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Posted on 09/22/2001 9:44:41 AM PDT by AndrewSshi

The attack on our country has brought us an important lesson. We on the right have frequently lumped those on the left into a single category: enemies of America, haters of freedom, etc. And yet, the response of various liberals to the attack has taught us that, broadly speaking, we are now faced with two varieties of liberals. Reading The New Republic online, I found that, in the end, though we may have disagreed with them in the past, the authors and editors of the this magazine are Americans. We may think them utterly wrong-headed when it comes to domestic policy, but they share our goals and beliefs: freedom, justice, a strong America, and a love of Western and American civilization. Contrast this, if you will with the swill available at Z Magazine or The Nation. These contemptible men tell us that we had the attack coming, that somehow Israel is to blame, and that our only hope to avoid further attacks is to give OBL and Saddam Hussein a free hand in the Middle East.

Returning to the traditional liberals, though, we find that the shock given by this attack has forced them to take a stand which has, in many cases, proven admirable. For example, Leonard Pitts, columnist with whom all of us at one time or another have taken issue in the past, has been unwavering in his recent columns denouncing the attackers and supporting retaliation. He refuses to buy into the myth that we must "understand" the terrorists. Dan Rather, for whom none of us have any love, tearfully admitted to Letterman that the terrorists' only motives were hatred and spite. Finally, when a few pieces of human refuse turned the San Francisco memorial for the victims into a hate America fest, none other than Dianne Feinstein (!) walked out in disgust.

For a final illustration, during the past few years, we've seen the alliance between the AFL-CIO and the collection of dreadlocked middle class white kids whove never worked a day in their lives on the issue of globalization. That tentative alliance has been shattered. The AFL-CIO has shown itself to be made up of true patriots when it stood behind the president and endorsed full retaliation against the WTC attackers. The spoiled kids who think it's forever 1968 have shown themselves to be rank idiots.

This coming war is illuminating the true colors of those who can no longer sit on the fence. We are finally learning which of those liberals are liberals in the tradition of Truman and Roosevelt. We are learning which liberals are honorable men and true Americans with whom we happen to disagree over domestic policy. These people deserve our respect. We have also learned which of them are vile leftists who bear nothing but hatred for America. These creatures are worthy only of our scorn.

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