From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Wed Nov 24 2004 - 14:12:49 GMT
Dear Wim,
Thanks for your extensive explanation of the situation in the Netherlands
regarding the brutal murder by a Muslim radical of Theo van Gogh. I
disagree, however, with your proposed solution to the general problem of
accommodating radical Muslim goals to the values of Western civilization.
> To
> me the way forward seems a widening (globalization) of the social solution:
> buying off dissatisfaction, again compromising. Giving animals a few more
> rights, taking into account Muslim interests a bit more in foreign
> politics, maybe moving towards a kind of global welfare and constitutional
> state in which development aid through UN agencies develops into a kind of
> global social security system and humanitarian intervention backed by the
> UN Security Council and/or Global Court of Justice into a kind of global
> (instead of national) security system.
In essence this approach seems to be little more than giving into
blackmail, i.e., the tactic of employing biological violence or the threat
of violence to obtain the product of another's work, livelihood and well-
being. It amounts to knuckling under to terrorist demands, a policy doomed
to breed more terrorism specifically, and encourage more crime generally.
Your proscription might work if people would be satisfied with "a bit
more" of this and a bit more of that. Unfortunately, human nature is such
that a bit more is never sufficient. There's no limit to human desires.
If someone can get what he wants by threats of physical violence without
fear of punishment, why work for it? After all, producing anything of
value (food, shelter, clothing) requires a great deal of effort. Much
easier just to take it at the point of a gun.
In any event, thanks for the background on what may turn out to be a wake
up call in Europe to the danger posed by radical Islam.
Best,
Platt
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