Our answer is more democracy, more openness to show that we will not be stopped by this kind of violence. At the same time we shouldn't be naive, we should understand that violence can attack our society - we've seen that today." - Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
Oh, really? Let's take a quick stroll down memory lane...
Norway, not being the mightiest, best, and most democratic nation on earth, obviously couldn't compare in its response to how we dealt with our great, national tragedy:
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, President Bush didn't call for sacrifice. He called for shopping. "Get down to Disney World in Florida," he said. "Take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed."
And as far as the "more open" duty that Mr. Stoltenberg mentions:
With the revelation of domestic spying by the National Security Agency, the message transmitted by the Bush White House is crystal clear: When the president decides existing law is insufficient to protect Americans, he'll move ahead on his own and do whatever he deems necessary in the war on terror.
Then of course there's this triumph of democracy:
June 15, 2004
President Bush on Tuesday claimed victory in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and announced what he called five new initiatives to strengthen the links between that country and the United States.
Bush praised the visiting head of Afghanistan's interim government, Hamid Karzai, as a man of "honor, courage and skill helping to build a new and democratic Afghanistan."
Yup, that sure sounds like Hamid Karzai, all right. Let your lips intone those words out loud: "honor, courage..." Almost a personification himself of our valiant response to attack: a proliferation of honest, open, peaceable democracy on the world stage! What could be more democratic, compassionate and righteous than that?
But on a more important note, it's a relief to know that we actually won the war on terror 7 years ago, incidentally right during the start of the general election season. Everything since then has just been a sort of maintenance of democracy. Irrigating the young tree in the desert, if you will.
Norway only has puffery:
Our answer is more democracy, more openness to show that we will not be stopped by this kind of violence. At the same time we shouldn't be naive, we should understand that violence can attack our society - we've seen that today." - Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
Imagine the consequences if our country had the self-doubt of a Norway in a time of horrifying misfortune. A nation not encouraged to distract itself with consumerism and celebrities. Not a single soul tortured. Not a single phone tapped. Not a single citizen frightened purposefully through government propaganda.