(hat tip: Instapundit)
Let me make it clear that my point in drawing attention to the reports with which I began is not to draw attention away from any atrocities that have been committed in Iraq by US soldiers. At Haditha and elsewhere, if there have been transgressions of the laws of war by American personnel, then they should be investigated and prosecuted. What is breathtaking about Younge's piece, however, is the structure of justifying advocacy it contains. He talks of the wanton murder of civilians in order to delegitimize the US occupation, while passing over the fact that, almost daily, wanton murder is being committed by forces opposed to the occupation, and as a way of defeating not only the occupation itself but also political arrangements democratically voted for by the Iraqi people. It's just as if this weren't happening or else had no troubling moral implications in Younge's head. No, on the other side of things, there is just 'resistance' - almost like a natural phenomenon, beyond right and wrong, good or evil. How come it doesn't occur to him that if 'the wanton murder of civilians' - week in and week out - is part of the resistance to occupation, then there is 'clearly something wrong' with this so-called resistance? And how come he doesn't then go on to ask what it would mean if this so-called resistance were to enjoy the triumph of bringing about a coalition withdrawal? How come there isn't a two-sided assessment of the aforesaid 'mission', informed by all those wanton murders with which I began? It seems that wanton murder in Iraq doesn't show up on Younge's radar unless it's Americans who are responsible for it.
There is a psychological blindness suffered by most of the left these days. This is an hysterical blindness, whose underlying motivation is obscured by the passionate and emotional appeals of those suffering from it.
Something very troubling is going on inside their psyches--something that they wish to avoid seeing at all costs; because if it were to come into thier mental focus; and if their brains were to process it--it would turn their world upside down.
Many of them truly believe they are looking at reality -- that's why they seriously refer to themselves as the "reality-based community". This is the same sort of phenomenon as the famous "I am not a crook" type of statement. If you have to keep asserting something like that, it is often the case that you probably are a crook. Likewise, if you have to keep mentioning that you are "reality-based", it becomes more and more certain that --whatever you may be, reality has little to do with it.
Instead of reality, the left is looking at is a figment of their imagination; an expression of their deepest desires; a deep, dark secret that must be kept from their own awareness.
Let us take a moment to assess all the information we have about their psychological sickness. By looking at the outlines, we can make a reasonable guess about the underlying motivation that energizes their blindness--and determine what it is they do not want to face in reality:
--They are willing to condemn American soldiers--before an investigation; without sufficient evidence; and automatically assuming the worse.
--They use several isolated incidents; and a handful of individuals and generalize the motives of a few to the entire military;
--They refuse to acknowledge that the military aggressively pursues wrongdoing on the part of individual soldiers and holds them accountable.
--This general condemnation of the military is --for them--simply more evidence showing how evil America is; proof that America has betrayed the values they claim to desire to uphold.
--They willfully ignore--or worse, are not interested in the continual attacks, suicide bombing and ruthless murders of thousands of Iraqi men, women and children by the terrorists.
--To the extent that they acknowledge such attacks at all, they use them as additional evidence of the evil of America (the old children's lament, "But Sammy made me do it!" seems to apply).
--They completely ignore the fact that numerous milestones have been achieved by the Iraqi people; elections have been held; democratic institutions are being developed; and in general, all the good that Americans have done.
--At best they will only grant that the actions of the US and the terrorist are morally equivalent; at worse, they grant the terrorists the moral high ground and are willing to believe anything one of them says about us; but distrust and automatically disbelieve anything President Bush or his adminsitrations; as well as the US military has to say.
I would be remiss as a psychiatrist if I did not ask the exact same question that Norm Geras has. Why are they focusing on supposed American atrocities and indifferent to the terrorists' ongoing legacy of atrocities? Why are they so sure that America is the real evil in the world--and dismissive of the Islamofascist threat? Why is it that all their anger and rage is directed at America--and they have no emotion left over to expend on the pervasive evil that is evident to anyone with eyes open?
How is it even remotely possible that John Murtha could consider--let alone publicly claim--that the US is the biggest threat to world peace? A sentiment echoed by much of the left, and which reverberates in the passages that Geras quotes in his blog.
The events of the 21st century have come as a rude psychological shock to the left. They, like all of us, have been stunned by the terrible events that have transpired; brought about by the medieval remnants of a religion that is anti-civilization, anti-Western, anti-American, anti-Israeli; and fundamentally anti-human. The barbarism of the fanatics of this religion is almost unacceptable to the modern mind, and has caused most of the West to stumble in response, held back by their own decency. It has caused a re-evaluation of many tenets of western civilization and a paradigm shift of enormous proportions as the West struggles to respond to the never-before conceptualized danger.
For the left, the events of the early 21st century have been especially traumatic; coming as they did just as the world was about to bury the useless leftist ideology once and for all. It was to be "the end of history" after all. But the Islamofascists have given the left breathing room and a chance to salvage their own quasi-religious beliefs about socialism and utopia.
But there was only one problem. Their real motives had to be hidden. As much as they admire the Hugo Chavez' of the world; to blatantly express his views is to unmask the left's agenda, and most of the the serious intellects of the left realized this. Thus, they deliberately wrapped themselves in the cloak of the "patriot" or the "internationalist" in order to keep that agenda hidden.
But for most of the regular minions on the left, reality was a bit overwhelming, and the psyche in such extreme cases wautomatically will take steps to protect the sense of self and the dearly held world-view when it threatens to shatter. Psychological blindness is a small price to pay--at least at first--to hold everything together, and to continue to believe that your beliefs represent the good.
The psychological blindness allow them to ignore the real evil -- those who perpetrated 9/11, 7/7; and who daily blow themselves up for the glory of an insatiably ruthless god, glorified by human sacrifice. The blindness results in their being sublimely indifferent to the reality around them; but permits them to focus on events and incidents that are relatively trivial in comparison. Their world is falling apart; their ideology has failed repeatedly in the real world; but all they can do is close their eyes to it and focus ("displace") their anger onto a convenient target whose very existence reminds them of the failures.
The blindness and their displaced anger together inexorably point to one fundamental psychological truth. They identify with the terrorists. The left deeply feels the terrorists pain--and shares their anger and rage. After all, both have the same enemy.
The horrible truth they cannot acknowledge when they look at themselves in the mirror is that they see the terrorists as their allies in a last, desperate battle to save their ideology. And they cannot and will not acknowledge the consequences of that. So the blindness becomes deeper, darker. The sickness worse.
The demon has been awakened, but they don't want to see it in themselves.
Looking at my own reflection
When suddenly it changes
Violently it changes
Oh no, There is no turning back now
You've woken up the demon ... in me
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
You mother get up
Come on get down with the sickness
You fucker get up
Come on get down with the sickness
Madness is the gift, that has been given to me
I can see inside you, the sickness is rising
Don't try to deny what you feel
(Will you give in to me?)
It seems that all that was good has died
And is decaying in me
(Will you give in to me?)
Looking at my own reflection
When suddenly it changes
Violently it changes
Oh no, There is no turning back now
You've woken up the demon ... in me
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
You mother get up
Come on get down with the sickness
You fucker get up
Come on get down with the sickness
Madness is the gift, that has been given to me
I can see inside you, the sickness is rising
Don't try to deny what you feel
(Will you give in to me?)
It seems that all that was good has died
And is decaying in me
(Will you give in to me?)
-Get Down With The Sickness from Dawn of the Dead
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