Monday, February 19, 2007

Clash Of Civilizations? Canadians Don't Buy It (And Neither Does Anyone Else)

While NeoCons like Mark Steyn, who backed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, have been urging a broader war against Islam ever since rather than face the consequences of their own disastrous, ideologically driven decision, Canadians in general hold views which, quite frankly, make me proud of my country:

OTTAWA - Most Canadians reject the notion the Islamic and western worlds are engaged in a clash of civilizations based on culture and religion, according to a new international poll.

The GlobeScan survey found a majority, 56 per cent, of Canadians regard the conflict between Islam and the West to be primarily about "political power and interests."

In fact, Steyn-type cultural war-mongering seemed to have found very little purchase worldwide:

...52 per cent, of those polled said the current tension between Islam and the West is primarily due to conflicting political interests. Most, 58 per cent, blamed intolerant minorities [on both sides]- rather than fundamental cultural differences - for exacerbating the situation.

Even the United States seems far less racist in this regard than Steyn might hope:

While 49 per cent of U.S. respondents said the conflict was primarily about political power and interests, 38 per cent also said differences in religion and culture were at the root of the problem.

And Canadians are downright optimistic, with a full 73 per cent feeling a peaceful accommodation between Islam and Western society is possible.

Again, given the amount of NeoCon poison in the air over the issue, these numbers are cause for rejoicing.

19 comments:

Ti-Guy said...

I predict one of your trolls is going to attack the integrity of GlobeScan. I'm just psychic that way...

The neocon poison isn't having a long-lasting effect because they couldn't keep their outright lies hidden well enough. Why they didn't anticipate this is a mystery to me. Maybe they've all got early-onset Alzheimer's? That would explain Mark Steyn.

alfred said...

You're really reaching for material now big guy, Mark Steyn hasn't lived in this country for years and has never been active within the CPC to my knowledge.

bigcitylib said...

I didn't connect him to the CPC, other than through (implied ) ideology.

alfred said...

OK, just like I connect Karl Marx to the LPC.

Ti-Guy said...

No, that's not the same thing, Alfred. Only crazy/stupid people connect Marx to the Liberal Party of Canada.

Connecting Steyn to the CPC requires no stretch of the imagination at all.

Anonymous said...

You're right. It's all made up.

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Corbella_Licia/2007/02/18/3642930-sun.html

There are no 84,000 muslims in Canada who want to behead the prime minister and blow up parliament as 'justified' and 'reasonable' means of protest.

Only neo-coms would deny their ideological links to Marx. We are communists, but we don't call ourselves communists, so we aren't communists. But at heart? We're really communists. Welcome to Big Brother, Canada.

Anonymous said...

connect Liberals to Marxist ideas ??

Fish.
Barrel
Shoot.

Best re-read the bios' for Trudeau & your current boy Citoyen DIon.

They are butt-cheeks close in sympathetic thought to Uncle Carl.

Never forget, Trudeau asked for and got a mass murdering Marxist dictator as a pall bearer at his funeral . . Castro was all smiles

Ti-Guy said...

The reason I call Conservatives crazy is not because I'm mean; it's because you all say crazy things.

In any case, the accepted smear is to connect Trudeau (and Dion and...oh, I don't know...brussel sprouts?) to Stalin, not Marx.

Harper gets linked to Hitler. Oh, no sorry. Bush=Hitler. Harper=Eva Braun.

Anonymous said...

Wow. These guys don't even understand they are socialists. Big government socialists, who want to control the markets, take over sectors of industry, and either mandate or prohibit every facet of your daily life.

They sure as hell aren't for individual freedom. They aren't for reducing government intrusion. Since they believe "only the police and military should have guns", they also want to have a police state in Canada.

Trudeau really did a number on Canada. He changed us from a can-do country into a whiny lazy arts major sponging of his parents and in need of his social worker. And a government grant. And it shows in our continued degradation as a First-World country. Pretty soon we won't be on the G8 list anymore. But we can take pride in being at the top of the "B" list. "Look everybody, we're still better than Eritrea, Estonia, and Turkmenistan."

Red Tory said...

Geez. Did the right-wing loons wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, or what?

Anonymous said...

There are so many anonymouses here that I don't know who's who, but Anon 5:00PM:

If you want to link Trudeau and Castro the butcher, why don't you also post a list of all the butchering dictators associated with the Presidents of The United States AKA The Pillar Of Capitalism.

Everyone who complains about socialist/communist Canada implies that capitalist societies are so much better when in fact all they've ever done is promote the illusion of freedom while enslaving or exploiting people in other countries or sometimes even their own. Look at the Stated nowadays for god's sake as far as even basic freedoms go.

bigcitylib said...

Paul,

Ti-guy thinks all my anons are one person. However, there's one, the early morning anon, I call him, that seems to show a bit more personality.

Ti-Guy said...

That's when he posts before his five breakfast Margaritas have kicked in. It's all downhill after that...

Paul Hillsdon said...

I can't believe some of the neo-cons that post here. Canada is part socialist, as much as you'd like it the other way. It's a defining piece of this country and allowed for things like universal health care and one of the best education systems around. Frankly, if you want an all or nothing capitalist state, move to the U.S. and stop trying to move Canada back in time. Because, while it may be beyond your thought processes, nothing is ever black and white (or in this case, capitalist or communist).

Ti-Guy said...

Actually, if they want real laissez-faire capitalism, they should move to the Third World.

Monkey Loves to Fight said...

I wonder what the European numbers were like since unlike in Canada where Muslims and non-Muslims interact frequently, the Muslim and non-Muslim community still remain heavily segregated.

In fact I am glad Canada has shown greater tolerance for Muslims than most other Western countries.

Anonymous said...

Has anybody read the book?

Anonymous said...

What's a 'neocon' exactly? Somebody care to elaborate?

Anonymous said...

Come on, if you're critiquing the book, you MUST have read it. Somebody?