The Absurd Report

America is once again a House divided. This time, it is between two schools of thought. The first argues that because we face a violent, existential threat to our way of life, we must become less tolerant to pressures from the radical Islamic lobby domestically and more aggressive against our
enemies internationally. This group believes that we are confronted by an enemy that is committed to the destruction of our way of life, that is planning further attacks on American soil - attacks far more devastating than 9/11; an enemy that operates according to no rules, wears no uniform, carries no rank, displays no weapons, openly targets civilians, commits mass murder in the name of religion, has no qualms about turning passenger planes into cruise missiles, and would have no problem in sending anthrax through our mails; pouring botulism into our water supplies; or detonating “dirty bombs” filled with radioactive waste in our cities.

This segment of our population believes that we cannot hope to stop such attacks 100% of the time unless and until we aggressively address those who commit or support them - specifically Iran, Syria, Pakistan and even Saudi Arabia. It also believes that the security of our nation during time of war requires the expansion of our surveillance apparatus, some restrictions on our right to privacy, and some infringement on our civil liberties. Socially, it believes that no religion in this country (most notably Islam) is entitled to preferential treatment under any circumstances.

The second school of thought, however, does not believe that we are at war and is prepared to make some degree of accommodation with the Islamists in return for a lesser degree of violence thereby restoring a level of stability in our everyday lives and reducing the likelihood of further government encroachments on our civil liberties. This section of society argues that a small percentage of those who hate us will, from time to time, act violently towards us. This, they acknowledge, is unavoidable.
However, while the group is prepared to accept that some of this violence might be justified (due to American policies in the Arab world or failings within American society itself), it cannot condone the excessive violence of the perpetrators. Rather, the goal is to reduce the degree of violence to a more acceptable level by modifying our values and policies toward the Arab/Muslim world.

The problem is that there is no middle ground between these two perceptions.