"Do you create anything, or just criticize others work and belittle their motivations?"

I think criticism can be a wonderfully creative activity. Should be more of it.

This was an unusual post for JW, but on reflection, a good one. There is a lot of criticism on this site for the efforts of some, and I too am not immune from dishing it out sometimes.

I know the small things I contribute in various areas, and have had my work also criticised, rather than critiqued.

Thanks for posting this Robert.

Who the hell is Steve Jobs?

The dude from apple computers?!?

Well, look at it this way... At least some people are listening.

NOT!!!

The function of criticism at the present time -- to quote an old poet -- remains what it was when Matthew Arnold first used the phrase: "to see the object as it really is." Islam as an ideology is not being subject to appropriate study and critical scrutiny. Those who determine the fates of our nations engage in policies -- immigration policies, foreign aid polices, policies of appeasement in our domestic arranaements and in our foreign policies, policies that, based on ignorance and wishful thinking, are costing us trillions of dollars that need not be, need not have been, squandered, if only we had had the knowledge, and the wit, to "see the object as it really is."

That object is Islam. Criticism, especially that which is withering and unanswerable, that which holds up for permanent mockery those who are either fools, or who are such careerists, committed to folly in the past and unwilling, out of that very careerism, to modify their previous views, to admit that they misunderstood, or were wrong, or presented as a clever strategy something that is not only largely ineffective, but inimical to furthering a better understanding of the meaning, and hence of the menace, of Islam by non-Muslims, imperilled as they are, in ways they do not quite grasp.

Intelligent criticism of all of this is to be celebrated, not to be deplored.

People - the new Miss USA (Michigan) is a Muslim?

http://www.freep.com/article/20100516/NEWS02/100516018/

"Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfulls the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things."
-Winston Churchill

"Do you create anything, or just criticize others work and belittle their motivations?"

An elitist question...it's also the pot calling the kettle black...Only a person with a huge ego could ask this hypocrisy...Only someone who believes their own creations and motivations are beyond question, could ask it...In short, the sinner is casting stones...'Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most creative, and has the best motivations of all'? To which the mirror relied...'I don't know, but it ain't you buster'...Everyone needs a magick mirror to keep them from getting a swelled head and falling into a perverted relationship with themselves...The mirror never lies...
I wonder when was the last time Steve looked into his?

In any organization, there are two types of people - those who work and people who criticize what the first group has done.

However, a good movie, book or food critic can save you money.

But let's take this as a banzai challenge to do the best we can, each one of us, to spread the word all over the blog-o-sphere, talk to our friends and neighbors, to not let any piece of taquiyya go unchallenged and to vote out of office any politician so PC and MC that they refuse to recognize the threat that Islam poses to world civilization.

Never Submit!

I do too.

After having read the article, Jobs' attitude comes across as very statist. He, and those at Apple, know best what it is you need. You need "freedom" from having to make day to day decisions. You don't want to look at porn, so he makes sure you can't. You don't want to watch something on YouTube because he believes that the program may make your info vulnerable, so you don't need to make that choice. So on and so forth. Sounds a lot like that thing called islam. Don't worry about having to make right and wrong choices, it'll lay out everything you need to know, from how to dress to how to wipe your back side. Ah, the statist version of freedom, *sniff sniff* smells like.... BS.

"Do you create anything, or just criticize others work and belittle their motivations?"
........................

Interesting post–and, of course, there are a number of different ways to come at this. I don't believe this is any sort of statement about how it is not appropriate to *criticize Jihad*, as some may have interpreted it.

There are a number of individuals and groups doing yeoman's work in fighting Jihad. There are times when we may not agree with these individuals on every point, but it is important—vital, even—to acknowledge the importance of their work.

It is especially concerning when some individuals—even some on JW—decide to disparage the worth of some anti-Jihadist's entire body of work over some minor point—*especially* when the critic has done very little substantive anti-Jihad work themselves.

Some examples that come to mind are focusing on Dr. Daniel Pipe's (possibly) ill-considered use of the term "Islamist", or those who might have a different view of "Atlas Shrugged" from Pamela Geller, or who take issue with Mark Steyn's use of irreverent humor vis-a-vis Jihad—or who have some issues with Hugh or with Robert Spencer in their approach.

These people are all heroes of mine—and all have done much, much more than I have in the fight against Jihad.

Now, I do not believe that *anyone* should be considered beyond criticism, nor that it is inappropriate to take issue with this or that point—even if one is in broad agreement with someone's overall stance.

But at times I have seen someone raked over the coals or even dismissed over some minor matter, when they should be considered a great ally in the fight against Jihad—and that is nothing more than foolish and short-sighted. I may not agree with every position taken by every fighter against Jihad—indeed, I do not—but I know who's work I admire, and I know who our allies are.

It's something we should never lose sight of, not matter what small disagreements may arise along the way.

I don't know who this Steve guy is, but what I am very careful about is being sidetracked by others who like to complicate matters. People can sit around, theorize, have intellectual discourse, analyze, etc, and nothing gets done. I think that its highly important to know what we are doing, but there comes a point where the purpose for the activity can become lost by tearing every element of its purpose to shreds. So, I think a critical thinking approach is necessary to activists, but not done to the extent that it actually corrodes and undermines the impetus for action. I also am very appreciative and supportive of the people who have put themselves on the line in this anti-islamization battle. They are role models for the rest of us who feel we want to do something to help.We have a choices---we can become paralyzed with fear; we can live in denial; we can feel sorry for ourselves; we can lash out in the same kind of subhuman rage that mozoids have; or, we can follow the direction and example of people who seem to be on the right track in correcting the problem.