One can argue there ought to be a universal morality. But moral sense is a demographic expression that comes out of a group such as a society, culture, or nationality. It’s not the other way around.
Proponents of a moral code may argue the primacy of their moral sense. They may even have ancient texts to bolster their argument. But their positions only hold true for themselves, notwithstanding how fervently or violently they defend them.
On some level, they make a choice to defend their morality. Blaming that defense on a god is merely a cop out.
Therefore, the crossing of national and cultural boundaries where people uphold different moral standards leads to a foreseeable expectation that behaviors will change at the border to comport with local values.
It is foolish and dangerous to ignore how this construct in human nature works. Moreover, it is foolish and dangerous to take down the borders between morally disparate cultures and expect harmony to ensue.
Many centuries have passed in recorded human history where hundreds of thousands of intelligent peace-seeking men on all sides have attempted to reconcile the alternate moral codes of Islam and Western Civilization.
So it’s reasonable to accept that if our radically different moral codes could have been reconciled with each other into a common moral sense, they would have been by now.
Our modern technological prowess provides no guarantee that modern men have any better insight to this moral conundrum that intellectuals have struggled to resolve for centuries.
To write off violent terrorism as an aberration not reflective of deep alternate moral standards – as Obama does in many of his speeches – reflects the same blind hubris that infects much of the Left’s political, economic and historical thinking, and results in unpredictable reckless consequences.
A sober assessment of real history leads to the inescapable conclusion that Islamic morality and Judeo Christian morality are not reconcilable.
This must be the starting assumption in our international affairs. We cannot hope to discover an appropriate response to terrorist provocations by ignoring the true natures motivating the conflicts.
It’s well past time our leadership put aside wishful thinking.