The Deafening Silence of Political Correctness

There are those who may have thought my position on Spy-gate one-sided.

So in the spirit of equal opportunity, let’s point out that a partisan and unsavory hush now hangs like a pall over the Left concerning the startling spy-ring revelations at Gitmo.

Where are calls for a serious investigation of a Muslim-based ring of spies not only there, but also throughout the government? Congress appears mute on the issue. Oh, excuse me, how politically incorrect! Profile people because of a demonstrable tendency, based on religion? And during a time of war?

What must I be thinking? I can hear the protestors in the Muslim-American community howling already. Along with a good chunk of the core liberal base.

That said, the Left, is not alone. Where is the outrage of the Right? Monsieur Novak is strangely silent, when it comes to lowering the boom on another screw up by the Administration now unfolding at Gitmo.

Is Rumsfeld going to stonewall again? Never in doubt and never wrong as usual, his response to this latest crisis of his leadership is as follows: “Raising the question you did about profiling is not a useful thing to do,” AP reports. “The fact of the matter is that there are a variety of vetting procedures, and people who happen to be of one religion - I don't think one has to assume that they have a monopoly on this type of activity.”

No? Not even in Gitmo?

Is it a surprise that an organization of terrorists that spent over a decade to destroy the World Trade Center would have also been creating a spy network in both the U.S. military and our civilian population at large? Wouldn’t it have behooved our DOD planners to look to thwarting the fifth column before, or at least concurrently with, going after the other four? Have they never seen a James Bond flick? Never read Le Carre? (Or even Tom Clancy?)

Now we must play catch up. There are spies and anarchists among us and they must be rooted out by many unpleasant, but necessary, means.

This puts us smack against arguably the thorniest and most obvious issue that infests our public discourse today. Namely, political correctness as it regards profiling.

What does this mean in practice? It means that violence-provoking speech, even religious or racially based, let alone actions, should lead to profiling. It means that every member of a group is held responsible in some fashion for each member’s behavior.

Such organizations that pay lip service to any sort of violence in the name of religious and First Amendment freedoms should be watched, and watched closely. That includes religious fundamentalists, communists, neo-nazis, racists of all colors, anti-abortionists (with apologies to any violent extremist group I may have unwittingly left off the list). We must now hold accountable those communities of like-minded people, be their ideals religious or secular, that shelter and spawn extremists in their midst. And I mean all such communities, equally.

That last, holding all communities with extremist fringe elements equally accountable, is the appropriate place for the ideal of political correctness. Maybe, the pressure of profiling may lead the tolerant majority in these communities to step up. It is their duty as Americans to identify their truly violent, anti-democratic and anti-American members and turn them over to the appropriate governmental authorities. This would, in turn, lead to a reduction in the need to profile any in such communities.

I feel most uncomfortable about suggesting this course of action. Believe me, I am no fan of the Patriot Act. But it is clear that something must now be done in the gray area between allowing the DOJ to arrest someone and hold them indefinitely without charging them (not good), and letting a cop on the beat ask a few questions, even hold someone at the station for further questioning and background checks (necessary infringement on our freedom).

Let’s hope such measures are temporary, as can be if all citizens stand up to violence, anti-democratic and anti-Americanism behavior and teachings in their own communities. Then the government can back off.

But only when we see results. Like spies and anarchists frog-walked to jail, turned in by the people of good will in whose midst they are now hiding. ¶ 8:07 AM