Men of the Year: Pope Benedict XVI

Dallas Blog | Tom Pauken:

“He is my man of the year because I believe that Benedict XVI has a clearer understanding of the threat posed by militant Islam (and how best to combat it) than our own policymakers in Washington, DC. ... Benedict XVI understands that Western Europe – once the cradle of Christian civilization – is in danger of committing demographic suicide, given a secularized culture that has little room for God or religious values. Benedict XVI refers to that dominant secular culture of Europe as having fallen prey to "the dictatorship of relativism", and he seeks to encourage Europeans to re-discover their Christian roots and stem the demographic tide of Islam.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Mr Pauken raises the specter of a demographic tide of Islam. It recalls earlier hysteria over the yellow plagues from Japan and China and more recent hysteria over the brown invasion from Latin America. Anyone who thought xenophobia was relegated to the history books is sadly mistaken.

Mr Pauken implies that only a Christian civilization, and not a secular state, can withstand the challenge of Islamic terrorism. He compares Islam with the threat posed by Communism in the last century. That's plain wrong. The Soviet Union was condemned because it was an antidemocratic, totalitarian state. Its official atheism may have offended many religious Americans, just as I suppose early Christianity offended early Greeks and Romans. But choosing among atheism, Christianity, Islam, or even classical mythology is a religious matter that the state should leave to individuals. Pope Benedict XVI, as head of the Catholic Church, is welcome to take sides. US policy makers in Washington should stick to protecting us from suicide bombers.