Saturday, August 12, 2006

Storm Track Disinformation: Remembering What a "Peaceful" Religion Brought Us Back in `41

From The Gathering Storm

Fascism is as fascism does. This cutting, tongue in cheek satire depicts Islam in general as an enemy of America on a par with Japanese fascism in the 1940s, and Bush's understated, matter-of-fact acknowledgement that Islam isn't really the problem as treacherously naïve.

Just an aside, if you knew the history of Imperial Japan and the Great Pacific War you would know that Shinto, as the State Religion of the Empire, was a key motivating factor for Imperial forces, as was the medieval Samurai ideal and Bushido code.

From the Free Congress Foundation reprinted here in its entirety because it doesn’t need any outside comments.

December 7, 2002: President George W. Bush Issues Statement, Hosts Japanese-American "Sunrise" Breakfast To Mark Pearl Harbor Anniversary.

Following yesterday's message from President Bush honoring the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, the President today hosted a "sunrise breakfast" for leading Japanese-Americans, the Japanese diplomatic community and a delegation of Shinto priests from Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which commemorates Japan's war dead.

In his remarks delivered before the breakfast, President Bush said, "I want to thank all of you for joining me on a day that means so much both to Americans and to Japanese. Our countries are and always have been good friends. Our cultures are very much alike. We both place great value on individual freedom and opportunity. We both value frankness and straightforward dealing. We have both always been peaceful countries, at home and abroad. And we both have great respect for other cultures and peoples.

"I want to thank the delegation from Yasukuni Shrine for coming so far to join us and to lead us in prayer before our meal. I know that Christianity and Shinto are very much alike. Both are religions of peace, just as Islam is a religion of peace. Shinto leads faithful Japanese to lead lives of honesty and integrity and compassion, as many Americans who were once guests of Japan can attest.

"In hosting this morning's breakfast, I send a message to all the dead warriors gathered at the Yasukuni shrine. America treasures your friendship. America honors your faith.

"We see in Shinto a religion that traces its origins back to rocks and trees. We share your belief in the Gods' inscrutable ways, and in your insistence on man's submission to his arbitrary fate. We thank the many Japanese, past and present, who stand with us against terror, against attacks delivered without warning, like those on September 11, 2001. That is truly a date which, to coin a phrase, will live in infamy.

"Today's breakfast sends a message to all Americans: our nation fought a war against a small number of misguided Japanese naval pilots, not against a religion, and not against a civilization. One of the deepest commitments of America is tolerance. No one should be treated unkindly because of the color of their skin or the content of their creed or their propensity to appear unexpectedly over other people's harbors. No one should be unfairly judged by appearance or ethnic background, or religious faith, or general sneakiness. We must uphold these values of progress and pluralism and tolerance.

"I thank you for coming to the White House this morning. Please join me after breakfast on the White House lawn, where we have arranged a special flyover of Japanese naval aircraft, so we can all see the rising sun at its most dramatic. Don't forget your coats; there's a little nip in the air this morning."

Following the flyover, the Japanese ambassador expressed his deep respect for America by presenting President Bush with the shorter of the two traditional Japanese swords. Both Japanese and Americans applauded the gesture loudly.

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