Alpha Males & the Warrior Spirit

Wanted: Alpha Males w/ the Warrior Spirit

(And Xena, Warrior Princess!)

In the War of Ideas currently raging between secular democracy and Islam, Western civilization has one key disadvantage, which could easily be our undoing. Many progressives -- the very people who should be leading the fight to defend progressive values -- have become so passive and irresolute that they're just not much good in a fight. We've somehow convinced ourselves that, in our fancy-pants 21st Century society, the warrior spirit is no longer necessary, or even desirable. But, in reality, the ability to defend yourself (or your society) never goes out of fashion. At least, not in more savvy circles. Those who've thought otherwise have often discovered their error the hard way.

Because of this tendency to passivity, we're not mentally well-equipped to deal with our Islamist adversaries, in whom the warrior spirit is still very much alive and kickin'. And, whether you're engaged in a shooting war or a war of ideas, when you've got determined foes trying to destroy you, or your society, you need the warrior spirit on your side. There's just no substitute!

The problem is, while we're being all polite and reasonable and PC (apart from our oil-pillaging foreign policy, of course), the other side is decidedly not. They're using any and every means available to them to achieve their objectives. Like warriors do.

I'm not saying that we should start carrying out terrorist attacks against civilians. I'm not even suggesting that we should begin lying to our enemies as a matter of policy (the way Islamists do). But there's a lot we could be doing to defend our society, and our more enlightened values, without becoming lying, murderous, terrorist dirtbags.

Unless we change our strategy and tactics, and, most importantly, our mindset, the Islamists will win eventually -- in spite of our economic, military, and technological advantages. Because, in the end, spirit and determination count for a lot more. This has been proven repeatedly throughout history. The reason the Islamists were stopped in their tracks for roughly three hundred years is because, not only did Western Europeans have superior technology and military strength, but they were also under no illusions regarding the nature and the intentions of their enemy -- and they were totally committed to defending Christian Europe against the advances of Islam. There was no hand-wringing or equivocating.

We need the same sort of attitude today, regarding the defense of our secular democracies and the progressive values they promote. We need to cultivate the do-or-die determination of the samurai, and demonstrate to our enemies that we will not be defeated, no matter what they throw at us.

But before that can come about, two critical things need to happen: 1) We need to fully appreciate the moral and intellectual advantages of the West -- including personal liberties such as freedom of speech and freedom of the press, which are anethema to Islam; and, 2) We need to recognize that Western civilization has a determined enemy in the ideology of Islam. If we in the PC West cannot bring ourselves to acknowledge these things, then we're well and truly screwed. And nothing can help us.

If we're going to successfully defend our more enlightened society against the Forces of Darkness, Burqas and Beards, we need to become Zen masters of the rhetorical smack-down. To some extent, it's all about visualization, and putting things in the proper perspective. And keeping the testosterone levels (or cat-fighting instincts) surging whenever we're dealing with our Islamist foes.

Because, if you're visualizing hacking your way through that enemy with a freakin' samurai sword -- while you're debating with some mouthpiece for the Coalition for Seventh Century Values -- the outcome is going to be very different, than if you're sitting there imagining that you're having a reasonable conversation with a reasonable person who hasn't drunk the Kool Aid of intellectual oblivion. That's the deal. And that's what we're missing.

We need this guy handling our liaison with CAIR and the Muslim Council of Britain.

Instead, we've got this guy.

We in the progressive community need to realize that we've got something worth defending. Something precious that needs to be constantly nurtured and protected. A society that developed over hundreds of years, not because of some inevitable process of moral evolution, but because of the hard work done by, and the risks taken by, our progressive forebears. (And due to a considerable amount of luck.)

We progressives need to embrace the warrior spirit, before it's too late. If we don't -- if we decide that we're just too civilized for that sort of thing -- eventually we will lose this ideological war with Islam, in spite of our material advantages. That is the Candid Progressive's no-bullshit prediction. Because our enemy is very determined. And he's willing to do whatever it takes to drag us all back into the seventh century -- to the ignorance, superstition, and barbarism of the Prophet's desert world.

I've made my choice. I'm not giving up fourteen hundred years worth of moral and intellectual progress. I'm staying right here in the 21st Century -- whether I'm alive, and arguing for reason, freedom, and compassion -- or dead, with a smoking gun in my hand. I hope you'll make a similar decision.

Some of the more bad-ass warriors among the Plains Indians (er, "Native Americans", for the PC types), such as the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers, would choose a spot on a battlefield and anchor themselves in place by driving a wooden picket pin into the ground, through a long "no retreat" sash they wore, so they had to stand and fight right there, come what may.

That's the sort of mentality we need to adopt in the war with Islam. We shouldn't give up an inch of ground to this barbaric, life-sucking ideology. We should resolve to stand and fight, come what may, in any venue our adversaries choose. If we can muster that sort of determination, we will prevail, no matter what form the conflict takes.

This is the sort of self-image we need to foster whenever

we're dealing with the insidious promoters of Islam.

This is a really important book.

Lee Harris paints a compelling picture of the dangers militant Islam poses for the West, because of its inherent advantages in mindset and motivation.

Key themes are the effectiveness of the warrior spirit and the tribal mentality (both of which Islam possesses in spades) against more passive, individualistic foes such as ourselves.

The Suicide of Reason also gives new appreciation for the more enlightened culture of Western civilization, and the tenuous process that led to its development, against all odds.

My only criticism is that (for the sake of rhetorical neatness perhaps), Harris divides the world into tribalists motivated by superstition and tradition, and liberal, "carpe diem" types who are solely concerned with "their own enlightened well-being". He ignores the existence of progressive

activists -- people who are motivated to save the planet and serve the greater good, guided by reason, empathy, and (yes, damn it!) altruism.

Otherwise, it's an excellent book. It's especially informative regarding the Islamic mindset, the 18th Century Enlightenment, and the process by which Enlightment values were promoted and fostered in the West.

The author implies that we need to stop being such passive, self-loathing pussies, if we want our more enlightened civilization to endure. (Harris implies; the Handbook insists.)

A must-read for all counter-jihadists!

Handbook for Infidels

The Candid Progressive's Guide

to Islam & its War on the West