Neutering the Underdog

I found myself listening to Rush Limbaugh, yesterday, as is my wont when I'm in a particular mood, and something he said prompted these comments. He told a caller that liberals always champion the underdog, that it's pretty much a knee-jerk reaction. He said this regarding the current brouhaha between Israel and Hezbollah.

Superficially, it appears he's correct. Case-in-point, the love affair leftists have with those self-detonating saints known erroneously as Palestinians. But digging a bit deeper, I believe he's dead wrong.

Let's suppose that a situation arises in the U.S. in which the federal government begins making life difficult for Christians, restricting their freedom of speech and religion. Will left-wingers show up in droves, electric cars stuffed to the max, waving all-natural hemp banners and protest signs? Will they go to bat for these Christians--the clear underdogs in such a scenario?

Absolutely not. You know it, and I know it. We know because they already don't. When was the last time you heard a liberal defend freedom of speech or religion emanating from someone who didn't share his views? In my case, I've never experienced it. In fact, quite the opposite.

You see, liberals--synonymous with left-wingers, these days--love freedom of speech, for liberals. They gush over freedom of religion, or perhaps from religion, for liberals. Constitutional protections and guarantees are sublime, for liberals. Others can take a long stroll off a short pier.

And so with underdogs. Liberals champion them, so long as they share their worldview, or war against that which they despise. Currently, this means Hezbollah. Do average liberals admire or share the primitive belief system of Hezbollah? Maybe, maybe not. But they do tend toward a loathing of Israel, so we have a classic case of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Make no mistake: if you're an underdog who wants liberal attention, you'd better brush up on your left-wing talking points; or at the very least, find a cause liberals support, and give it your heart and soul.

The other reason I believe Rush is wrong is because I think it's debatable who the true underdog is, in the Middle East. After all, it's not a case of Israel vs. Hezbollah; it's a matter of Israel vs. the "Palestinians," Iran, Syria, and their proxy, Hezbollah. Not to mention other Islamic states that lend their moral support to Israel's annihilation, while exercising discretion about their enthusiasm in public.