In the “Please, STFU” category, Michael Goodwin

From, of course, Fox News:

By approving a role for the Muslim Brotherhood in a new Egyptian government, the White House is taking its engagement policy to a dangerous level. American taxpayer dollars will now help sustain the oldest Islamist group, one that helped launch Osama bin Laden on his murderous quest.

Perhaps this day was inevitable for an administration that refuses to say “Islamic terrorists,” and claims “jihad” can be a good thing and Hezbollah has “moderate” elements.

But it is hardly inevitable that the Kumbaya approach will bring peace to the Middle East. More likely, it will be seen as Western weakness and beget even more violence against America and our allies.

I don’t expect any more than this from Fox News.  They don’t even link to an actual news story saying that the Obama administration “approved” that role for the MB.

There is so much that is infuriating about this short, uninformative editorial piece.

First, the Egyptian revolution – it’s not America’s revolution.  We should have NO say in what they do.  NONE.  Even if the White House has given their ok on the Muslim Brotherhood having a role in the new Egyptian government, it doesn’t mean anything.  WE don’t get to decide what THEY do with their country.  I am amazed that this is such a difficult concept for people to grasp.

Second, I would expect conservatives, of all groups, to embrace the spread of democracy, especially after they have wasted trillions of US dollars and thousands of lives (both US soldiers, ally soldiers, and ALL of the Iraqi and Afghani civilians) doing just that.  But I don’t think they can see past their islamaphobia.  They literally think that the only way to spread democracy is if America rides in on its tanks with its jars full of democracy and their big giant democracy knives and spreads it around, American style.

Third, the conversation that we have about Egypt is important because our administration, while not able to decide for the Egyptians how they should run their country, will have to decide how to interact with whatever Egyptian government comes out of the revolution.  And this type of shit, this Muslim Brotherhood boogeyman crap – that will work to shut down any actual discussion about the topic among Americans.  Rachel Maddow discussed this on her show on February 4 specifically addressing the way that Glenn Beck has talked about the Egyptian revolution.  She said:

And so the fact that all this is cued to a real news event, I’m worried, frankly, worried, that the way this is going to play out over the next few months in American politics is that we’re going to be essentially incapable of having a real discussion about what happened in Egypt because people who watched it on Fox watched it unfold on Fox are going to believe that it means you should store food.

Fourth, this language of American “weakness” in response to supporting the revolutionaries in Egypt (who I am constantly in awe of, I must say – you should seriously be following at least some of them on Twitter) is part of this messed up macho rhetoric that gets us nowhere but isolated and on the wrong side of justice.  If actually listening to what Egyptians want, supporting their desire for democracy, and not pushing them to hold onto a deadly and cruel dictator makes us weak, then I accept that weakness.  I cherish that weakness.  I embrace and hold onto that weakness.  I am, Michael Goodwin, proud to be weak.

Because if Goodwin seriously believes that us being mean and heavy-handed toward the Arab world will STOP violence against America, then he is just dumb.  And wrong.

So, please, Michael Goodwin (Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, everyone at Fox News who takes the time at all to talk about Egypt), shut the fuck up.