A Wake Up Call to the World (and Me)

One of the dangers of being a part-time blogger is that work and life tends to cut into your blogging time. So I have temporarily put aside my job, house search, estate closing, house selling and child-raising time to finally post something new. Does Instapundit have a real job?

It would be remiss not to mention the dual terrorist attacks (or as the BBC refers to them, “militants”) that Britons are now enduring. While our hearts and unmitigated support goes out to London, it is oddly reassuring to note the stoic yet determined nature of the city’s residents. Unlike Americans, who alternately sow sorrow and vengeance, the British always keep their game face on. I have family in Britain (my mother was English) and I am well aware of the pluck character that is on display. Remember that this was the nation mercilessly bombed by the Nazis every night during the Blitz, and then emerged from the Underground every morning, went on about its business, stopped at the pub for a pint or two and calmly returned to the subways as the bombs began to rain down again. We are fortunate to have them as our closest allies.

We are also fortunate that after so many years, Tony Blair is still the British prime minister. As a self-declared genius, I don’t throw the “genius” term around too loosely, but I will go on the record here: Tony Blair is a genius, hands down the smartest, most eloquent and populist politician today on either side of the Atlantic. The British are extremely lucky to have him as their leader. His comments today that most of the world had dropped its guard on terrorism and not one inch would be given to terrorist demands were magnificent. While France, Germany and much of Western Europe remains stuck in an economic and rudderless morass, Britain continues to be an economic powerhouse and worldwide leader.

Blair also effectively silenced critics who claim Britain would not have been attacked if it had not helped the U.S. attack Iraq. Prime Minister Mubarak of Egypt, who has zero troops in Iraq and opposed the war, could have said the same thing. So could the leaders of Morocco, Russia, Turkey and other countries without a single soldier in Iraq. The London bombings are a wake up call – we are still at war with an enemy that does not negotiate, does not care about your politics or religion, and does not care whether it lives or dies. It uses Islam as an excuse to conduct a monstrous homicidal rampage and will not stop until you, me and everyone else is DESTROYED.

There is no justification, excuse or mitigating factor for saying “Yes, but America/Britain is partly to blame because…” There is no political or moral justification for blowing up people on a subway car just as there is no justification for killing Iraqi schoolchildren who are getting candy. As Tony Blair says, consider this event a wake up call for the world, and a wake up call to myself to get back on the blogging bus.