First the Rug is Pulled Now Comes the Pile-On

First Carter was hit with charges of falsehoods and distortions; then charges of plagiarism. Now there is some friendly fire from Michael Kinsley, a fellow liberal. The main point of dispute Kinsley has is the use of the word Apartheid. He states:

It's not clear what he means by using the loaded word "apartheid," since the book makes no attempt to explain it, but the only reasonable interpretation is that Carter is comparing Israel to the former white racist government of South Africa. That is a foolish and unfair comparison, unworthy of the man who won -- and deserved -- the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing Israel and Egypt together in the Camp David Accords, and who has lent such luster to the imaginary office of former president.

It was a bit hard for me to stomach that last part, but it does show that Kinsley is a friend and not a foe. I for one find the current trend of using extreme words to make a point very disturbing. I don't mean extreme as in superlatives, but words that represent some of the most heinous of events and activities of mankind. Words like Apartheid and Nazi. The use of these words in a context that does not even come to a 1% level of the original atrocity diminishes the word and weakens its power over time. For cheap political shots, the memory of the victims of these horrors will take a back seat to a lesser cause. For fairness I must admit that conservatives have long participated in this by calling those with a leftist idealogy "commie libs". Bu such a watered down use, many around the globe have forgotten the real terror of the gulags, the rape of Nan-King, the killing fields, the millions who died by purging, the millions who died by starvation due to failed policies.

The remainder of the Kinsley column details the differences between Apartheid and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is worth taking the time to read. Jimmy Carter has truly stepped in it by revealing his incredible bias against Israel. This bias seems to be growing around the world and in the U.S. media. A slower rate in the increase in bigotry against Israel can be absorbed by the media, but Carter went too far too fast to get away with it. Now the pile-on is beginning. I hope there are more on the left that will step up and denounce it.