May 13, 2004

Berg Senior Lashes Out in Grief

Nick Berg’s father forgives Al Qaeda, but lashes out at Bush:

“My son died for the sins of George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. This administration did this,” Berg said in an interview with radio station KYW-AM.

In the interview from outside his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, a seething Michael Berg also said his 26-year-old son, a civilian contractor, probably would have felt positive, even about his executioners, until the last minute.

“I am sure that he only saw the good in his captors until the last second of his life,” Berg said. “They did not know what they were doing. They killed their best friend.”

I was sad to read this. A gang of terrorists kills his own son, and he expresses sympathy for them: “They did not know what they were doing. They killed their best friend.” If Berg senior wants to turn the other cheek, and not give himself over to rage, that may be healthy for him, and good-hearted. That may be a way for him to not be overwhelmed by this.

Given that Nick Berg was, in the words of his father, the “best friend” of Al Qaeda, and only wanted to do good for them, we are witnessing yet another indication that there is no opportunity to make the terrorists into our friends. They are not our friends; they don’t seek our friendship; they don’t even seek peace and prosperity for themselves and their loved ones. What they seek is to do as their culture teaches and celebrate death, by killing non-Muslims, specifically Americans.

Nick Berg, their friend, went to them with good thoughts and good wishes, and they killed him.

I guess Berg senior’s statement is the kind of lashing out anyone might do if they are overcome with grief. But in the end it’s not good for him to do so at those who are truly his friends.

Update 5-13-04: Ranting Profs posts:

This is a bereaved father raging at whoever he can think to rage at, and they’re giving him the mike and so he’s taking it, but nothing he’s saying is relevant to his son’s death (since we’ve already established that since the kid turned down opportunities to go home, who had him in custody isn’t relevant). So what this amounts to is the fact that they’re using him. As long as he keeps raging, and raging against the administration, they’ll keep putting what he has to say on the air and in the news.

Riding the Edge of the Wave with the Blogosphere

Part of being a blogger is, you say things that you at least haven’t heard anyone else say, and in a few days, you notice other people saying the same thing. It gives you a good feeling of being on the same wavelength as others who are looking into the same subjects, of being one of many people who made a similar observation at the same time.

For example, from my April 29th post:

...we’re really blessed in this country to have the Judeo-Christian tradition of wanting to love each other and help each other have better lives and to enjoy life and be good to each other. As opposed to the tradition of some Islamo-fascist localities where they do the reverse sending their own children off to be blown up.

Later I put that in the upper-left hand corner of the front page here. Since then I’ve been thinking that that’s what this is all about—about our tradition, which celebrates love and caring, versus a subset of another culture, which celebrates the reverse.

And they do celebrate it. They pass out candies, which they revoltingly call sweets, when they kill civilians; they send their children off to be blown up; they say you get virgins in heaven when you kill civilians; and on and on and on. We’re all hoping that that’s just a small subset of Islam, and judging from many of the Iraqi bloggers, there’s reason to hope that it is. But the tradition of love in some Muslim nations surely needs some shoring up.

Anyway, to get back to my point about being on the same wavelength as others, tonight I was reading Command Post, where Alan juxtaposes the love and caring shown by a good American, Susan Tom, with the evil shown by the Islamofascists who so self-revealingly murdered Nick Berg:

Well, I’ve decided what to make of it all, and what I’m going to make is some good. Susan Tom is a hero one of millions waking each day with a commitment to make the lives of others better through love. Hers is an example to which humanity should aspire. So my response to the murder of Nick Berg and the inhumanity it represents is to use it as motivation to give to Susan Tom and the humanity she represents.

...For the next three days, between the time stamp of this post and Midnight EDT Friday night, Michele and I will contribute all donations made to The Command Post PayPal account (the button’s below this post and also over in the right-hand column) to the Tom Family Education Trust.

...How do you win the war of Good and Evil? You fight Evil, and you strengthen the Good. And it’s something we should always do: as we move to eradicate Evil, we should also move to strengthen the Good.

It’s not exactly what I said, but it’s not far off either. So first of all, go to Command Post and contribute. I’m in for $10.

And to conclude, it seems to me that this is what the war is all about. Our culture of love and caring, versus a culture that celebrates the reverse and wants to destroy us. We’re not fighting just for ourselves; we’re fighting the good fight for the whole world.

To help you and inspire you, here are the words of Army Spc. Joe Roche, who is on the ground in Iraq fighting Muqtada Al-Sadr _(via Everything I Know is Wrong ):_

I ask that the American people be brave. Don’t fall for the spin by the weak and timid amongst you that are portraying this battle as a disaster. Such people are always looking for our failure to justify and rescue their constant pessimism. They are raising false flags of defeat in the press and media. It just isn’t true.

Update 5-13-04:

Strengthen The Good Update

My God. We’re a third of the way there. Between my post of last night and now, Command Post readers have raised over $3,400 for the Tom Family Education Trust. Thank you to those who have given from the heart so far (many of you giving $50 or even $100), and thanks to the bloggers who have linked to the original post (and in particular, Glenn, who sent an Instalanche our way earlier today).

Update 5-14-04:

Strengthen The Good Update

We did it. Sometime early last night we broke through $10,000, and the contributions keep coming it. We’re now at $11,338 and building

Update 5-15-04:

Strengthen The Good Update

The final total: $14,777.16, and my wife and I kicked in the difference to make it an even $15,000.

...I was on the phone with Susan when we announced it in the chat room, and she had the kids with her they were all thrilled. As I heard Hannah say in the background: That’s a lot of money! That’s right, Hannah, and we hope it helps you get a wonderful education.