Tim Sandefur, Whose Brother Was Murdered In San Bernardino, On The Approach To The Jihadist Threat
Daniel Kaufman, Sandefur's adopted brother, was among those murdered in San Bernardino. (Nobody ever called him "Larry," his given name, Sandefur says.) Sandefur writes:
I believe there is no solution to the jihadist threat short of victory against our enemies. When attacked, one has a basic choice: one can curtail one's own behavior, in hopes that the enemy can be persuaded not to attack again--or one can accept the challenge, and defeat that enemy. The United States has so far largely chosen the former. For years now, officials of both parties have refused to face the fact that we are targeted by theocratic totalitarian movement, funded and overseen by Saudi Arabia and Iran, among others, which is committed to the destruction of the values essential to civilization. Our current President believes that the war against Islamofascism should be "ended." But wars are never "ended." They are either won or lost. Unless we accept the responsibility of victory, attacks like this--like Fort Hood, like Chattanooga, like Little Rock, like Los Angeles, Boston, Garland, Madrid, London, Bali, New Delhi, Delhi, Delhi again, Paris, Paris again, and so many others, including of course New York City--will only continue. War is horrible. But it is not the worst horror. A life without freedom or law is still worse. Peace, said Churchill, cannot be "preserved by praising its virtues." Nor by lowering flags to half-staff, reading lists of victims' names, putting "coexist" bumper stickers on your car, having James Taylor play at your press conferences, etc. That may feel nice, but the future of freedom, peace, and civilization requires more than hugs and hashtags. It demands that we compel the Islamist aggressor, who has warred against us since 1979, to cease making war and accept peace on civilized terms. Our family agrees with the sentiment expressed by Christopher Hitchens: "We might practice nailing the colors to the mast rather than engaging in a permanent dress rehearsal for masochism and the lachrymose." It is for this reason that we choose not to participate in public demonstrations of mourning.Those of us who also serve by only standing and waiting must respond in just the way that our enemy most despises: by living our lives exactly as we would have done. That means cherishing our freedom; celebrating our secular, free institutions; relishing the pleasures of life as physical beings; respecting the special spark in each individual person--here, in this world, during this life. Our values triumph each time we exercise them. Danny and I watched the attacks of September 11, 2001, together on the TV in our living room. I can say with certainty that--to the extent that so kind a man was capable of understanding such evil--he believed in defying the barbarian by living just as we choose: freely, tolerantly, skeptically, joyfully, laughingly, humanly.
via @Overlawyered
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