Here is the perspective of a Christian Arab from Lebanon. She is a journalist and human rights activist, who speaks truth to power without fear of political correctness. She is the author of Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America and other books about the political realities of Jihad in the Middle East and the world.
The speaker has lived the life in the Middle East. Born and raised in Lebanon, she knows and tells the real story of how life changed in her country after Arafat and his Palestinian Liberation Organization settled there and began their rule of terror.
Although the sponsoring organization for this speech in the video below, the Heritage Foundation, appears to be an organization with whom I (and I imagine most if not all readers of OpEd News) will have political disagreements, Gabriel tells a compelling story any open minded critical thinker should hear.
I have become familiar with the inexplicable reaction of intolerance and closemindedness of many in the "Progressive" movement, who refuse to even read or listen to differing perspectives.
If this was not so destructive (and Re gressive), I would find it amusing that people who define themselves as "Progressive" are so inclined to censorship and single viewpoint propaganda. For that is, in fact, the definition of propaganda: the presentation of a single and biased point of view to the exclusion of other viewpoints that would enable and require critical thinking and analysis.
And it is this virulent unwillingness to hear differing perspectives that keeps the Progressive movement from winning important political battles. It bespeaks a lack of the kind of critical and strategic thinking, and the ability to perceive and consider the Big Picture, that is required to succeed in difficult and challenging power struggles.
So - in the hopes that most readers of OpEd News are interested, intelligent, thinking people, I post this different perspective. At the same time, I await, in the now familiar tradition of certain readers of OpEd News, the flaming, intolerant, and generally hateful arrows of reader comments.
Here is a speech where you can hear Ms. Gabriel's story.
Here is an interview at Duke University with Ms. Gabriel.
According to Wikipedia: Brigitte Gabriel (born 1965) is a human rights advocate,[ [Lebanese Americans|Lebanese American]] journalist, author and activist. She is the founder of the American Congress For Truth and ACT! for America.
According to Wikipedia:
American Congress for Truth (ACT) is a non-profit organization that focuses on threats to the US, Israel, and the West from Islamic fundamentalism. Lebanese American author and human rights activist Brigitte Gabriel founded the ACT in 2002[1] to "give a voice to Americans, Jews and Christians, who have lost their freedom of speech to political correctness."
- We have become a society unable to act or speak because we're afraid to voice our opinion lest we would be sued and accused of being not fair minded.
According to Gabriel's website, her mission is to:
- • Keep citizens informed through action alerts, issues and legislation
- • Educate millions of citizens about our enemy, and what they can and must do to protect themselves and their country
- • Arm activists with information to get involved and take action
- • Motivate citizens to become active in decisions affecting national security and the American way of life
- • Network organizations with like-minded goals to bring change
- • Empower citizens to have a voice in their government
- • Fearlessly speak out in defense of America, Israel and Western civilization
Gabriel was born in Lebanon and raised as a Christian. She is a favorite among conservative radio stations in the United States.
