions of people were not married to Nicole. > > I am not saying we should concern ourselves with the terrorists themselves, but with the millions of other people in the world who MAY be pissed off at us for exactly the same things that they are pissed off at us for. They did not forfeit their rights because of acts they had zero control over. \*\* Obviously, millions of people were not married to Nicole, but millions are in the same situation , cuckolded by wives and ex-wives. And they’re hurt, embarrassed, and scorned. So, what if a few of them murder their wives? Do we try to understand? After all, the husbands MAY be pissed off at the wives for exactly the same reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660/140 "2002-08-29T05:02:42Z")
To address Stoid, (and, sort of, xeno, in his last response to me) Stoid said: > [@](#): > > \*\*I am not saying we should concern ourselves with the terrorists themselves, but with the millions of other people in the world who MAY be pissed off at us for exactly the same things that they are pissed off at us for. \*\* As I’ve already said, the U.S.'s effort should be ongoing to have dialogue with other nations and their people, and to improve America’s image abroad. However, tying that effort in any way as a response to the atrocity that was Sept. 11 tends to lend legitimacy to that terrorist act as a response to U.S. policy. It tends to lend legitimacy to those who maybe secretly aren’t exactly disgusted with the act. And the U.S. should be _extremely_ careful that it doesn’t in any way appear to capitulate to terrorists. We had about a 6-pager on that one, immediately after 9/11, if you’ll recall. As for those millions of pissed off people, I don’t think we will be removing our military presence from the Middle East anytime soon. I don’t think we’ll be abandoning Israel. And I don’t think we’ll be ridding ourselves of music and movies, putting our women in burqas and forcing them out of work. We can treat other nations with respect, and seek our interests while not trampling upon theirs. I feel America has been doing that in recent years. But as for “the millions of other people in the world who MAY be pissed off at us for exactly the same things that (Al Qaeda) are pissed off at us for?” Reading the psychotic things that make ObL upset, they’re just going to have to lump it. My views on the subject were eloquently stated by Rep. Henry Hyde, Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, less than a month after Sept. 11. You can read them in their entirety (it’s just a few paragraphs) [here](http://www.house.gov/international_relations/hyde1010.htm) An excerpt: > [@](#): > > As Americans, we are justly proud of our country. If any nation has been a greater force for good in the long and tormented history of this world, I am unaware of it. We have guarded whole continents from conquest, showered aid on distant lands, sent thousands of youthful idealists to remote and often inhospitable areas to help the world’s forgotten. Our generosity is a matter of record, from rebuilding our defeated enemies to feeding tens of millions around the world. > > Why, then, when we read or listen to descriptions of America in the foreign press, do we so often seem to be entering a fantasy land of hatred? Much of the popular press overseas, often including the government-owned media, daily depict the United States as a force for evil, accusing this country of an endless number of malevolent plots against the world. Today, as we strike against the terrorists in Afghanistan who masterminded the murder of thousands of Americans, our actions are widely depicted in the Muslim world a war against Islam. Our efforts at self-defense, which should be supported by every decent person on this planet, instead spark riots that threaten governments that dare to cooperate with us. > > The poisonous image of the United States that is deliberately propagated around the world is more than a mere irritation. It has a direct and negative impact on American interests, not only by undermining our foreign policy goals but by endangering the safety of Americans here at home and abroad. How has this state of affairs come about? How is it that the country that invented Hollywood and Madison Avenue has such trouble promoting a positive image of itself overseas? Clearly, this situation has not emerged suddenly or without warning. It has been building for decades, even as we stood and watched. Over the years, the images of mindless hatred directed at us have appeared on our television screens with a sickening regularity. All this time, we have heard calls that “something must be done.” But, clearly, whatever has been done has not been enough. [sub]Because this statement was made by Henry Hyde, elucidator will be by to … be himself … in 3 … 2 … 1 …[/sub] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-common-wisdom-post-9-11-actually-wise/125660.md?page=8)