No time for liberal sensitivity

“24” rightly abandons political correctness for the truth

By Aditya Kashyap
From the March 2007 Print Edition

            Simply put, “24” is the most compelling drama on television in recent times. Each season of the show features counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer grappling with persons and problems that pose a threat to national security. Sure, this type of show has been done before in television, movies, as well as in books. The appeal of “24,” however, is that political correctness does not interfere with the contemporary relevance of the show; the majority of terrorists carrying out anti-American attacks are depicted on the show as being of Arab descent.

            Having come from India (the country with the third-largest Muslim population in the world) and growing up with several Muslim family friends, it is quite obvious to me that most Muslims are not violent, are law abiding, and are also diligent workers. That being said, let’s face it: The greatest terrorist threats to the United States are from militant members of Islam.

            One of the most frustrating features of the entertainment industry is that, in general, leftist Hollywood producers pretend Islamic terrorists don’t exist. A recent UCLA political science case study observed that in post-WWII U.S. television shows, plot lines involving terrorists depicted them as followers of extremist Islam only 8 percent of the time. Compare that with the fact that more than 95 percent of the terrorist threats made against the United States after WWII have come from those of the same ideology.

            This baffling inconsistency doesn’t just exist in television. Over the years, blockbuster video-game franchises such as Metal Gear Solid and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell generally feature terrorist threats from Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, or ex-Soviet satellite states. This dampens the storyline and mutes the urgency and impending sense of doom the player should feel from the threat.

            What distinguishes “24” from these other media productions is the fact that it is not afraid to call a spade a spade, thus maintaining its relevancy to the audience. The show puts forth national security nightmare scenarios featuring threats posed by Islamic extremists. This sparks a personal connection with viewers and demands their emotional interest because Jack Bauer is fighting to save their lives.

            Since World War II, there has been a damning tendency in the United States by the media and subsequently its citizens to champion political correctness over the truth in an effort to avoid offending anyone. One can see the roots of this disgusting line of thinking since the movie 1941, which parodies the anxiety and fear that Americans felt after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Americans are suggested to be paranoid and stupid buffoons. What the liberal producers of the film failed to contemplate, however, is what would have happened had the American population not responded to the bombing of Pearl Harbor with rage.

            Today, there are too many people who fear acting like the freaked-out folks in 1941. This is the same crowd that, months after 9/11, thought the U.S. government was too overbearing and fascist.

            When finally a show like “24” decides to break the mold and present an honest discussion of this nation’s largest nemesis, it is no doubt attacked by groups such as CAIR, the Council of American Islamic Relations. CAIR claims that shows such as “24” unfairly target Muslims and are catalysts for anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States.

            The day Osama bin Laden and his ilk stop issuing death threats to the United States is the day that “24” will unfairly target Muslims. Secondly, the notion that “24” purports anti-Islamic attitudes is completely unfounded as there is not a single documented case of a viewer attacking a Muslim, verbally or physically, because of the show’s influence. Surely, with lines such as “we cannot brand an entire group of people [American Muslims] based upon the actions of a few” and “the overwhelming majority of American Muslims are patriots,” the show is on a single-track drive to destroy the reputation of the American Muslim.

            Ironically, the head of CAIR’s fictional counterpart in “24” actually goes undercover among a group of detained Muslims to help the FBI!

            Indeed, the show is fair to Muslims. When another patriotic Muslim character in the show, Counter-Terrorism Unit agent Nadia Yassir, is blocked by the federal government from high-level computer-access authorization because she is Muslim, a fellow agent is outraged. “That’s ridiculous,” he protests. “For God’s sake, she’s a registered Republican.”

 

If you enjoyed this article, please consider supporting the Patriot