This interesting post over at SDP both asks and answers this question. As if you couldn’t guess – it’s not (cuddly).
Many years ago the late Richard Grenier wrote an essay asking the question, “Is it a cuddly Universe?” The subject of his essay were the films E.T. (cuddly) and Blade Runner (not cuddly). Is there any doubt that after the speeches by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez before the United Nations that our corner of the universe is not cuddly?
This is an very incisive metaphor:
Some Americans have a view of the world that is similar to “battered woman syndrome.” This is the syndrome in which a battered woman blames herself for her beatings and is sure that if she just loves her man more or better then he’ll stop hitting her. Surely, some argue, we have done things to make the Iranians and Venezuelans angry, and if we are just a little nicer to the world then people will stop trying to kill us.
Hear, hear!