Did I say the other day that David Brooks is still trying to find his rhythm as a New York Times
op-ed columnist? I was too kind. Judging by his effort this morning, “A Burden Too Heavy to Put Down” (wisely
positioned by the editors below the fold), the guy’s melody has become all too apparent. Listen to it. Here’s the first verse:
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle
see His banners go!
To buck up the Bush administration and defend U.S. policy in Iraq, Brooks writes:
The fact is, we Americans do not like staring into the face of evil. It is in our
progressive and optimistic nature to believe that human beings are basically good, or at least
rational. When we stare into a cave of horrors, whether it is in Somalia, Beirut or Tikrit, we see a
tangled morass we don’t understand. Our instinct is to get out as quickly as
possible.
That explains what’s happening. It’s not just the good guys against the bad guys. It’s the
angels against the devils. The age-old magic of demonizing the enemy simplifies the issue for
Brooks: “They are the scum of the earth.” And not only that: “Their scumminess is our great
advantage.” So it’s the innocent Americans vs. the evildoers. But to beat the evildoers, the
innocent Americans will have to commit evil themselves. “Inevitably,” Brooks writes, “there will
be atrocities that will cause many good-hearted people to defect from the cause.”
The angelic Americans, good Christians to the core, must be kept from waffling. The
righteousness of the cause is biblical. A burden too heavy to put down is not just our cross to
bear; it is the price we pay for original sin. “The president will have to remind us,” Brooks writes,
“that we live in a fallen world, that we have to take morally hazardous action if we are to defeat
the killers who confront us.” This is not a Christian crusade, folks. It’s just good ol’
patriotism.
All sing now:
At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers, on to
victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers lift your voices,
loud your anthems raise.
