Anti-Semitism Alive and Well

I have to give Adolf Hitler credit for one thing: no one can claim he wasn't clear about his feelings toward Jews. Hitler made it clear that he wanted Jews wiped off the planet, and was willing to do his part in accomplishing this. Unfortunately, anti-semitism did not begin or end with Hitler. There is still a good chunk of humanity that blames Jews, and often the nation of Israel, for many of the evils in today's world. Some, like the murderers of Hezbollah, Hamas, and al-Qaeda, and the current president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are, like Hitler, quite clear about their rabid hatred for Jews and Israel. But, sadly, there is a pervasive prejudice against Jews and Israel found among many nations, organizations, and individuals who purport to be fair and who claim to want peace and justice in the world.

Take the United Nations. This body is supposed to be an impartial arbiter between the different nations and people groups of the world. Yet in the 62 year history of the modern nation of Israel, the UN has passed over 65 resolutions against the nation of Israel and NONE against the Palestinians and Arabs who oppose Israel's existence. Israel is a democracy which grants basic human and civil rights to its citizens, whether Jewish or not. Israel respects the rights of women, minorities, gays, religious people, secular people, blacks, Arabs, and others who live within its borders. By contrast, all of Israel's neighbors, along with the Hamas-led Palestinians in Gaza, do not recognize similar rights for women, gays, non-Muslims, and people who recognize Israel's right to exist. Over and over again, representatives of Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, the PLO, and other terrorist groups, have killed and maimed innocent Israeli civilians. None of these groups recognize Israel's right to exist, and clearly express their desire to see the Jewish nation destroyed. Yet it is Israel who has consistently borne the brunt of UN condemnation for actions taken to defend its people, not the groups who seek Israel's destruction.

In fact, of the world's 195 countries, there is only 1 whose right to exist is questioned at all, and that nation is Israel. Is it a coincidence that the only nation on earth whose very existence is daily questioned and threatened is a nation established for the Jewish people? Shortly after taking power in Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Israel should be "wiped out from the map." He added, "And God willing, with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism." Compare these statements with the one made by Hitler in a speech delivered to the Reichstag shortly before World War 2 began. In Hitler's speech of January 30, 1939, he said:

Today I want to be a prophet once more: if international finance Jewry inside and outside of Europe should succeed once more in plunging nations into another world war, theconsequence will not be the Bolshevization of the earth and thereby the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe.

Sadly, the world stood by and watched Hitler and his Nazi thugs murder 6 millions Jews before they were stopped. As a result, Jews and those who support them should take seriously threats made by the likes of Hitler to try to wipe Jews out. Where is the UN's and the world's condemnation for Ahmadinejad for his threats to wipe out Israel? Where is the outrage at his desire to see the United States, the best friend of the Jewish nation and people, and the greatest force for good on earth, destroyed? Why is the United Nations idly watching Iran equip itself with the capability to build and deliver nuclear weapons that can bring massive death and destruction to Israel? It is time for good people, Jewish and Gentile, to stand up to the evil of anti-semitism. Failure to do so is cowardice and is itself evil. Israel, unlike the Jews in Europe under Hitler, thankfully has the power to do a lot of damage to her enemies. The good nations and people around the world, especially free democracies like the U.S., need to stand with Israel and the Jewish people against the evil that would love to repeat the Nazi genocide of the Holocaust.

Location:Illinois 60,Volo,United States

Arizona Anti-Illegal Immigration Law: Right Wing Hate?

Laying in bed this morning listening to the radio, I heard a young Chicago man describe how he was carried across the border from Mexico to the United States when he was 6 months old, and he has never been back to Mexico in his life. He feels Chicago is his home, the U.S. is his country. He then dismissed anyone who wants to see him returned to Mexico as an illegal immigrant as "a racist right-winger." Of course, the recent Arizona anti-illegal immigration law prompted the interview in which these comments were made.

I have no desire to see this man deported to Mexico...none. His entry into the U.S. was not his choice, and this is his home. It is his classification of anyone who wants to stop illegal immigration as racist that I find to be objectionable. This is a common tactic of my fellow Americans on the left: to dismiss anyone with a differing point of view or more conservative outlook as racist, xenophobic, homophobic, sexist, intolerant, Islamophobic, or bigoted. (Dennis Prager points this out on a regular basis on his radio talk show...credit for this list must go to him!!!). Rather than actually try to argue the issues on their merits, progressives will almost automatically resort to charging their opponents with one of these labels. After all, racists don't need to be argued with; they simply need to be rebuked and ignored. This is a very convenient way of not having to come up with a logical argument to support one's viewpoint...simply end the argument by labeling the enemy as a hater, and you've won.

My personal point of view is that the new Arizona law is flawed: it has some good points and bad points, like most human-generated laws, but overall, it could have been more effectively drafted. My point is not to defend the law. But the charge that the 51% of Americans who support the law (Gallup Poll, April 29, 2010), including 70% of Arizonans, are all right-wing racists, is a vile slander and reflects an inability to formulate a cogent argument against the law. Racism has NOTHING to do with support for this bill...and those who disagree with the law should stop charging those who disagree with them with it. Instead, come up with some ideas that reflect your point of view, and express them in a civil way. Yeah, it requires more thought and hard work...hopefully, that's not too strong a deterrent.

Opportunity

Webster's dictionary defines opportunity as "a good chance for advancement or progress." Ever since its inception in 1776, and especially following the adoption of the U.S. Constitution in 1788 and the Bill of Rights in 1791, the United States has been distinctly viewed on the world stage as a land of opportunity. Why is that? I am quite sure that one factor, more than any other, has led to America's reputation as a land of abundant opportunity: LIMITED GOVERNMENT.

So why is limited government a vital and necessary ingredient for opportunity to blossom and thrive? Quite simply, opportunity thrives where human beings have the ability to make choices that will allow them to advance, without interference or obstruction from others. By its very nature, government exists to obstruct. This is quite appropriate when the government obstructs killers, thieves, vandals, and drunk drivers from violating the God-given rights of others to their lives, liberty, and property. When the government acts to protect and secure the rights of its citizens by obstructing those who would violate those rights, it is doing what it was made to do. But when government does almost anything else, it is obstructing those same citizens from realizing opportunities they could otherwise pursue.

Take taxes...the government certainly does. Every dollar the government takes from its citizens in taxes results in slightly less opportunity for those citizens. Or consider government regulation of wages - when the government decides to require a business to pay its workers $1 more per hour, the opportunity to hire one more worker may be erased. That's an opportunity lost for both the boss and the potential employee. Now, no sane person argues that there should be a total elimination of taxes or a total abdication of government regulation in the workplace. But it must be recognized that every governmental exercise of power is a limitation on its citizens' choices, and that is an opportunity killer.

America is distinct in the world today because of the carefully constructed limitations on the size, reach, and power of government in our lives. The founders of this nation created such a system by ingenious design...and it has resulted in the greatest land of opportunity the world has yet seen. It is my earnest hope that we do not now wreck what the Founding Fathers so carefully constructed.

Opportunity, Individualism, and Liberty.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the meaning of the United States of America over the course of the past 16 months, ever since the election of President Obama. I respectfully disagree with the President on many more issues than I agree with him, and many of these disagreements warrant their own discussions. But I think I've discovered that, at their core, my differences with the President stem from philosophies of government that are diametrically opposed to one another. It seems like great ideas often come down to "sets of 3," and I've isolated 3 concepts that form the core of my philosophy of government: opportunity, individualism, and liberty. I plan on exploring each of these 3 ideals over the course of the coming weeks. In my opinion, they form, and have always formed, the foundation upon which our nation was founded; and it is through these virtues that the United States has become the greatest nation the world has ever seen.