Mere Rhetoric: Sophisticated Washington Post Debunking Of Terrorism Lacks Something In The Way Of Not Being Smugly Banal

If we sign something that says "we admit that liberals are better-er and smarter-er than conservatives", will they promise to stop trying to insipidly prove to everyone that their understanding of the world is more sophisticated than everyone else's? Because of the two kinds of fundamental errors - covering over genuine distinctions vs. pointing to differences that don't make any kind of real difference - the second one is definitely more annoying. There is nothing easier than pointing out an irrelevant difference - it's the basis of an entire cottage industry in the academy, and the way that toddlers first tell the difference between red and green and hard and soft. But the reference to the irrelevant becomes particularly annoying when it forms the basis of our international diplomacy. Or when it's done smugly in the cause of denying the overwhelming threat of terrorism:

Six years after 9/11, all too many Americans still have only a vague idea of what does -- and doesn't -- motivate terrorists. It doesn't help that many politicians exploit the anxiety that terrorism evokes to promote their own agendas. Here are five key urban legends:

(1) Terrorism is a random act carried out by irrational people who hate our way of life.
(2) Terrorists are no different than ordinary criminals.
(3) Terrorists are likely to cross into the United States from Mexico.
(4) Terrorism is mainly perpetrated by Muslims.
(5) Terrorism never succeeds.

See-Dubya over at Hot Air dismantled "myths" 3 and 4, and we don't really have a problem with the debunking of 2 and 5. But to deny that jihadists don't hate the Western tradition or way of life strains credibility. Their terrorism isn't random - that much is certainly true - but it is certainly opportunistic. They openly state their desire to establish a global caliphate subject to sharia law. They pathologically and viscerally loath the rights that the West gives to religious minorities, women, and gays. Virtually nothing of the twenty-five thousand year Western tradition would be left over if these genocidal lunatics managed to implement half of what they openly declare they want to implement.

Rereading the entire article, it doesn't even seem like he addresses the "hate our way of life" part of the "myth." Most of that part is devoted to proving that terrorists are not stupid - which, of course, they're not. We'll gladly agree that terrorists time their attacks - the Palestinians have taken to launching rockets while Sderot schoolchildren are walking to school, to make sure that the 5 and 6 year olds don't have time to reach bomb shelters.

But any leftists looking for something sophisticated to bring up the weekend cocktail party will still be able to walk away from the article with the assurance that terrorists do not hate our way of life and can, presumably, be reasoned with.

References:
* The Denial of the Obvious By Reference to the Irrelevant: Center-Left Foreign Policy and Democratic Politics [MR]
5 Myths About Terrorism [WaPo]
* Myths about Myths on Terrorism [Hot Air]

Previously:
* Uhh... When Did the Washington Post Start Letting Terrorists Publish Propaganda?
* Yes, the Pope Is Catholic - Juan Cole As a Study In Pro-Jihadist Faux Liberal Sophistication (Updated)
* Brown University Outrage: Anti-Israel Academics Organize Conference To Attack Pro-Israel Critics, Shut Out Pro-Israel Speakers and Students

Cross-posted to:
* The Astute Bloggers