Andy: "America doesn't have a monopoly on what's right!" Sing it, sister. Can I get an "Amen"? "And even if we did, I think you're going to have a tough time convincing the Arab world," Andy continues. Toby: "Well, we'd like to talk to them about it." Yeah, it sure looks like you guys are trying to establish an open dialogue. Andy: "That oughta do the trick." Toby thinks it's worth a shot. Andy says, "The U.S. Constitution defends religious pluralism. It doesn't reduce all of Islam to fanaticism." Bless her heart, she pronounces "Islam" correctly. (It's not Iz-lam, it's Iss-lam.) Toby replies, "Neither does this speech. It calls fanaticism 'fanaticism.' It's fanaticism whether we call it that or not, so we're going to call it that." Gosh, I'd love to see this same logic applied to some of the other subjects and problems they work so hard to spin a certain way. She says, "Toby..." He claims, "We respect all religions, all cultures." You got a damn funny way of showing it. Andy: "To a point." Toby: "Yes, to a point. Grotesque oppression isn't okay, just because it's been institutionalized." Unless you need to refuel around there, or something. I'm just saying. He continues, "If you ask me, we should have gotten into the game three, four decades ago, but they're coming for us now, so it's time to saddle up!" I'd love to know what exactly he's referring to when he says "the game," but as is typical for so many of the debates and arguments on this show, specifics are cast aside in order to keep the dialogue going without necessarily having to say anything or commit to anything too specific. As such, it's pointless for me to try to address this comment, because I can't even begin to be sure what he's talking about. Andy: "Toby..." Toby: "We do know what's right!" Oh, Jesus effing... ["Yeah, they know what's right! Hey, who built the White House again?" -- Wing Chun] Andy quietly says, "This is why they hate us." I'm so sick of the vague "they"s in these arguments. Arabs? Muslims? Terrorists? Not the same thing. Even if she specified whether she was talking about Arabs or Muslims or terrorists, most generalizations are going to be patently false or useless. People all over the world hate, resent, and/or fear the United States for a gobsmacking variety of reasons, most of which are not the self-serving reasons many Americans imagine, either. Toby responds, "There's a lot of reasons why they hate us. You know when they're going to like us? When we win." Yeah, that's how it will work out. How freaking idiotic.









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