Death by political correctness

By Dave Ruthenberg, Columnist

So, has it come to this? In the wake of the shooting spree at Fort Hood, allegedly committed by Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, we are being subjected to an endless stream of ostrich-like denials of one very plain fact, namely Maj. Hassan was a radical Muslim and his faith very likely played a significant role in the actions he is suspected of carrying out.

But if it were just the denials, that would be one thing, but some of the statements being made simply go beyond the pale. And they are coming from some rather surprising sources.

It seems Army chief of staff, Gen. George Casey, actually appears to be more concerned about hurt feelings and sensitivities than the lives of those who perished at Fort Hood. “Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country is a strength,” Casey recently said on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” Now get ready for the galling part of his statement when he added, “and as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse.”

Seriously, general? The loss of “diversity” would be worse than the wanton murder of 13 people and the wounding of another 29?

Our military has apparently become so paralyzed by political correctness we now have the army’s top officer unable to bring himself to acknowledge radical Islamic beliefs may not have a place in our army, or anywhere in our society, considering radical Islam’s intent seems to be just what Maj. Hasan is accused of carrying out: the death of Americans.

Across our political and media landscape, people are tripping over themselves to not call this event a terrorist attack despite the evidence to the contrary. Let’s turn the tables a bit here. Imagine if the attacker, instead of jumping up and shouting “Allahu akbar” (“God is great”) as Maj. Hassan has been reported to have said during the shooting, instead shouted “Jesus is Great!”

Well, we would have a never-ending parade of folks telling us about the evils of intolerant, fundamentalist Christian beliefs. But, you see Christianity is not a protected class, yet the so-called “religion of peace” (as even President Bush was quoted as calling Islam), whose staunchest most radical practitioners celebrate the murder of innocents, gets a pass.

This is borderline madness and is exhibited further by the media’s response.

The fact the alleged shooter is a Muslim nearly sent Newsweek’s Evan Thomas into a fit of babble similar to that of Gen. Casey. “I cringe that he’s a Muslim,” said Thomas. “I mean, because it inflames all the fears. I think he’s probably just a nut case. But with that label attached to him … I mean these things are tragic, but that makes it much worse.”

Then there is this gem from Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago who pointed to America's “love affair with guns” for the shootings. “Every day in society someone’s being killed,” Daley pontificated following the shootings.”Unfortunately, America loves guns. We love guns to a point that we see the devastation on a daily basis.”

You see, it’s your fault for cherishing the right to bear arms. It had nothing to do with terrorism.

You want to know the truth Mayor Daley? The cold, hard truth is political correctness has not only run amok, it is now clearly responsible for a murder rampage on our turf at one of our top military bases. That is terrorism, and PC thinking made it possible.

There were numerous warning signs Maj. Hassan, an army psychiatrist, was potentially a danger.

His fellow medical students were reportedly troubled over his anti-American, pro-Islamic comments that were said to have included comparing suicide bombers to a soldier who throws himself on a grenade to save lives. But, as one student said, they were afraid to report his comments formally for fear of being accused of being anti-Muslim.

Murder is murder. Terrorism is terrorism. We as a nation would do well to worry less about offending those who wish us dead and more about protecting our citizens from those who desire to carry out their warped beliefs. Nobody is suggesting we restrict religious beliefs, but when those beliefs call for the slaughter of innocents, we must be vigilant and not a nation of fearful, mealy mouthed apologists.

Our lives depend on it.



Ruthenberg is copy editor at the News & Eagle. He can be reached at daver@enidnews.com.

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