As in the aftermath of 9-11, the endless commentaries following the Charlie Hebdo massacre all seem to be reworkings of George W. Bush’s “Why Do They Hate Us?” speech with its long list of our democratic virtues and the perpetrators’ lack of the same:
“They hate what they see right here in this chamber: a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.”
The Western commentators then and now, just as Bush himself did, mostly ignore the elementary, basic, central, core truth in next paragraph of his speech: