Our democratic values are the best weapon against ISIS

One difference between ISIS and those American preachers who claim the Bible requires murdering homosexuals: none of our presidential candidates have attended an ISIS convention. (Policy.mic: tinyurl.com/they-love-to-hate) The pastors represent Christianity the same way ISIS represents Islam; that is, for zealots who interpret their holy book literally, to whom progress is anathema and otherness intolerable, they absolutely do. At the fringes of humanity there have always been people whose projection of their own secrets and fears leads to attacking others. ISIS takes it to sickening, but not unprecedented extremes.

The mindset that leads Ben Carson to call evolution a lie planted in Charles Darwin’s head by the devil, or to Ted Cruz saying that we must never have a president who doesn’t begin each day on his Christian knees, or has Michele Bachmann suggesting rounding up Jews and converting them to Christianity because end-times are nigh, is merely a less fully devolved form of the self-righteous certainty that leads ISIS to do what they did in Paris. If preachers haven’t murdered here, they’ve fomented it in Africa (L.A. Times: tinyurl.com/qcm74c6). And danced, ugly, on the graves in Paris (Daily Beast: tinyurl.com/dancing-on-graves). “Conservatives” demand that Muslims speak out against “their” terrorists. When their would-be leaders genuflect before homicide-justifying Christian homophobes, they’re silent.

Now, just as we refused entry to Jews during WWII, so Republican candidates and Congress dwellers, along with, sadly, some Democrats, demand we stop admitting Syrian refugees. Are Japanese-American style internment camps unthinkable? Not to everyone. (USA Today: tinyurl.com/round-them-up). Forced wearing of special I.D.? Jawohl! (Raw Story: tinyurl.com/herr-trump) Between childish insults of his competitors because that’s what makes America great, Donald Trump claims that if Parisians had been weaponized, the attacks wouldn’t have happened. Right. A fanatic wearing a suicide vest would see an armed concert hall and say, “Geez, a guy could get killed in there.” Far from turning off his followers, Trump’s bombast has increased support among brave American exceptionalists, abandoning our values with astonishing ease. They call Obama “weak.” What is it when they cave on our most basic principles? Claiming patriotism, they deny the power of America’s ideals. We’ve become the ‘fraidest generation.

Terrorism won’t stop anytime soon, nor will terrified reactions to it, including discarding the standards that have actually made our country great, Mr. Trump. Turning our backs on all Muslims is exactly what ISIS wants from us (Thinkpol: tinyurl.com/q3bz9ac). Against those governors, Republican patriots all, afraid of welcoming women and children, they’ve already won. (Vox: tinyurl.com/governing-by-fear) These are people fleeing horrific fanaticism, people who fear ISIS more than we do. Screening is already rigorous (Joe Biden: tinyurl.com/tell-it-Joe), and not just, per Jeb and Ted, ironically (tinyurl.com/bible-lesson), for Christians. Here’s a braver response, from the husband of a woman murdered in Paris: (BBC News: tinyurl.com/bravery-personified). It puts us and our politicians to shame. So does this: (Willie Nelson: tinyurl.com/sing-it-willie). These ill-informed, fully Foxolimtrumpified Texan bullies disgrace us all: (Dallas Morning News: tinyurl.com/texas-toughguys)

For its depth and detail, this comprehensive article about what ISIS wants is worth your time (The Atlantic: tinyurl.com/some-ISIS-info). Because their goal is to maintain a caliphate, holding territory is critical to their movement, which means that taking back their land is, indeed, of strategic importance. But done by whose troops? Not ours, the article suggests; our presence in Iraq spurred the creation of ISIS, after all. Plus, in the same way certain evangelicals who can’t wait for the end of this life see conversion of Jews as the path to the Apocalypse, so ISIS sees their death, along with ours, in war, on a battlefield convenient to their land. Which raises the central question: would American troops in Syria really prevent people from exploding their suicide vests here? Maybe the answer lies in recalling the results of our invasion of Iraq in the first place.

Without doubt, the battle with radical Islam requires military action, and although the foot soldiers in Syria should be from that region, American power is indispensible. But in the end, it’s a battle of ideas. When we divest ourselves of our beliefs that might properly be called exceptional — religious freedom, diversity, education, generosity, our Constitution — we lose not just ourselves, but the very war we’re fighting. Letters to the editor, of late, display fear and claims that our president, choosing smarter ways to fight terrorism, is a traitor. We’ll never learn.

Email Sid Schwab at columnsid@gmail.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Tuesday, March 19

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Students use a 3D model to demonstrate their groups traffic solutions at Hazelwood Elementary School on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Your choice, drivers; slow down or pay up

More traffic cameras will soon be in use in cities and highways, with steep penalties for violations.

Protect Affordable Care Act by rejecting Trump

The stakes are high in this year’s presidential election. If candidate Donald… Continue reading

Support candidates who support schools

I promised I would stop writing these letters because the gates of… Continue reading

Biden must stop supplying weapons to Israel, Ukraine

Bad foreign policy will come back to haunt us in the long… Continue reading

Comment: Flow of U.S. guns into Mexico is other border crisis

Guns, legal and illegal, are contributing to crime and instability in Mexico, driving many to seek asylum.

RGB version
Editorial cartoons for Monday, March 18

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Carson gets a chance to sound the horn in an Everett Fire Department engine with the help of captain Jason Brock during a surprise Make-A-Wish sendoff Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, at Thornton A. Sullivan Park in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: Everett voters will set course for city finances

This fall and in coming years, they will be asked how to fund and support the services they use.

Devotees of TikTok, Mona Swain, center, and her sister, Rachel Swain, right, both of Atlanta, monitor voting at the Capitol in Washington, as the House passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner doesn't sell, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Lawmakers contend the app's owner, ByteDance, is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok's consumers in the U.S. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Editorial: Forced sale of TikTok ignores network of problems

The removal of a Chinese company would still leave concerns for data privacy and the content on apps.

Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, watches the State of the State speech by Gov. Jay Inslee on the second day of the legislative session at the Washington state Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Editorial: Legislature has its own production of ‘The Holdovers’

What state lawmakers left behind in good ideas that should get more attention and passage next year.

Comment: Measles outbreaks show importance of MMR vaccinations

The highly contagious disease requires a 95 percent vaccination rate to limit the spread of outbreaks.

Harrop: Should ‘affordable’ come at cost of quality of living?

As states push their cities to ignore zoning rules, the YIMBYs are covering for developers.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.