Thursday, May 13, 2010

Geert Wilders

Geert Wilders is probably the most controversial European politician of whom Americans have never heard. Mr. Wilders is a member of the Dutch Parliament who is currently being prosecuted by his own government for the "crime" of standing against the Islamification of his own country and with it the extinction of freedom. His political party (the PVV or "Freedom Party") is poised to win the majority of seats in Parliament in the June general elections, yet is invariably described as "far right" and "extreme" by the press on both sides of the Atlantic. Wilders himself considers Maggie Thatcher his role model for effective government, but I guess how "extreme" and "far right" a person seems depends on where you stand. The PVV has called for an end to "non-Western" immigration to a country where Mohammed is already the most popular boy's name. So the man who may be the next Prime Minister is on trial for defending his party's platform, which is an intriguing thing for a Western politician to experience, to be sure. In addition, even before his trial, he was accompanied 24/7 by armed guards, who are necessary to protect him from the various excitable folk who are eager to put him to death in the name of Allah. Ironic, isn't it? The people group threatening death to the country's most popular politician are neither prosecuted nor even labeled as extremists, while the one man who stands most in opposition to their evil is treated as a criminal.

The lights of Western culture are being turned out, one by one. Since when do Western governments start prosecuting people for their opinions (especially in Holland, of all places?!). Apparently, it is since we started thinking it is better to appease the Islamic minority in our midst, lest some of the lads among them start blowing people up. Yet when the norms of a culture go undefended against even violent opposition, it is not long before that culture goes extinct. And who would trade the West's glories for a gradual transformation into another of the world's Muslim tyrannies? I think the supply of those is already more than sufficient, thanks very much.

It is past time to wake up. Islam is on the move again, after centuries of relative somnolence. Where Islam conflicts with anything else, peace is rare and never lasting. Concessions made in the name of peace turn quickly into legal rights to be enforced against all citizens, whether Muslim or not. We cannot keep doing what we are doing. If the lamp of freedom is extinguished in the West, who knows how long it will be before it is re-lit, or even if it ever will be again?

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