In a message dated Tue, 2 Oct 2001 10:36:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> He was talking about ALL our virtues, including the spiritual ones that too > many of our enemies and critics are ignorant of. It's easy for people who are > materially comfortable to discount the value of material comfort. And > certainly material comfort is not all there is to life. But, Friedman was > saying, our material comfort is a direct consequence of all our other values. > The Islamic world was, centuries ago, more advanced than medieval Europe. > That's not the case now, and one of the reasons is, the West is far more open > to all kinds of innovations, to all kinds of freedoms. To free movement, to > freedom to worship, to freedom to disagree - you don't have any of those in > the countries that so excoriate us. > > Not all the so-called "Third World" is opposed to our values, either. You > don't hear too much about anyone emigrating TO Pakistan or China, do you? And > so what if they're coming here to have a better material life - what's so > wrong with that? Remember as well that Friedman lived in the Middle East for many years. I have read his op ed columns in the NY Times for many years and have always been impressed with his understanding of the region and its people. He has never come across as a jingoist or an Israeli apologist. I thought the column was heartfelt and represented his reactions and those of his neighbors to 9/11/01. He found that there is a deep well spring of spiritual strength in this country (or at least in those he interacted with and observed. > > > Tom Beck
