Taking A Side
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
Regarding some people's praise of the recent Obama Cairo speech, I'd like to share "the other side of the coin."
OBAMA: "America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles - principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."
REACTION: Tolerance? Dignity? Islamic countries dominate the list of top human rights violators in the world. Throughout much of the Middle East, Christians live in fear and Jews can't live at all.
OBAMA: "I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America's story. And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers - Thomas Jefferson - kept in his personal library."
REACTION: Nice try, Mr. President. Thomas Jefferson kept a copy of the Koran at least in part because he wanted to understand what part Islam played in motivating the jihadists of his age - the so called Barbary pirates - in America's first encounter with Islam and the first time we sent troops into combat overseas.
OBAMA: "Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail."
REACTION: Thank you, President Obama, for that clear statement of cultural and moral relativism that infects so many of our elites and obviously shapes the way you deal with the world. So you want a world order, where no nation or group is elevated over another, where America is to be considered no better than North Korea, Syria or Iran? All cultures and nations are not equal. Some believe in liberty and the dignity of individuals. Some believe people are cattle to be herded by government. That you don't understand that your own nation is preferable and better than the thug states of the world is tragic and dangerous. How I long for the days when President Reagan regularly reminded us that we were to be a "shining city upon a hill."
OBAMA: "On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than 60 years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead."
REACTION: The president here repeats a central tenet of Palestinian propaganda. Israel did not evict Muslim Palestinians - Arab League nations ordered them to leave. Nearly 20 percent of Israel today is Muslim. Nowhere does the president mention the Jewish refugees forced to flee to Israel. Nor did he mention that it is Arab Muslim countries that keep Palestinians in refugee camps rather than inviting and integrating them into their own countries.
OBAMA: "All of us have a responsibility to work for the day - when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together."
REACTION: Don't miss the significance of this statement. Here Obama is calling for turning Jerusalem, which has always been home for Jews, into an international city under control of who? The UN? The EU? All religions have access to Jerusalem now, because Israel, unlike its neighbors, is tolerant.
Special thanks to Gary Bauer's "End of Day" report (www.ouramericanvalues.org) for above insights. "Any story sounds true until someone tells the other side and sets the record straight." (Proverbs 18:17, LB)
Tim Morbitzer
North Manchester, via e-mail
Editor's Note: This letter was edited to conform more closely to the 500-word limit stated in our "Letters Policy."[[In-content Ad]]
Regarding some people's praise of the recent Obama Cairo speech, I'd like to share "the other side of the coin."
OBAMA: "America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles - principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."
REACTION: Tolerance? Dignity? Islamic countries dominate the list of top human rights violators in the world. Throughout much of the Middle East, Christians live in fear and Jews can't live at all.
OBAMA: "I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America's story. And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers - Thomas Jefferson - kept in his personal library."
REACTION: Nice try, Mr. President. Thomas Jefferson kept a copy of the Koran at least in part because he wanted to understand what part Islam played in motivating the jihadists of his age - the so called Barbary pirates - in America's first encounter with Islam and the first time we sent troops into combat overseas.
OBAMA: "Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail."
REACTION: Thank you, President Obama, for that clear statement of cultural and moral relativism that infects so many of our elites and obviously shapes the way you deal with the world. So you want a world order, where no nation or group is elevated over another, where America is to be considered no better than North Korea, Syria or Iran? All cultures and nations are not equal. Some believe in liberty and the dignity of individuals. Some believe people are cattle to be herded by government. That you don't understand that your own nation is preferable and better than the thug states of the world is tragic and dangerous. How I long for the days when President Reagan regularly reminded us that we were to be a "shining city upon a hill."
OBAMA: "On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than 60 years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead."
REACTION: The president here repeats a central tenet of Palestinian propaganda. Israel did not evict Muslim Palestinians - Arab League nations ordered them to leave. Nearly 20 percent of Israel today is Muslim. Nowhere does the president mention the Jewish refugees forced to flee to Israel. Nor did he mention that it is Arab Muslim countries that keep Palestinians in refugee camps rather than inviting and integrating them into their own countries.
OBAMA: "All of us have a responsibility to work for the day - when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together."
REACTION: Don't miss the significance of this statement. Here Obama is calling for turning Jerusalem, which has always been home for Jews, into an international city under control of who? The UN? The EU? All religions have access to Jerusalem now, because Israel, unlike its neighbors, is tolerant.
Special thanks to Gary Bauer's "End of Day" report (www.ouramericanvalues.org) for above insights. "Any story sounds true until someone tells the other side and sets the record straight." (Proverbs 18:17, LB)
Tim Morbitzer
North Manchester, via e-mail
Editor's Note: This letter was edited to conform more closely to the 500-word limit stated in our "Letters Policy."[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092