EXTREMISM isn’t the problem–PERVERSION is the problem

Elitist western political commentators and politicians frequently talk about the need to stop ‘extremism’, but this is a deeply inaccurate way to describe the policy, cultural and social malaise from which terrorism can foment and flourish.

The Oxford Living Dictionary defines the world perversion in the following way:

“Distortion or corruption of the original course, meaning, or state of something”.

Perversion is why the west is losing its war against terrorism. 

Western leaders have perverted the true sense of security, peace and safety by funding, arming and aiding terrorists in Syria, Libya, Albania, Bosnia, Yemen and Ukraine as well as the terrorist occupiers of Palestine while claiming they seek to destroy terrorism. Feeding something one allegedly wants to kill is a perversion of logic. Doing it knowingly is a perversion of morality and a perversion of democracy as no peoples anywhere in the world want to live with terrorism.

When one believes that peaceful free speech in support of Russia, China, Palestine, Ba’athism, Nasserism Christianity, conservative politics and anti-refugee activists is the equivalent of using social media to recruit for ISIS, al-Qaeda and other death cults, this is a perversion of clear thinking and it is a perversion of any sense of realistic priorities.

When one believes that a society built on sexually deviant activity stands a better chance of resisting the death cult of Salafism than one built on wholesome, positive and traditional values, one has perverted the very essence of what allows a society to defend itself.

When one believes that one can function while under the influence of narcotics which are specifically designed to impair cerebral functionality, one is perverting the laws of medical science.

And of course the aforementioned perversions of western culture allow the perverts of ISIS and al-Qaeda to pervert the word of God, pervert the ideas of righteousness and pervert the minds of the young turning them towards mindless drug use and violence against innocence which itself is a perversion of all that is sacred and just.

Each of these perversions feed off one another and each is is harmful to society.

The word extremism by contrast is defined as,

“The holding of extreme political or religious views; fanaticism”.

This can often carry its own dangers because anything when taken to the extreme can cloud clear and rational thinking, but this is not always so. One can be extremely patriotic, extremely faithful to one’s comrades and family, extremely physically fit or extremely devoted to hard work. None of these things are malicious but they are technically speaking, extreme.

By contrast, perversion cannot in any case be defined as having any merit except among those who have perverted their rhetoric in order to justify their perverse lifestyles and beliefs.

As Barry Goldwater said,

“Extremism in the defence of liberty is no vice…and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue”.

Try replacing the words extremism and moderation with perversion and decency and the legendary quote falls apart.