A reader writes:
[Beinart says] “Free speech is under threat, and Idomeneo should be the last straw.”
If only we could break the camel’s back. While I agree, I find it risible that despite suicide bombings, the murder of a film director, and numerous mullah-signd murder decrees, that a CANCELED OPERA IN EUROPE would be the last straw.
Talk about cultural elitism. Crush islamism, and save the opera?! And we wonder why OBL is winning the PR war.
Me: I certainly understand where the reader is coming from. But, let us recall, the core point of the “last straw” metaphor is that it’s something trivial that drives us to the tipping point. Straws normally do not break camels’ backs. And, in fairness to Peter, it’s not like he hasn’t been hawkish on Islamism for a while now. He’s trying to persuade other liberals.