It seems to me that there also exists a corollary aphorism.
There are no liberals when it is your life and security at risk.
If you don't believe it, look no further than the actions of French President Francois Hollande in the aftermath of the horrific ISIS attacks in Paris several weeks ago.
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| © Matthieu Riegler, CC-BY via Wikimedia Commons |
Bear in mind that Hollande is a member of the French Socialist Party. He is a committed liberal socialist.
A key platform that he ran on for the Presidency in 2012 was a promise for the early withdrawal of French combat troops from Afghanistan.
As recently as September 2015 he also spoke out against those European countries that were attempting to limit the number of Middle Eastern migrants into their countries.
"Those who don't share our values, those who don't even want to respect those principles, need to start asking themselves questions about their place in the European Union".
He was right about the values and principles. However, the target of his reprimand seems to have been misplaced as many of the Muslims that now call France home are ones who don't seem to have any interest in assimilating to the values and principles of France and the European Union.
The liberal and progressive Hollande seems to have undergone quite a transformation in the last two weeks.
This is what Hollande said the morning after the attacks.
"We are going to lead a war which will be pitiless."
I guess that stands in contrast to the pitiful effort that President Obama has done in confronting ISIS.
Hollande also quickly ordered a state of emergency and closed France's borders. The first time that had occurred since 1944.
That is quite a change from his views in September, isn't it?
I have written often about The Fourth Turning and the Crisis period that we are now in.
William Strauss and Neil Howe make the point in their book that in the Crisis period we are in, societies turn newly martial as they react to real or imagined outside provocations.
America will become more isolationist than today in its unwillingness to coordinate its affairs with other countries but less isolationist in its insistence that vital national interests not be compromised. The Crisis mood will dim expectations that multilateral diplomacy and expanding global democracy can keep the world out of trouble. Even before any conflicts arise, people will feel less anxiety over the prospect of casualties. Old Unraveling-era strategies (flexibility, stealth, elite expertise, stand-off weaponry, and surgical goals) will be replaced by new Crisis-era strategies (mass, intimidation, universal conscription, frontal assault and total victory) more suitable for a fight for civic survival.
Hollande seems to recognize that the world he thought he lived in no longer exists.
Barack Obama does not yet seem to understand it. Is it going to take something like Paris or the Russian airline being blown up?
If he does not pivot he may take the entire Democrat party down with him as Strauss and Howe also make this point.
History warns that when a Crisis catalyzes, a previously dominant political party (or regime) can find itself directly blamed for perceived "mistakes" that led to the national emergency.
Key persons associated with it could find themselves defamed, stigmatized, harassed, economically ruined, personally punished---or worse.
Barack Obama may not be writing the history that he thinks he is.
He calls Republicans "the enemy" but cannot bring himself to utter the words "Radical Islam".
What are we dealing with?
People that throw homosexuals off of buildings.
However, Obama and the liberals portray those who support traditional marriage as the evil ones.
People that believe that women who do not cover their heads with the hijab should be killed according to Sharia law.
And Democrats say that the GOP is waging a "war against women"?
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