Ezra Levant is a warrior for free speech in Canada whose Western Standard magazine was one of the only ones in the Western world to stand up to Islamic intimidation and reprint the Danish cartoons of Muhammad. He hosts The Source daily on Sun News Network, and has written several books on politics, including Shakedown: How our government is undermining democracy in the name of human rights.
Video courtesy Pamela Hall.
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Wow. I was particularly moved by the insight that free people started the fight back as soon as they new there was a battle - on United 93. Ever since then, jihadis on planes have been jumped on by the free as soon as they reveal themselves.
"..it's not enough to remember and grieve, we must remember why they were killed..."
A secret guarded by the current president of the United States and almost as unmentionable as his name written on his own birth certificate Barack Hussein.
"Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord." No, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by doing so you will heap burning coals upon his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
-Romans 12:19-21 RSV
What are your views on individual, societal and national self-defence?
The same St Paul who advises against the pursuit of *private* vengeance - which is how I read the passage you quoted - *also* speaks of the 'sword' which is borne by temporal governments, by authority, by 'the state', and which intended is to be used by them for the restraint of evil.
I do not believe that the seizure and execution of Osama bin Laden was unjust or immoral. He had brought about the murder of thousands, and was busily inciting and plotting more of the same.
Here in Australia, a 13 year old boy called Daniel Morecombe disappeared 8 years ago, from a roadside, in broad daylight.
His parents never gave up hope of finding out what had happened to him.
This August, the police - after years of patient detective work - arrested and charged a suspect. In connection with this arrest, they zeroed in on a particular area of land, which is now being searched meticulously. So far the search has turned up two shoes which are probably those he was wearing at the time of his disappearance, and three pieces of bone that have been positively identified - by DNA - as Daniel's. More remains have since been found.
There will be a trial, painstakingly conducted.
And justice will be done.
That is the 'sword of the state', the police and the judiciary, in operation; impelled to do its job by the pleas of private citizens, namely, the bereaved parents.
Would you have advised Daniel's parents to do nothing at all, to be silent, to declare forgiveness of whoever it was had 'disappeared' their son and to tell the police to take the case off the books...and allow a murderer to remain at large, perhaps to abduct and murder other innocent children?
Mark Steyn, Ezra Levant; you gotta love these Canadians who speak more powerfully and passionately about their love for and support of America than far too many Americans. They get it!
While many here and around the world refuse to recognize or acknowledge the identity of the enemy or the nature of the threat or like the proverbial ostrich, have their heads buried in the sands of the mundane fluff that poses as “glorified, intellectual, enlightened” commentary on the evening news and in the popular press, there are a precious, courageous few who stand up and speak the uncomfortable truth.
"Islam is a religion of peace." Don't dare to even hint that what attentive eyes and ears reveal is the obvious dichotomy in that expression unless you're prepared for virulent condemnation as the most heinous of individuals since the Civil Rights movement, a "racist." Never mind that Islam is not a race. A "racist" has been portrayed as more heinous than a venomous, predatory snake and if you're critical of Islam or Muslims it is essential to their purpose that you be portrayed in the worst possible light and the feckless media is eager to oblige.
Succumbing to the rallying cry of the crowd to label someone as such assures a comfortable membership in a clueless majority and relieves any sense of guilt, fear or concern for what the future might hold; the very human, if troubling, herd mentality; go with the flow, don’t rock the boat, wait before making a commitment until the direction of the wind becomes clear; how “intelligent,” how “deliberate,” how “mature,” how cowardly, lazy and weak. The purveyors of hate, their “friends” from the religion of peace, will lie, flatter, cajole, comfort and hold the hands of this herd as they're led to the slaughter, death if they’re lucky. “The Stealth Jihad.”
If you believe in the Judeo/Christian principles that are the bedrock foundation of the U.S. Constitution, most notably the unalienable rights granted by a Creator to all men created as equals, wake up America and wake up world! Stop equating Mohammad with Jesus. Get over your carefully inculcated dogma and read up. The ugly truth is there for all to see, right out in the open if you just take a few hours away from sucking the giant thumb of “reality TV,” the escape from reality that beckons every evening, do a little online research and use that internal truth detector to separate fact from fiction because both sides are amply represented. And good luck. No less than civilization as the West knows it, hangs in the balance.
That’s the underlying message of Mr. Steyn, Mr. Levant and a myriad if minority of other equally courageous, compelling voices both in and outside of America which, despite the best efforts of American Progressives, is still the beacon of freedom for the free world.