Why does the Left take the issue of terrorism as a joke?

Question

It seems to me that a lot of people on the Left, mostly the followers of guys like Michael Moore, take the issue of terrorism as a joke. Why? It's an important topic. This isn't a left or right issue, it's an issue of protection of the United States of America. Am I wrong here?

I'll lay my cards out on the table and I'm a Conservative. But how come we can't communicate with people on both sides of the aisle? I'm always willing to listen to the ideas on the Left but it doesn't seem the Left want to hear the ideas of ppl on the Right. Why?

Answer 1

I can see where some lefties look as if they see all terrorism as a joke. I respect the fact that you asked this question without being ugly as many neo-cons do. I wish people wouldn't attack ppl like you when you ask these kinds of questions because we all do need to communicate better. We are too rash to say that you are a "bible thumping, everyone else is going to hell, kill all the arabs type of person" and that Im some liberal pothead making up crackpot theories, oh and a baby killer (Im not). Now that I've said that I want to answer your initial question....

The administration has used the threat of terrorism sooooo much that "the Left" is sick of it. We do try to listen to what George has to say, but he just sounds like a broken record. The best way to get everyone to see that he is a broken record......make fun of what he keeps repeating and thus discredit anything he says that comes from "a reliable source". He "accidently" lied about that before and now we all know that story, if you dont then you are turning a blind eye to facts. The facts are that the terrorists know where we are, they have a map of the world, I would think. We are creating more terroristic organizations by killing innocents and generally giving them reasons to hate us not because of our "love of freedom and peace", but because we act like we are better than everyone else, and that we deserve more money, power, etc than the rest of the world. So we laugh at you guys when you say things like "If we 'cut and run' the terrorist will follow us home!" because it is an ignorant aattempt to scare us. Instead we should "stay and die"?
Also, the left comes off as wanting everyone to remain "free" or at least keep our rights. The right seems to be willing to give up alot of rights so that they feel safe. The right calls us cowards so we respond by laughing in their faces and saying that they are the cowards.

All in all, we are all cowards. If we weren't there would be more protesting of corporations that are running our government (not just Bush and co. I mean ALL of em). Im only 24 and I always think it would be great if I could group together all the workers at the factory I work at and strike, demanding at least 1-3 sick/personal days per year. As of now we have none and its not a small factory/operation by far. Its privately owned and opperated accordingly. Family and friends, and cute young girls get jobs over more qualified ppl (little bitter ya think?). We are treated as if they could fire us at any second for any reason. Kind of like the gov. They could screw us at any second and there wouldn't be a damn thing we would do about it. A march on Washington is something I hope to see in my lifetime. Allthough I won't be able to attend because I cant miss a day of work...like so many other Americans. Bless us all, God knows we need it!

Good luck in getting your fellow right-wingers to listen to the left and I will continue to do the same on my side of this damn aggrevating politcal spectrum. There has to be some common ground here, besides the fact that neither wants another attack on American civilians ever again even if it means making a profit or a career for a select few (left jab).

Free speech is still one of the best! **** the censors! Wonder if that will show up? Are we grown up enough to read the "****" word?

Answer 2

I think you have an over-generalized and distorted view of what the 'left' thinks towards terrorism. I left this answer in response to a far-right question that didn't see how our war on terrorism could create more terrorists. Here's my answer, 'they' didn't like it and maybe you won't either. But, if you are sincere in your question, perhaps you'll see that we 'lefties' don't take it as a joke, we take the way it's being fought as detrimental to the end goals.

These aren't all the causes of terrorism, but some of the root causes: living day-to-day in an occupied land, poverty, feelings of futility and hopelessness for any means to make a positive change. There's also disenfranchisement... what good is it to finally get to vote if the government you voted for is not really yours and is falling apart?

Religion... it's not a cause, but it does provide a powerful force to rally under. Any religion, Christian, Jewish, Islam can be, and has been, taken to extremes and manifested as terrorism. Many Palestinians are Christian, Israelis are Jewish, the IRA is Christian, the KKK and Army of God use Christianity... just to name a few.

For better or worse, Saddam kept the various factions 'in line'. The US went in to get Saddam, but had no plan for how to fill the vacuum when he was gone. Civil war broke out and the country continues to be occupied by US forces. The Iraqi people, although oppressed under Saddam, are still oppressed and even more so now. They've lost many of the basics that they used to have... steady supply of water, electricity, medical facilities have deteriorated, etc. etc. Iraq is now a breeding ground for terrorism. Another example is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has been going on for at least forty years.

Does this mean I'm 'soft' on terrorism? NO! I just believe that one must know their enemy in order to be effective. That's why I don't believe that conventional warfare works against terrorism and even makes the circumstances worse, thus creating more terrorism in its wake. Conventional warfare isn't working in Iraq or Afghanistan, it didn't work in Vietnam against rebel forces and it didn't go well for the British either when we won our independence. 'Hands-on' intelligence and infiltration if possible, covert operations, special forces with snipers... Yes! Get the intell, strike fast and hard to get the terrorists, spare the civilians and get out fast... to me, that is a viable, possibly even a winning, strategy.

Answer 3

9/11 wasn't a joke. No one laughed at the two towers coming down.

However.

The administration has used that awful day as justification to commit our troops to campaigns that had nothing to do with 9/11. When the end justifies the means, it also cheapens the means. When Bush used terrorism as an excuse to invade Iraq, while leaving our mission in Afghanistan incomplete..and thus stirring the pot of insurgents in the Middle East, he destroyed the government's credibility. That lack of credibility is exactly why the issue becomes a joke to some people.

Answer 4

It certainly isn't a joke at all. But as a frequent business traveler I can tell you that we have made it a joke. The Alert Level is continually ORANGE. Why?? Why can't it be green and TSA still do what it's going to do??

When you keep the Alert Level at Orange eternally....well guess what nobody is paying attention to it anymore. And when it really needs to be orange, will people take it seriously??

Just start doing some serious flying in this country and you will quickly understand what I am talking about.

Answer 5

Your perception that the majority of people to 'your' left don't take the threat of terrorist attacks seriously. I'm sure you're quite wrong.

As a political independent, I believe that we have far worse to fear from over reaction. I won't give up one right my ancestors sacrificed to produce.

Bush and his followers are not the only people who live in America. Rather than try and fight a war with your fellow Americans, try finding the common ground. Like actually finding the leadership of those groups and capturing them.

My major source of anger remains the wasted opportunity we had when our forces could have stopped Bin Laden five years ago. Instead, Bush threw away any hope of that by starting a second front, just to get even with Iraq's government.

It's not a joke, and I'm not laughing.

Answer 6

Nobody takes terrorism as a joke. That is a lie. We don't want to hear the ideas of the people on the right because those ideas failed. They failed leading up to 9/11, they failed in Iraq, they failed in New Orleans, they failed at bridges in Minnesota and mines in Utah, and they have certainly failed our economy. And if you still think it's the left that takes terrorism as a joke, it was Bush, six months after 9/11, who said he really didn't think about Osama bin Laden anymore. It's been almost six years since he promised to get him dead or alive. Well?

Answer 7

Here is a list of things that cause more American deaths than terrorism. Maybe if we threw a HALF TRILLION dollars at some of these - instead of the so-called "war on terror" we could save more American lives:

Automobile Accidents
Drunk Driving
The Flu
Cancer
Heart Disease
Aids
Drug overdoses
childbirth
Motorcycle accidents
Child abuse
Domestic violence
Deranged ex-husbands / stalkers
Food contamination
Natural disasters
handgun "accidents"
gun violence
etc., etc., etc.

Answer 8

It isn't a joke. And I know no-one who thinks it is. Where do you get your information? I just don't think that overreacting to the threat will help in any way. Take it seriously, absolutely... Take away my rights as an individual, absolutely not! We have laws in place that allow for wiretaps, if you can't come up with the legal documents to tap someone's phone, then you have no right to tap. Period.

Answer 9

Democrats don't take terrorism as a joke. They think it's better to treat terrorists as stateless criminals and to seek them out, and capture and kill them where they hide. They don't believe the way to fight terrorism it is to take down governments in the middle east just because they have paid money to the families of dead Palestine terrorists or because they've said bad things about Israel. In other words, Democrats don't believe they should try to re-make the entire middle east to suit our needs and Israel's. Terrorism is best fought with good police work; the way Britain does it.

Answer 10

Your government is using the threats of terrorism as a CONTROL MECHANISM. Thats why leftists laugh, not because terrorism is a joke but because anything that the government does not like is suddenly caught up with "TERRORIST ACTIVITY". Its obvious, its been done, read a history book. The world is not perfect, you should realize the tricks by now.