The Moral Vacuity Of The Guardian

Andrew Sullivan, of The New Republic, and I may not agree on everything, but there are some issues upon which we are indistinguishable. Namely, the utter lack of moral sense displayed by the Guardian in their latest editorial on the Madrid bombing:

The stunning aspect of this boilerplate is how utterly empty it is. The only constructive suggestion the Guardian proffers is an "international conference." No this is not, apparently, self-parody. While hundreds lie dead, the most important thing is to stick on your lapel name-labels, hurry down to the nearest Marriott lobby, and have a seminar. Above all, after an atrocity of this scale, it is vital that the perpetrators of such evil not "be hunted down and smoked out of their lairs." Heaven forbid such an action. That would be the American way, after all.

In Europe, there are no bad guys, even those who deliberately murdered almost 200 innocents and threaten to murder countless more. Ask yourself: If the Guardian cannot call these people "bad guys," then who qualifies? And if the leaders of democratic societies cannot qualify in this context as "good guys," then who qualifies? What we have here is complete moral nihilism in the face of unspeakable violence.

This is a large part of the reason Mark Steyn predicts the doom of 'Old Europe.' It just doesn't know right from wrong, and when confronted with true evil, it doesn't know how to respond.

Instapundit comments:

It's not complete moral nihilism, alas. It's not as if they show the same unwillingness to pass judgment where American actions are concerned.

...and so does Steven Den Beste:

Of course, the answer is obvious: America is the bad guys. Anyone who opposes America can't be bad guys, which is why the Madrid murderers can't be condemned.

-- posted by Austin @ 5:39 PM (PermaLink/Comment) ¶