If one is to believe certain rhetoric, we were attacked on September 11, 2001, because of the excesses of American culture–specifically the parts of thge culture right-wingers don’t like. Now, it would seem that the best way to remove the threat of terrorism is to eliminate those parts of the culture that right-wingers don’t like. Admittedly, I haven’t read Dinesh D’Souza’s new book (I’ll stop by Book People one day and read it in store, so I don’t have to pay money for it), but that seems to be the logical conclusion of what I believe to be his thesis. Never mind that, if you talk to anyone who knows anything about the situation in the Middle East and Central Asia, you would likely find out that our culture is the least of their concerns.

I think the key concept to take from all this, though, is that the goals of many homegrown conservatives and the goals they impute to “the terrorists” are disturbingly similar, if not one and the same. That they can suggest that Americans themselves (ones they, coincidentally, have been railing against for some time) are to blame for America’s woes while their Chief Necromonger can go on TV and say this:

But the biggest problem we face right now is the danger that the United States will validate the terrorist’s [sic] strategy, that in fact what will happen here, with all of the debate over whether or not we ought to stay in Iraq, with the pressure from some quarters to get out of Iraq, if we were to do that, we would simply validate the terrorist’s strategy that says the Americans will not stay to complete the task…

Let me play a little logic game here, so keep in mind that I am not particularly advocating anything, just playing. In Cheney’s worldview, withdrawal from Iraq would “validate the terrorists’ strategy,” presumably because they want the U.S. to withdraw. The only course of action, therefore, is to pour more troops into Iraq–that sure will invalidate their strategy, won’t it? If they keep fighting, we’ll just keep sending more and more troops in.

Now, then, let us also take D’Souza’s suggestion that our “decadent American culture” has caused terrorists to seek to attack us. Ordinarily, my understanding of the right’s game plan is to reduce what they see as decadent (and I will just ad lib a bit here): profanity, sex education, drugs, pornography, the acceptance of any sexual relationship besides something you would allow your grandmother to watch, etc. However, if we accept D’Souza’s premises about the cause of terrorism against Americans, and Cheney’s idea about the best way to fight against their tactics (and if we accept many conservatives’ utter inability/refusal to distinguish between al Qaeda and the Iraqi insurgency), shouldn’t we be encouraging the “decadent American culture” to go whole hog? Cracking down on porn, or banning gay marriage, for example, only emboldens the enemy. Let’s not “validate the terrorists’ strategy” by giving them what they want. I say bring on the decadence!!! Conservatives demand it of you.