Why did al-Qaeda launch the terrorist attacks recently recalled in United 93 and World Trade Center? Because Osama bin Laden was deeply offended by the same sort of immortal movies and TV shows that chafe Michael "Mad Dog" Medved. And how do I know this? Because Dinesh D'Souza, a fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, says so in his new book The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11.
OK, I admit, I'm exaggerating -- a little. But consider this snippet from critic Warren Bass' less-than-glowing review of the incendiary tome:
"Here's the main argument, such as it is. Why has al-Qaeda targeted America? 'Not because of U.S. troops in Mecca,' D'Souza writes. 'Not even because of Israel. . . . The suicide bombers of radical Islam are not blowing themselves up because they are distressed over the Gulf War of 1991 or because they are in solidarity with the Palestinians.' Rather, 'what bin Laden objected to was America staying in the Middle East, importing with it the immoral ingredients of American values and culture.' That makes the left 'responsible for 9/11' because it 'has fostered a decadent American culture that angers and repulses traditional societies' and has waged 'an aggressive global campaign to undermine the traditional patriarchal family and to promote secular values in non-Western cultures.' In sum, 'the cultural left and its allies in Congress, the media, Hollywood, the nonprofit sector, and the universities are the primary cause of the volcano of anger toward America that is erupting from the Islamic world.'"
Yeah, that's the ticket: They don't really hate Americans. They simply don't like American Pie. Makes perfect sense to me.
Addendum at 5:44 p.m.: More on D'Souza at Crooks and Liars.
3 comments:
Yes, it's truly amazing that there are any liberals left after they are responsible for almost all the sins of America.
I mean, why hasn't everyone in this country turned their sad face to such spiritually and wholesome conservatives as Tom DeLay, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Rev. Ted Haggard, Duke Cunningham, Robert Ney, and Rick Santorum?
I can't understand why we aren't all conservative with those proud individuals leading us into the future!
On the other hand (and please don't think for a second that I'm agreeing with the premise of that book), people elsewhere do get a lot of their ideas about US culture from our cultural exports.
A friend from India has mentioned that when she visits rural relatives there, she finds that many of them assume Americans are more violent and promiscuous than we actually are. At least some of that misconception must stem from images in American movies, TV shows, and music.
Then again, after watching Bollywood musicals, I find myself assuming that all Indians can dance and sing.... ;-)
Hey, if they're getting broadcasts of "The Girls Next Door" and "The Real Housewives of Orange County," I can understand their anger.
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