Robert,

You're (just) a few years older than I -- let me ask you this: when did the ago-old American ideal of "equal opportunity for all" become "equal treatment for all"?

We can look at so many events today and see the difference -- The Reader is a good example. At one time, people would have loathed the Hannah character because she was a murderous Nazi (illiterate or not). I must confess I haven't seen the movie, but I get the impression that she receives sympathetic treatment as a "vivacious lover with a disability" in the movie. Why?

Another example -- the current Gaza situation: since when did Arabs shooting rockets and mortars into a neighboring country warrant sympathy? The Israelis have proven over and over (again and again) that they can coexist with Muslim Arabs and Christians and whomever else wishes to coexist with Israel -- the problem starts when violence is perpetrated against Israel!

Again, Israel and "Palestine" both have the opportunity to be good neighbors -- but only one chooses the path of terrorism... so why should we have ANY sympathy for them?

I guess the world has just been reduced to moral relativism...

PJ

" ... Until Pallywood and their leftist enablers are understood, exposed, and shredded, we are all in danger of being swallowed by transnational Islamic terrorism ... "

fwiw,
here's my $0.02 attempt at understanding :

it has long puzzled me why so many leftists/anti-semitic/pro-terror apologists are Jews :-((((

after having read my latest(lost-count already ;-) )
Rabbi Dr. A. J. Twersky book,
which yet again said primarily two things:
[1] the importance of self-esteem
and
[2] the helpfulness of the 12 steps,

point [1] has finally sunk in.

Piaget's view of childhood development of low self-esteem, very briefly, is that the developing child's low self-esteem is due in large part that the child cannot conceive of the parents being wrong, as this would catastrophically destabilize the child's sense of security in how the child views the world,
and so the child thinks that he/she must be at fault rather than the imperfect parents...

similarly, it appears that the grown leftist Jews, who so worship the liberal human rights leftist authorities and dogma,
cannot conceive of the the liberal platform being WRONG,
as this will leave their atheistic worldview empty and in unacceptable chaotic anarchy,

so it *must* be, they tell themselves,
that the Jews are at fault ...

and if the Liberal establishment can find no fault with the Arabs,
the, by the same reasoning,

it *must* be that there is *some* justification for the terrorists ...

if there is some truth in this analysis of why Jewish self-hating liberals act this way,

then there may a LONG road of healing necessary before their outlook may change

i leave it up to the psychologists/mental health professionals to comment ...

Karen, care to comment professionally?

Not that you have to but you are saying you like the Manchurian Candidate, correct?

It's one of my favorite movies, so I would be curious to hear what you think of it.

I've never been very convinced by the "self-hating liberal" meme. This may apply to a few Trustafarians, but in general, those who define themselves as "progressives" are not all all SELF-critical. They are, rather, highly critical of their fellow citizens. C S Lewis analyzes the phenomenon brilliantly in an essay which I excerpt here.

I actually did loathe the Hannah character but thought that Kate Winslet's performance was excellent. You obviously don't have to sympathize with a character in order to appreciate his or her performance. I hated Amon Goth in Schindler's List from my gut and thought he was a sick man, but I thought Ralph Finnes's performance was very good.

EXDEMLIB

I think what you are describing can best be subsumed under the psychological theory of "cognitive dissonance." People will distort reality to fit their beliefs especially when they have invested much energy in a specific world view.

Frightening world we live in.

In a few hours elections here will end, but even when we know the "results," we won't know what it means. Most politicians, especially the "Right" have "surprised us." I miss the days when a strong right kept the left from doing damage. The worst has been when we have the supposed right in govt. All I can do is pray that whomever we elect be gifted by G-d with wisdom.

PJ:

It all changed during the Viet Nam war and the rise of the New Left on college campuses.

Alice:

I love the film, and I'm saying that Obama is our Manchurian Candidate. He's a Socialist using Populist slogans to get his way.

David:

Thanks so much for the valuable link.

Bob:

The film is one step away from: “Ah, the Nazis weren't so bad, we have to take a more nuanced view of genocide.”

Winslet's performance is in service to an evil message.

Batya:

I can't recall the last time I saw wisdom emanating from Israeli politics.

Robert -- you could have omitted "Israeli" in that last comment... :-)

David -- Thanks so much for the wonderful CS Lewis link. What a wonderful understanding he had of these "youths'" (even Ayers still clearly imagines he's youthful)underlying motivesand how potentially harmful they are.

Those who take home that message from the movie are obviously foolish and bigoted. The performance is in service to what you make it to be. Those like us consider its merits or lack thereof only based on its bare elements. Those on the loony left will applaud the performance for more than what it was. On another note, even though I was impressed with Winslet's performance in this, I liked her effort in Revolutionary Road far better.