Did I say the other day that David Brooks is Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, To buck up the Bush administration and defend U.S. policy in Iraq, Brooks writes: <\/P> That explains what’s happening. It’s not just the good guys against the bad guys. It’s the The angelic Americans, good Christians to the core, must be kept from waffling. The All sing now: <\/P> At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee; 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-428","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbvgEs-6U","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nop-ed columnist? I was too kind. Judging by his effort this morning,
\npositioned by the editors below the fold), the guy’s melody has become all too apparent.
\n
\n
<\/I>With the cross of Jesus
\ngoing on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle
\nsee His banners go!<\/I><\/P><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n
\nThe fact is, we Americans do not like staring into the face of evil. It is in our
\nprogressive and optimistic nature to believe that human beings are basically good, or at least
\nrational. When we stare into a cave of horrors, whether it is in Somalia, Beirut or Tikrit, we see a
\ntangled morass we don’t understand. Our instinct is to get out as quickly as
\npossible.<\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n
\nangels against the devils. The age-old magic of demonizing the enemy simplifies the issue for
\nBrooks: “They are the scum of the earth.” And not only that: “Their scumminess is our great
\nadvantage.” So it’s the innocent Americans vs. the evildoers. But to beat the evildoers, the
\ninnocent Americans will have to commit evil themselves. “Inevitably,” Brooks writes, “there will
\nbe atrocities that will cause many good-hearted people to defect from the cause.” <\/P>
\n
\nrighteousness of the cause is biblical. A burden too heavy to put down is not just our cross to
\nbear; it is the price we pay for original sin. “The president will have to remind us,” Brooks writes,
\n“that we live in a fallen world, that we have to take morally hazardous action if we are to defeat
\nthe killers who confront us.” This is not a Christian crusade, folks. It’s just good ol’
\npatriotism.<\/P>
\n
\n
\n
On then, Christian soldiers, on to
\nvictory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers lift your voices,
\nloud your anthems raise.<\/EM><\/P><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"