"Slow and Cautious"? Compared to What?
This story about the Danish reaction to the cartoon furor, from the International Herald-Tribune, is revealing.
Note this sentence: "But the prime minister avoided criticizing the Bush administration for its slow and cautious defense of an ally" ("slow and cautious" is apparently the newspaper's own bit of editorializing).
Then contrast that with this illuminating quote from today's LA Times:
"A lot of Danes have problems understanding what is going on and why people in those countries reacted this way," said Morton Rixen, a philosophy student, looking out his window at a city awhirl in angst and snow. "We're used to seeing American flags and pictures of George Bush being burned, but we've always seen ourselves as a more tolerant nation. We're in shock to now be in the center of this."
Sounds to me that if anything has been "slow and cautious," it's the "tolerant nation[s]" that are all too willing to put up with anti-Americanism, but then scream like stuck pigs when they're the ones under attack. Then, it seems, the US is expected to be "johnny on the spot" to stand up for the "tolerant nation" that was all too happy to see hatred of America flourish.
Note this sentence: "But the prime minister avoided criticizing the Bush administration for its slow and cautious defense of an ally" ("slow and cautious" is apparently the newspaper's own bit of editorializing).
Then contrast that with this illuminating quote from today's LA Times:
"A lot of Danes have problems understanding what is going on and why people in those countries reacted this way," said Morton Rixen, a philosophy student, looking out his window at a city awhirl in angst and snow. "We're used to seeing American flags and pictures of George Bush being burned, but we've always seen ourselves as a more tolerant nation. We're in shock to now be in the center of this."
Sounds to me that if anything has been "slow and cautious," it's the "tolerant nation[s]" that are all too willing to put up with anti-Americanism, but then scream like stuck pigs when they're the ones under attack. Then, it seems, the US is expected to be "johnny on the spot" to stand up for the "tolerant nation" that was all too happy to see hatred of America flourish.
posted by LadybugUSA at 10:56 PM
2 Comments:
People who get up on soapboxes need a policeman to keep the crowd under control when tempers fray.
If I may respectfully -- very, very respectfully (and slowly and cautiously) -- point out a silver lining --
A problem we are hearing that the US has for military action against Iran (if it comes to that) is it supposedly would widen the existing chasm between US and European relations. That was certainly the case with Iraq, 2003.
It is NOT 2003. Many grotesque things have happened in Europe, to Europeans, since the invasion of Iraq. Maybe this is wishful, but possibly the hideous attacks in Europe will inspire greater solidarity with US and Europe with action against Iran (again, if it comes to that).
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