Destroying Society in the Name of Personal Freedom

Below is a very interesting article from the Wall Street Journal. My thoughts are under the article.

'Freak Show Holland'
By BAS HEIJNE
July 28, 2006

AMSTERDAM -- Many years ago, I watched a debate on British television about a proposal to lower the age of consent for sex between males to 18 from 21. At one point a matronly Conservative parliamentarian said bluntly: "We do not want to live in a pedophile society like they have in the Netherlands."

I remember how shocked I was by this lie. The age of consent then was 16, as it still is, irrespective of your sexual orientation. But in the U.K., a similar plan led this MP to paint a vision of pure sexual horror, where the state would promote the abuse of little boys. That nightmare had a name: the Netherlands. And she wanted none of that in her own country. (Eventually, in 2000, Britain did lower the age to 16, the same age as for heterosexual relationships.)

We Dutch are used to having our country serve as a rhetorical device without much regard to the truth. In the popular image, the Netherlands is associated with legal drugs, gay marriage and state-approved euthanasia -- a symbol of liberalism gone berserk. It's the price we apparently have to pay for being on the cutting edge of moral and sexual issues.

Secretly the Dutch are, I think, proud of being badmouthed by American talk-show hosts and Italian senators, who absurdly compare the very strict Dutch law on assisted suicide with Nazi death camps. We know that in the long run even American and Italians hotheads have to push their rhetoric aside, and debate the painful moral dilemma of how to help the terminally ill who wish to end their own suffering.

Recently, the smug Dutch self-image has taken blow after blow. Though most of us would still staunchly defend Dutch liberalism against foreign caricature, there is a nagging sense within the country that perhaps Holland may not be the best of all possible worlds anymore. Since 2002, we have witnessed two political assassinations. First the flamboyant Pim Fortuyn, a defender of liberalism and sexual freedom against the neo-puritanism of radical Islam, was shot dead by a fanatical animals-rights activist. Then maverick filmmaker Theo van Gogh, another self-styled defender of sexual liberalism, was slaughtered by a radical Muslim.

And now a small group of Dutch pedophiles wants to form a political party, the "Brotherly Love, Freedom and Diversity Party," and contest November elections with a call to legalize child pornography and lower the age of consent to 12. "Freak Show Holland" again made the headlines. Have we been tolerating the intolerable for too long?

In fact, the Dutch were as repulsed as anyone else. Party treasurer Ad van den Berg was chased from a holiday trailer park in the Netherlands when his 1987 conviction for molesting an 11-year-old boy became known. In a poll, 85% of the population supported the antipedophile organization Soelaas (Solace) in its law suit to have the party banned. But the judge ruled that freedom of expression can only be limited where public order is at direct risk. Since even the complainants admitted that the men behind the party were merely trying to change laws, not to break them, a direct risk could not be established. The decision can be seen as the essence of Dutch pragmatic liberalism: There is no need to ban even something like a pedophile party as it won't even get a single seat anyway.

Still, there is an element of self-doubt in Dutch public outrage about the party. What really got under our skin was the fact that these men claimed their sexual perversion was a justified political cause, on par with gay marriage and assisted suicide of the terminally ill. They speak the language of individual moral choice, in the best tradition of 1970s Dutch liberalism, abusing and twisting its real meaning. Surely something must be wrong with our cherished beliefs if they can be perverted so easily?

The Dutch may have begun to realize that, in their emphasis on individual rights, they might have neglected their sense of community. How do personal moral choices affect society? Anxieties caused by globalization and immigration have laid bare an unexpected need to belong to a group of shared values, not just individual rights.

For the Dutch, who in the past fiercely contested the enforced morality of church and state and nonchalantly ignored questions of identity, these anxieties can seem overwhelming. After the rapid modernization of our society, we have not much to fall back on.

The incidents that put us on the front pages of the world's newspapers may seem shocking. But our underlying concerns about the individual's responsibility in a fragmented society place us firmly in the modern world.

Mr. Heijne is a Dutch writer and cultural critic.

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This is a very important shift in thinking, and is critical to our future way of life. The article is interesting because on the one hand, you have a very proud Dutchman (is that still an acceptable label?), defending his country’s traditions of liberalism and “cutting edge” moral legislation. On the other hand, you have someone who is beginning to “open his eyes” in a Matrix sense, and see the fallacy of rights-at-any-cost unfold around him. He’s put in an interesting position, trying to reconcile years of liberalism with the logical end result (and the scary specter of what the future holds).

This is the dead-end of liberalism that no one wants to talk about. Do you accept ANY behavior based on the very logic you used for generations to melt away Christian morals and decency? In the race to grant everyone special rights to do anything we wish, regardless of consequence, we have failed to neglect the warning signs on the road ahead. Now, this poor Dutchman is standing at the edge of a cliff asking himself why he went this far.

We are heading in the same direction in this country. Although, with typical American gusto we are RUSHING to the precipice, trying to “catch up” with the so-called wise democracies in Europe. Are we prepared to grant sexual relations for anything and anyone? If we do, why stop there?

I think Brigham Young once prophesied that “the traps left to ensnare the Saints and Laws of God will eventually dig the hole into which those who helped in the digging will eventually fall and perish by their own hand.” Or something very similar. This sounds like a partial fulfillment of that prophecy.

An Overlooked Problem

Currently, there are a number of places in the US that are currently without electrical power due to heat overloads, storms and other problems. In NYC, St. Louis and California there are hundreds of thousands of people (literally, that many) who have been without power for over a week. Think about that for a moment, and imagine how your life would change if you didn't have electrical power to rely on. All of the food in your fridge would be spoiled in a day. If you have electric stoves, you'd have nothing to cook with. No hot water from the water heater and no way to charge your cellphone or use your cordless home phone. You would be cut off.

Now, thinking about this, ask yourself - do I have adequate food storage?

Consider this another reminder to get your houses in order. It's not only hurricanes that can disrupt civilization.

Saudi Arabia Fears Full-Scale Mid-East War

Just when you think things might actually start to calm down in the Middle East, something else happens that threatens to re-ignite the whole thing.

Not only will THIS statement by Saudi King Abdullah likely cause a spike in oil prices, but it might also lead Israel into becoming even more defensive in their posture. I'm not sure where all of this will lead, but wars in the past (even big ones) have been tools that have opened up parts of the world to the Gospel for the first time.

Perhaps the Mid-East is ready for the Gospel? I just don't know.

This Looks Eerily Familiar

Hezbollah

Wow. Haven't we seen this kind of army before?

"Day of Happiness Near"

Those were the words spoken by Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. More specifically, he said, "The day of happiness for the region is near… The world is on the verge of great changes." (Click HERE for the short article)

Why does this frighten me?

We all know this guy is a complete whack-job. But he also happens to be the head of state for one of the most powerful regimes in the region and could be potentially sitting on nukes. What could this "great day" be in his mind? A nuclear armed Iran? He's often spoken wistfully about the destruction of Israel. Does he plan a mass attack there?

I'm afraid that even if this ends up amounting to nothing - someday, something WILL happen. And I have a feeling Iran will be a part of it.

A Little Speculation on WWIII

Are we headed for WWIII?

I hate to be an alarmist, but I have never heard so many references to this kind of war since I was a kid growing up in the 80’s (uh oh, my age is out of the bag).

Tonight I was watching O’Reilly go about his usual ego-saturated rants (the majority of which I also happen to agree with), when he brought up an idea that intrigued me. He mentioned that he believes this instability from Israel’s north is a result of Iranian forces moving to destabilize the region. He didn’t give any supporting facts, only threads from his imagination. But I thought, hmm… this makes a certain kind of sense (as many conspiracy theories do). Let’s look at the facts:

Iran has been stalling on a decision about how to respond to UN demands that it halt uranium enrichment activities. During this time, Iran has made statements to the effect that it would come to the defense of Palestinians should they come under attack by Israelis. Keep in mind, these statements were made way before Gilad Shalit was taken prisoner, and thus, before the current military situation in Gaza was even a twinkle in Ehud Olmert’s eye. In fact, this all started literally on the eve of Mahmoud Abbas’ referendum would have (potentially and quite possibly) led to Palestinian recognition of Israel.

So Israel goes into Gaza to rescue Shalit, who is nowhere to be found. Then, just as tensions start to ease (relative to the first several days), Hezbollah militants kill 8 Israeli soldiers to the north in what is termed a “bold move” that would open a new front to the north. Hezbollah fires crude rockets that wildly manage to hit a few sparsely populated areas – and then, somehow – a rocket manages to fly nearly 100 miles to the Israeli port city of Haifa. This is the major escalation that has been talked about for the past 36 hours.

Hezbollah immediately denies responsibility. I happen to believe them. Why would they deny something that would potentially raise their status as heroes of the cause? Maybe… because they honestly didn’t do it? Soon after, there was talk of an Iranian connection. (more talk here) Could Iran be proving their ability to pit the world against each other?

Russia, China and Europe condemned Israeli action while the US supported it. Iran has now threatened Israel with a “fierce response” should Israel attack Syria. Well guess what – all the so called Lebanese-based terrorists are now supposedly all headed across the border into Syria? If Israel follows them, and Iran attacks Israel, then what? Well, just a few weeks ago President Bush said that the United States would defend Israel against Iranian aggression. Russia said it would defend Iran (if the conditions were right). You be the judge.

Granted, this is the worst possible scenario – but we’re already halfway there. All it takes is Israel going into Syria. Then boom, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gets to fulfill his destiny of being the President when the Hidden Imam returns amid WWIII.

Oh yeah, and oil hit $78 a barrel.

A Book Recommendation!

I'm going to recommend David Kupelian's book, The Marketing of Evil. While not quite as thought-provoking as some of the bona fide Gospel-centered books I've read, the book does manage to highlight several alarming trends in this country that are, well, very alarming. That's not to say that the book is bereft of logic or thoughtful analyses, because it's not. However, it's written for a broad audience (which means its a bit easier to read) and serves to inform the American public about a world where traditional morals and ideals have been hijacked and turned into bywords before our very eyes.

A few weeks ago I read an excerpt of this book that talked about the homosexual agenda for America. The Marketing of Evil starts there, and then begins to highlight some of the other problems in the country that conservatives find so appalling. For example, some of the chapters include: The Myth of Church-State Separation; Multicultural Madness (How Western Culture was Turned Upside Down in a Generation); The Campaign to Destroy Marriage; Obsessed with Sex (How Fraudulent Science Unleashed a Catastrophic Revolution); The Media Matrix (What We Think is Real); and finally, How Lying Marketers Sold America on Unrestricted Abortion.

I went into this book somewhat skeptical, thinking I wouldn't learn anything I didn't already know. Not so. The book, while sometimes preachy (a lot of Bible references), really punched me between the eyes. As I told a friend, it's virtually a laundry list of "secret combinations." Having said that, let me point out that this book isn't tabloid. Yes, it's alarming (as I mentioned), but it's alarming in a way that should serve to wake up the conservative middle class (if only they could get their minds around some of the lies that are being spread in this country via the media). The best comparison I can think of for this book would be something by Rush Limbaugh. In that, I mean that the author takes the liberty of making anecdotal assertions sometimes without stating all of the facts. Just because I agree with what he's saying, doesn't mean I don't want to know how the information being conveyed stacks up against a counter-point. However, the author does back up most of his examples with hard facts.

Upon finishing it, I feel that is has changed the way I view the world in many respects (specifically with regards to the media, abortion and the gay rights agenda). I also found that I came away with new zeal and passion for the conservative cause. My eyes feel opened anew, and Mr. Kupelian's articulate description of the modern ideological plagues that face this nation really struck a chord with me. He sounds very much like a Mormon at times. You'll finish this book in a day or two, easily.