A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Monday, June 5, 2017
People leave the scene of a
terrorist attack on London Bridge in central London on June 3. (Chris J
Ratcliffe/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)
By Jennifer Rubin June 4 at 9:51 AM
The stoic determination and decency of the British people and their leaders were on full display in the hours after the latest horrific terrorist rampage. The Brits fought back, launching drinking glasses and chairs at the savages who attacked them. The police acted with lightning-fast precision, killing the three assailants within eight minutes of the emergency call. And, God Bless him, a man returned to the bar where he experienced Saturday’s horror — to pay his bill and tip. Civilization is not going to be driven out of Britain by three or three hundred killers.
The stoic determination and decency of the British people and their leaders were on full display in the hours after the latest horrific terrorist rampage. The Brits fought back, launching drinking glasses and chairs at the savages who attacked them. The police acted with lightning-fast precision, killing the three assailants within eight minutes of the emergency call. And, God Bless him, a man returned to the bar where he experienced Saturday’s horror — to pay his bill and tip. Civilization is not going to be driven out of Britain by three or three hundred killers.
Meanwhile — and it pains me to write this — our president acted like a
clod, a heartless and dull-witted thug in sending out a series of
tweets. He — commander in chief and leader of the Free World — first
retweeted an unverified, unofficial Drudge headline about the unfolding terrorist attack. Then he aimed to bolster his Muslim travel ban (which is not supposed to be a Muslim travel ban). “We need to be smart, vigilant and tough,”
he tweeted. “We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the
Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!” (Aside from the
inappropriateness of President Trump’s tweet, he fails to grasp that the
courts in these cases are reaffirming our rights against an
overreaching, discriminatory edict.)
After receiving blowback for that obnoxious missive, he tweeted out,
“Whatever the United States can do to help out in London and the U. K.,
we will be there – WE ARE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS!” But then he decided to
slam the mayor of the city attacked, who had calmly warned his fellow Londoners:
“Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the
course of the next few days. There’s no reason to be alarmed.” Trump
took the second part out of context and responded viciously,
“At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London
says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!'” (The mayor, of course, was
telling them not to be alarmed by the heightened police presence.) Trump
was not done, however, inanely tweeting, “Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That’s because they used knives and a truck!”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said he is "appalled" and "furious" after the attack on London Bridge on Saturday, June 3. (Reuters)
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said he is "appalled" and "furious" after the attack on London Bridge on Saturday, June 3. (Reuters)
One is prompted to ask if he is off his rocker. But this is vintage
Trump — impulsive and cruel, without an ounce of class or human decency.
His behavior no longer surprises us, but it should offend and disturb
us, first, that he remains the face and voice of America in the world
and, second, that his fans hoot and holler, seeing this as
inconsequential or acceptable conduct. We wound up with this president
because millions of Republicans could not prioritize character, decency
and overall fitness to serve over their mundane and frankly petty
partisan wish list (28 percent top marginal tax rate!). Self-appointed
religious leaders fail to see that this soullessness — not the dreaded
liberal elite who insist on saying “Happy Holidays” or refuse to
countenance discrimination against gay customers — is a threat to the
moral fiber of a democracy that requires a modicum of common sense and
human decency to function.
Sure, Trump’s policies and rhetoric are incoherent and based on a tower
of lies. Far worse, however, is his appalling character, which
accelerates the erosion of democratic norms and social cohesion a
diverse democracy requires. In instances like this, those who would
lecture us on President Obama’s under-
appreciation of America’s unique place in human history or proclaim that
they simply had to vote for Trump because Hillary Clinton was some sort
of monster are exposed as fools or hypocrites or both.
The London attacks bring out the best in Britain and in Western leaders
on the European continent; it brings out the worst in Trump and his
followers. The former protect the soul of Western civilization; the
latter drive a stake through the animating ideas that make America
special.
Three men in a speeding van mowed down
pedestrians on London Bridge before getting out and stabbing patrons at
nearby bars and restaurants on June 3. (The Washington Post)