tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post7605689488480479555..comments2024-03-29T00:24:13.128-04:00Comments on Daniel Greenfield / Sultan Knish Articles at DanielGreenfield.org : The Sick Man of Europe meets IslamDaniel Greenfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13575285186581875356noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-60626983707117164762011-03-14T09:21:16.263-04:002011-03-14T09:21:16.263-04:00Daniel wrote: “The indecisiveness of the former gr...Daniel wrote: “The indecisiveness of the former great powers allowed a failed state like Germany led by a bunch of cheap thugs with a raving lunatic at its head nearly destroy them. What brought Europe to this catastrophic state of affairs was its emphasis on appeasement over defense, and even the willingness to carve up nations like Czechoslovakia rather than confront the clear and present danger of Nazi Germany.”<br /><br />I beg to differ. What brought Europe to that catastrophic state was ideas, specifically Immanuel Kant’s, and even more specifically, his “categorical imperative” that if one wishes a certain thing to happen in reality, all one need do is act as though it were a maxim to so act, and the wish will be realized.<br /><br />Which, in concrete terms, meant that if socialism and collectivism were the desired consequence, all governments needed to do was pass the required legislation to “make it so.” Any disastrous economic consequences, such as among other things, the impoverishment of a nation, mounting debts, and the bureaucratization of private lives, could be explained away with any number of rationalizations, also covered by Kant and his philosophic successors (Hegel et al.). Germany, like the rest of Europe, never learned the philosophical lesson, never bothered to examine closely the cause of its crimes and demise. Nations, like individuals, are governed by a dominant philosophy, whether or not they acknowledge it or even know it.<br /> <br />The behavior of the unionists in Wisconsin is a case in point. These creatures were proof against all reason. They wanted their way, period, regardless of the consequences to the state budget and the private sector, which provided the tax revenues they wanted to gobble up as entitlements. They expected to benefit from their pensions and fringe benefits in a state that had been rendered desolate and turned into a society existing at subsistence levels. <br /><br />On a national level, see Obamacare and other of Obama’s legislative initiatives, all enacted in defiance of reality. “We wish it, and so we made it so.” Obama has the sanction of all those who wish for entitlements regardless of their consequences.<br /><br />America is following Europe’s lead in that respect, but with the crippling pragmatism that eschews the role of ideas in men’s lives.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-86842093081277412632010-04-15T17:50:03.446-04:002010-04-15T17:50:03.446-04:00Well I may be just a bit punch drunk from tax day,...Well I may be just a bit punch drunk from tax day, but yes the sentence can be a bit confusing, since <br /><br />But the end of WW2 demonstrated that Europe had learned no lessons from the disaster, except to once again reassert the dangers of nationalism<br /><br />refers to WW2, while, <br /><br />a fallacious idea that had led Englishmen and Frenchmen to regard their own nationalism with skepticism while giving the German and Russian varieties a pat on the head<br /><br />refers to WW1. The end of WW2 should have taught a lesson on the danger of appeasement, instead Europe repeated the same lesson on the dangers of nationalism, circa WW1.Daniel Greenfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13575285186581875356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-68274083755746246192010-04-15T17:35:45.407-04:002010-04-15T17:35:45.407-04:00Sorry. I don't mean to waste bandwidth with a...Sorry. I don't mean to waste bandwidth with a minor quibble. Yes, they were supposed to learn the proper lessons from WW2.<br /><br />The fallacious idea (nationalism is the problem) does refer to a pre-WW2 phenomenon. England, with Churchill's help, woke up in time to prepare for war. I infer that England had thus <i>also</i> learned the wrong lesson(s) of WWI (or some other event) as well, namely, nationalism is the problem. This erroneous conclusion is what England woke up from.<br /><br />Thus, it seems ever so slightly more accurate to say:<br /><br />[T]he end of WW1 demonstrated that Europe had learned no lessons from the disaster, except . . . the dangers of nationalism, a fallacious idea that . . . led Englishmen and Frenchmen to regard their own nationalism with skepticism while giving the German and Russian varieties a pat on the head. England woke up long enough to let Churchill have his way, but then tossed him out in '45 as soon as things were wrapped up, to once again limp down the curving road of socialism. [Once again, England failed to learn the proper lesson from its recent incredible ordeal]. . . .<br /><br />A v. minor point and if I'm putting words in your mouth, kindly excuse me.Col. B. Bunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09590364016079745156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-90282732524422131132010-04-15T00:37:04.828-04:002010-04-15T00:37:04.828-04:00Why WW1? the fallacious idea refers to conditions ...Why WW1? the fallacious idea refers to conditions before WW2, but the point is they were supposed to have learned from WW2Daniel Greenfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13575285186581875356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-10040869216311040302010-04-15T00:30:14.492-04:002010-04-15T00:30:14.492-04:00Anon 4:04:
Precisely!Anon 4:04:<br /><br />Precisely!Col. B. Bunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09590364016079745156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-8951583310768616822010-04-15T00:28:12.744-04:002010-04-15T00:28:12.744-04:00Superb piece. Did you by any chance mean:
"...Superb piece. Did you by any chance mean:<br /><br />"But the end of<br /><br />WW1<br /><br />demonstrated that Europe had learned no lessons from the disaster, except to once again reassert the dangers"?Col. B. Bunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09590364016079745156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-20393255263750147282009-10-05T12:31:26.807-04:002009-10-05T12:31:26.807-04:00Europe deserves everything it gets and some more. ...Europe deserves everything it gets and some more. After years of pogroms, inquisition and DELIBERATE genocide of Jews, to which they ALL conspired, why wouldn't I want to see some justice done to them??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-27564883322860146282009-10-05T04:04:00.741-04:002009-10-05T04:04:00.741-04:00What is amazing about this Islamization process is...What is amazing about this Islamization process is that Islam is actually very weak & vulnerable. Much is made of petro-dollars but most of the Islamic world is poverty-stricken & the actual amounts of money from oil pales when compared to the wealth of an advanced industrial country.<br />Islam is also weak militarily - no combination of Muslim countries could militarily defeat even a medium-sized European country. Even tiny Israel can beat the crap out of any of them.<br />And, Islam is actually very vulnerable ideologically - which is why they are so afraid of free speech, knowledge about what Islam REALLY preaches & practices, why there is so much censorship in the <br />Islamic world. Why do they react with such anger when Islam is ridiculed, why does Islam lack a sense of humour? Why does Islam need to be enforced by intimidation, threats, & legal means from the State? <br />It isn't that Islam is so strong, it's that the response from the infidels is so weak. This isn't conquest, this is suicide.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-74515459325602009762009-10-05T00:50:58.077-04:002009-10-05T00:50:58.077-04:00Europe will choose another wrong path after Islam ...Europe will choose another wrong path after Islam or even during it.<br />Europe is a place of extremes and former religious fanaticism which I feel will return given the right "miracles" by the right someone.Chana @ Lemon Lime Moonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11656854855385193867noreply@blogger.com