Your Mandarin was watching the new mini-series Vietnam in HD on the History Channel last night. In addition, your Mandarin has also been watching the series Nazi Collaborators on the Military Channel. During both programs there was a commercial for a new show on TLC called Muslim in America. You may be asking, “oh wise and malevolent Mandarin why bring this up?” Because your Mandarin was intrigued by the way these three different shows highlighted the confrontation that the United States and Western civilization in general faces today with the threat of Islam.

The Muslim in America commercial shows a clip from the show of a Muslim woman in full hijab recounting an encounter she had on an airplane. According to her, a female passenger sitting behind her commented that she felt uncomfortable with her on the same plane. Her response to the female passenger was, “Well you better get your ass off the airplane then since I have a meeting to get to in order to educate people like you.” Your Mandarin wonders, is it education or indoctrination that is the ultimate goal of this woman and this show.

In the commercials for the Nazi Collaborators show, there is a comment from one of the collaborators that if they didn’t do “it”, then the Nazis would do “it” themselves. Here we see a group of people looking to appease their oppressors in the hopes that they will be spared since they were useful to the cause. The collaborators of today are the Progressives and anti-Semites that work to destroy Israel and act as the apologists for Islamic terrorist acts and persecution of Jews and Christians. The irony is that these groups see Islam as a useful tool to help them institute their progressive/socialist/communist utopia. What they fail to realize is that they are the dupes and while they may be the last in line into the gas chambers, they will none the less be in that line.

And while watching the Vietnam special, there was a comment from one of the soldiers that really struck your Mandarin. The soldier stated, and your Mandarin is paraphrasing, “Not one Vietnamese ever told us don’t go down that trail, there is a mine in the road, or don’t go into that hut, there is a booby trap. Here we were trying to help these people and they never made an attempt to help us.” The reason for this is that the “moderate” Muslims that we are told exist, like the Vietnamese villagers are playing both sides. If the United States and Western civilization is able to defeat the terrorist elements in Islam the “moderates” can express their joy at being liberated, and if the terrorist elements win, then they can express their joy at being liberated – although they might not want to go dancing in the streets to celebrate, they might wind up being stoned or receive 100 lashes for immoral behavior.

Your Mandarin in a revelation that may shock some of you does agree with the progressive left that Iraq and Afghanistan are this generation’s Vietnam, but not for the reasons they cite. Rather, the correlation between these two wars and Vietnam is we are facing a situation where we have a population that consists of those who are openly hostile and those that exhibit hostility through silence and inaction. We have spent treasure, and more importantly the blood and futures of our soldiers for a goal that was naïve at best and will never be attainable in Islamic societies – democracy. Your Mandarin isn’t surprised that the policy goal of spreading democracy isn’t working, hell, most people in this country don’t realize that we are a representative republic and not a democracy. You want to see democracy in action and where it fails, look to Greece, and if you don’t want to look that far, then cast your gaze upon the Occupy Wall Street movement. Never confuse democracy and the religion of the state with individual freedom and God given rights.

The United States, and your individual freedom is under constant attack. Your Mandarin wonders what role you will play. Will you be the one who remains silent until there is a clear winner? Will you be the one that actively assists with the destruction of individual freedom in the hopes that your actions will inoculate you from the fate of those you betrayed? Or will you take a stand and defend individual freedom?

The Mandarin

The Mandarin, whose real name is 吏恆, joined the order in 1309, and introduced the Gormogons into England during the 18th Century.

The Mandarin enjoys spending time with his pet manticore, Βάρἰκος, or Barry (who can be found in the Bestiary). When not in the Castle…well, frankly, nobody is quite sure where he goes.

The Mandarin popularized the fine art of “gut booting,” by which he delivers a powerful kick to the stomach of anyone that annoys him. Although nearly universal today, the act of gut booting or threatening someone or something with a gut boot is solely due to him.