When to speak softly and when to speak out.

One of the things that has bothered me about the blogs of some of my favorite Republicans is that they have frequently decried what they perceive as an over-reaction among Democrats to misdeeds by Bush/Rumfeld/Cheney/American Troops etc and under-reaction to terrorist hacking-of-heads/bombings/mistreatment-of-minorities/hysteria-over-cartoons-of-Mohammed etc.

Let me address the second element first:

I assume terrorists will do what terrorists have done during all world history. They will kill. They will maim. Pitching verbal fits about them only furthers their terroristic aims. They will not be affected by what their enemies say and they attacked us because they want us het up. Their motivation for filming their OWN atrocities is obvious: they want those images spread far and wide to stoke terror. Every person who helps spread those images is doing the terrorists job for them. As regards terrorists the best approach is ol' Teddy's "Speak softly but carry a big stick." 

As to OUR reactions to the behaviors of OUR leaders and OUR troops: Here we do have a role. Never is it MORE important to hold to OUR principles than when the anti-republicans of the world are challenging those principles. Every time we stoop to the methods of the terrorists we are aiding their cause, not ours.