"(The jihadists) demand the impossible
- the cessation of all life in favour of prostration before a totalitarian
vision. Plainly, we cannot surrender. There is no one with whom to negotiate,
let alone capitulate."
Some would say that the bombers had grievances.
Hitchens agrees, and usefully, reminds us what these grievances
are:
"The grievance of seeing unveiled
women. The grievance of the existence, not of the State of Israel, but of the
Jewish people. The grievance of the heresy of democracy, which impedes the
imposition of sharia law. The grievance of a work of fiction written by an
Indian living in London. The grievance of the existence of black African Muslim
farmers, who won't abandon lands in Darfur. The grievance of the existence of
homosexuals. The grievance of music, and of most representational art. The
grievance of the existence of Hinduism. The grievance of East Timor's liberation
from Indonesian rule. All of these have been proclaimed as a licence to kill
infidels or apostates, or anyone who just gets in the
way."
And he offers some advice to
those who can't wait to blame Blair, and by extension, Bush, for the slaughter
of the London innocents:
"(T)ry and keep it down, will you? Or
wait at least until the funerals are over. And beware of the non-sequitur: you
can be as opposed to the Iraq operation as much as you like, but you can't get
from that "grievance" to the detonating of explosives at rush hour on London
buses and tubes."
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." - John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Ceasar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friederich Nietzsche
