Some historical perspective is sorely needed amidst all the huffing and puffing about the U.S., Israel, and Great Britain losing the hearts and minds of the world’s populace.

Don’t get me wrong. I would rather the majority of the world’s population support and cheer our efforts to deal with terrorism and rogue states. I would rather the right thing to do in a given situation were also the popular thing to do. But, alas, that is simply not always the case.

Think back to Ronald Reagan and his various stand-offs with the Soviets. Whether it was sending more missiles to Europe, or refusing to give up on the idea of Star Wars at Reykjavik, President Reagan was under a constant barrage of criticism from within the U.S., Europe, and “the world community.”

Many of the same arguments we hear today were used against him. Don’t antagonize the enemy because that will only lead to war. We need to negotiate with the Communists or the terrorists. Force won’t do any good. We are angering the U.N. and the world community with our efforts. We must stop our military build-up. Etc., etc.

Yet, it was Reagan’s steadfastness and refusal to cave in to the Neville Chamberlain, peace-at-any-cost crowd which eventually won the Cold War, discredited Communism, and, after bombing Kaddafi’s Libya, silenced the terrorists, for awhile at least.

So, not only am I not too worried about the “world community” not being on our side when it comes to Iraq or Lebanon or the war on terrorism in general, I consider it a sort of prerequisite of success.

What would really worry me is if everyone were applauding our efforts and singing President Bush’s praises. Then you would know we were in some serious trouble.

Finally, I know this sounds arrogant, but when it comes to fighting to protect our country and defeat evil, I couldn’t really give a whit about what our critics think. Why? There are two main camps of critics: those in the West and those in the East (including the Middle East).

Our western critics consist of liberals, leftists, and other similar types who are ashamed of Western culture, have rejected Christianity, and in general feel like we deserve to be attacked and hated for all of misdeeds of the past, from the Crusades to imperialism to the abuses of the Cold War.

They are self-loathing and selfish at the same time and don’t want to defend the great gift that is Western culture. These are the same people who were willing to roll over for the Communists and resented Reagan’s principled and strong stand against that tyranny.

The second group of critics is from the East. They are Muslims and frankly, they’ve lost all credibility with me. We fought three wars in the 1990s to help Muslims in Kuwait, Yugoslavia, and Somalia, yet received no acknowledgment or thanks for our efforts from the wider Muslim world.

Instead, they cheered and danced when 9/11 happened and go ballistic whenever the slightest insult is perpetrated on them by anyone in the West. Of course, the U.S.’s support for Israel is completely unacceptable and justification for any and all types of violence.

I’m not sure where this mentality comes from, but I suspect it’s rooted in a weird combination of jealousy at the economic and political success of Western countries and a somewhat justifiable disgust at the more decadent aspects of Western culture.

Whatever the reasoning behind it, frankly, I’m not interested anymore. Once killing innocent civilians became the main tactic of Islamic terrorists, and one which is supported by a large portion — if not a majority — of Muslims, I lost interest in “understanding their pain.”

So, when liberals and Democrats fret about our standing in the world, I really couldn’t care. The “world” has been wrong before and will be wrong again. I just want to make sure my children aren’t under the constant threat of annihilation by zealots whose only satisfaction would come with the elimination of all Jews and the destruction of the United States.

Trey Hoffman
Peachtree City, Ga.

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