Sunday Sequence team-
Your web poll is not an accurate portrayal of what most people think. The question was, “Is the assassination of terrorists by government agents ever legitimate?” And, as of today, your website visitors think that it isn’t, by 74% to 26%. Bizarre. And it doesn’t demonstrate that most people actually think that going after terrorists in this manner is wrong. It shows that the most devoted Sunday Sequence listeners and website visitors tend to be left-wing!
[There is a reason for this. BBC journalism is comprised almost entirely of left-liberal thought. Its general news coverage and presumptive commentary is filled with ideas that most people do not instinctively agree with, but the apathetic British mindset allows it to go unchecked and, in many cases, unnoticed. In the case of other broadcasters, this would not matter so much. But two things make it preposterous. First, the BBC is paid for unvoluntarily, through an act of law. In the UK, you pay for the BBC whether you make use of its services or not. Second, at the BBC, they really believe they are impartial, and claim to try their best to present all points of view as fairly as possible. This makes the enthusiastic BBC news listener, the kind of listener likely to visit the Sunday Sequence website, many times more likely to espouse left-liberal views.]
We could test this theory of mine fairly easily. The hallmark of leftism right now seems to be an irrational hate and fear of US President George W Bush, so I guess the best question you could ask to determine whether I’m right is, “Do you believe the Bush presidency to be bad for the world in general?” I believe the answers of your responders would reveal their place on the political spectrum. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to leave the impression that the general population agree with the Left on most of these issues, as a casual reading of your poll results may inadvertently suggest.
[I would bet $100 that over 70% of average Sunday Sequence responders would affirm that they believe Bush to be bad for the world in general. This wouldn’t prove anything, positive or negative, about Bush. It would simply unearth the divergence of political orientation between the average BBC consumer and the average American, for example. Like comparing the median worldview of Guardian readers and the rest of the country, you’d quickly find out who reads what paper.]
And as for the idea that it is somehow wrong to take out terrorist leaders who have proved their willingness to kill innocent people, and as of 9/11, their willingness to die themselves as they kill thousands…. it’s blatantly absurd. What is so boring about the Left is this constant derision of the United States’ war on terror, entirely absent of any alternative theory of how to do it. You don’t like government assassinations of terrorists? Fine. Tell us how to otherwise, effectively defend ourselves from their attacks.
Sincerely,
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John Wright