Conservative activist\/writer Dinesh D’Souza has, for some reason, apparently been criticized for blaming the left for the terrorists’ hatred of the United States in general, and 9\/11 in specific. Apparently, it’s all about the culture. As D’Souza explains it, Osama bin Laden and other dangerous Islamic radicals believe the U.S. is too secular, too permissive, too diverse, too free, and too tolerant … and D’Souza believes they’re absolutely right. Therefore, logically, the left invites attacks by reinforcing the beliefs al Qaeda has about the United States.<\/p>\n
The answer, apparently, is to shift our culture to the right, appease the terrorists, and stay safe. After this jaw-dropping, book-length argument drew criticism, D’Souza took to the Washington Post to defend himself<\/a>.<\/p>\n [I]n my recent appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” I had to fend off the insistent host. “But you agree with the Islamic radicals, don’t you?” Stephen Colbert asked again and again.<\/p>\n Why the onslaught? Just this: In my book, published this month, I argue that the American left bears a measure of responsibility for the volcano of anger from the Muslim world that produced the 9\/11 attacks.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n First, Stephen Colbert did ask the question “again and again,” right up until D’Souza answered it — by acknowledging that he agrees with some<\/i> of the things radical Islamic extremists are against in America. The problem wasn’t that the interviewer was incessant; it’s that D’Souza admitted<\/a> that he was sympathetic to terrorists’ cultural critique of the United States.<\/p>\n Second, D’Souza does more than just argue that the left “bears a measure of responsibility.” He actually insists that the left is the “primary cause<\/a> of the volcano of anger toward America that is erupting from the Islamic world.”<\/p>\n It’s a little late to backpedal now, Dinesh. If you wanted to soften the argument, you should have started before the book was published.
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\nIn his WaPo piece, D’Souza, apparently feeling a little sorry for himself, said the response to his idea has been “a little hysterical.”<\/p>\n