...how anyone could make this argument:


http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385510127

The Enemy At Home
The Cultural Left and Its Responsibilty for 9/11
Written by Dinesh D'Souza
Political Science - Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism | Doubleday | Hardcover | January 2007 | $26.95 | 978-0-385-51012-7 (0-385-51012-8)

About this Book

In THE ENEMY AT HOME, bestselling author Dinesh D’Souza makes the startling claim that the 9/11 attacks and other terrorist acts around the world can be directly traced to the ideas and attitudes perpetrated by America’s cultural left.

D’Souza shows that liberals—people like Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Barney Frank, Bill Moyers, and Michael Moore—are responsible for fostering a culture that angers and repulses not just Muslim countries but also traditional and religious societies around the world. Their outspoken opposition to American foreign policy—including the way the Bush administration is conducting the war on terror—contributes to the growing hostility, encouraging people both at home and abroad to blame America for the problems of the world. He argues that it is not our exercise of freedom that enrages our enemies, but our abuse of that freedom—from the sexual liberty of women to the support of gay marriage, birth control, and no-fault divorce, to the aggressive exportation of our vulgar, licentious popular culture.

The cultural wars at home and the global war on terror are usually viewed as separate problems. In this groundbreaking book, D’Souza shows that they are one and the same. It is only by curtailing the left’s attacks on religion, family, and traditional values that we can persuade moderate Muslims and others around the world to cooperate with us and begin to shun the extremists in their own countries.


About the Author

DINESH D’SOUZA, the Rishwain Research Scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, is the author of several bestselling books, including Illiberal Education, What's So Great About America, and most recently, Letters to a Young Conservative. He divides his time between Washington, D.C., and San Diego, California.

9/21/2006 7:18:01 PM

compared to europe, are american liberals even that liberal?

9/21/2006 7:20:55 PM

I guess the slogan "Blame America First" can swing both ways.

9/21/2006 7:21:40 PM

only a liberal would say that its ok for a slogan to swing both ways

9/21/2006 7:26:38 PM

Quote :

"to the aggressive exportation of our vulgar, licentious popular culture."

Aren't big corporations more responsible for this than liberals?

9/21/2006 7:37:27 PM

Quote :

"compared to europe, are american liberals even that liberal?"

depends on what you define liberal as

[Edited on September 21, 2006 at 7:52 PM. Reason : ]

9/21/2006 7:52:25 PM

I stopped reading right about here...

Quote :

"Written by Dinesh D'Souza"

9/21/2006 8:54:55 PM

It's a stretch but it's hardly the most far flung of theories. I'm sure the basic idea hinges on two points:

1) "liberals" (please note I'm using this in the context of what I would guess the premise of the book is) encourage and support systems which conservative religions find offensive (same sex marrige, abortion, sex outside of marrige), plus programs which enourage social deviance such as leniency for criminals, allowing woman to dress an ways that are less than modest, allowing such imagry on film and TV.

2) "liberals" (being bleeding hearts) want us to solve the worlds problems. Hunger, poverty etc all things which "liberals" thing we have the capability to solve. This involves us getting involved in world affairs including interfering with local governments because all the money and food in the world is worthless if it isn't going to who it should.

Again it's definately a stretch, but nothing you couldn't expect Rush or Coulter to come up with.

9/21/2006 8:56:46 PM

so we need to be more like muslims countries so they dont hate us?

ha

9/21/2006 9:38:16 PM

Quote :

"compared to europe, are american liberals even that liberal?"

Generally speaking, europeans are more liberal overall, in all senses of the word. Vice versa, Americans are more conservative in all senses of the word. Generally speaking.

[Edited on September 21, 2006 at 9:51 PM. Reason : -]

9/21/2006 9:51:03 PM

Wow. Even the Academic Right is beating the drum...

9/21/2006 9:57:12 PM

Quote :

"If you blame the massacre of civilians on anybody except for the ones who are behind it/carrying it out, then you're an idiot. "

9/21/2006 10:12:01 PM

^ it doesnt work that way in the court of law

9/21/2006 11:11:41 PM

that is pretty crazy.. I know from personal expierence, most european countries have far more "lewd" acts going on the public, and are far less to the liking of extreme muslims than the US should ever be. The above poster is right compared to them we are more conservative.

9/22/2006 11:52:57 AM

i am sure the islamic terrorists could really care less if some queers are fucking each other, how many kids are shooting up on drugs, or women having abortions in america.

This Dinesh guy is an idiot for beleiving this or is banking on that there is enough right-wing ignorant people out there that will buy his book. Finally a book that explains how the liberal left part of society is at fault for 9/11!!! This is about as stupid as that loose change video that tries to claim that 9/11 was a big gov't conspiracy

[Edited on September 22, 2006 at 12:31 PM. Reason : l]

[Edited on September 22, 2006 at 12:32 PM. Reason : ;]

9/22/2006 12:29:25 PM

Quote :

"i am sure the islamic terrorists could really care less if some queers are fucking each other, how many kids are shooting up on drugs, or women having abortions in america. "

Not that I blame the American left for terrorism, but I think the kinds of things you just mentioned is among many of the reasons terrorists are always saying things like "Allah Akbar INFIDELS, LALALALALALALA"

9/22/2006 12:33:53 PM

I think our Neo-Imperalistic foreign policies and actions in the middle east that piss off a lot of the extermists in the middle east then what americans do within our borders.

However, i may agree that when our culture starts to invade the countries over there that it probably hits a nerve. You can not blame the american leftist culture for this though since it is our society as a whole.

[Edited on September 22, 2006 at 12:39 PM. Reason : l]

9/22/2006 12:37:19 PM

Well it's refreshing to see that no one here is denying that the left has drastically reduced the morals of our country.

9/22/2006 12:42:49 PM

since when have we ever had morals?

9/22/2006 12:43:36 PM

why should i have to take on your morals ^^

9/22/2006 12:46:13 PM

HUR, that argument is played out. A society does has to take some morals as given. This whole "moral-relativism" bandwagon circle jerk is stupid.

Theft is a moral crime because it impedes on the rights of others
Murder is a moral crime " "
etc.

No, you don't have to have sex only with females inside of marriage because some people think that's the way it should be, but you don't get a free reign on all morals altogether.


Also, whoever made the point about neo-imperialism is correct. That is one of the reasons terrorists hate us so badly. But you have to look at the ultimate aims of many terrorist groups as well. They want everyone to abide by Islamic laws, and the American right AND left don't abide by that standard. Therefore, they want to eliminate us. Most terrorist organizations are only focused on one issue in particular, but the broad initiative that is associated with terrorism includes our destruction, not simply sending us back to our borders.

9/22/2006 12:51:30 PM

on one side, yes, they do have extreme jealousy towards the freedoms and opportunities we give to our citizens. on the other, i could definately see them being hostile towards the moral corruptness of western societies such as europe, and to a lesser extent america.

9/22/2006 5:41:58 PM

anyone else remember when Dinesh D'Souza spoke on campus at ncsu?

9/22/2006 9:08:02 PM

Quote :

"This whole "moral-relativism" bandwagon circle jerk is stupid."

HOLY SHIT WE'VE GOT A META-ETHICS EXPERT ON OUR HANDS HERE

You're a moral objectivist. I hope you can at least understand that moral objectivism isn't the only the way to look at the picture, and yes, there are a whole two other ways of looking at it (moral subjectivism, moral relativism).

You have more in common with moral relativists than you think.

9/22/2006 9:16:51 PM

I bet randy could make that arguement

9/23/2006 3:00:15 AM

Quote :

"anyone else remember when Dinesh D'Souza spoke on campus at ncsu?"

Yes. I think most of us that do probably have wrinkles by now.

9/23/2006 10:49:27 AM

Quote :

"You're a moral objectivist. I hope you can at least understand that moral objectivism isn't the only the way to look at the picture, and yes, there are a whole two other ways of looking at it (moral subjectivism, moral relativism). "

You couldn't figure out from my post, where I actually used "moral relativism" that I knew there were other ways of looking at morality?

And moral relativism isn't a serious theory any longer. I remember having to pwnt it in Philosophy of Science class, so email Dr. Austin if you'd like explanation.

Moral relativism may be one way to look at things, but its an incorrect way.
Similar to the theory of gravity. You can say there are two ways of looking at it (gravity and anti-gravity) but that doesn't make it a subjective topic. One of them is simply wrong.

9/23/2006 11:51:07 AM

um im sorry but your wrong...

awesome im not a moral relativist any more

9/23/2006 11:58:15 AM

Quote :

"Generally speaking, europeans are more liberal overall, in all senses of the word. Vice versa, Americans are more conservative in all senses of the word. Generally speaking."

you give messages more mixed than the immaculate child of tiger woods and vin diesel. assuming one of them could bear children. my money's on woods

9/24/2006 4:07:45 AM

I remember when Dinesh D'Souza came and spoke at NC State. He spent an hour and a half talking about how Asians and white people are smarter than latinos and blacks. He challenged the crowd to come up with any type of standardized test with a sample size of more than 100 where blacks scored higher on average than whites or asians.

The crowd was dumbfounded.

9/24/2006 5:41:01 AM

Of course they would be. What does an audience know of making tests?

9/24/2006 9:00:01 AM

Quote :

"He challenged the crowd to come up with any type of standardized test with a sample size of more than 100 where blacks scored higher on average than whites or asians."

ill go with the physical fitness test.

9/24/2006 9:25:07 AM

Quote :

"I remember when Dinesh D'Souza came and spoke at NC State. He spent an hour and a half talking about how Asians and white people are smarter than latinos and blacks."

What about white Latinos?

9/24/2006 10:55:40 AM