By Dennis Prager, 1/24/17, Townhall
In fact, with the obvious and
enormous exception of attitudes toward slavery, Americans are more divided
morally, ideologically and politically today than they were during the Civil
War. For that reason, just as the Great War came to be known as World War I
once there was World War II, the Civil War will become known as the First Civil
War when more Americans come to regard the current battle as the Second Civil
War.
This Second Civil War, fortunately,
differs in another critically important way: It has thus far been largely
nonviolent. But given increasing left-wing violence, such as riots, the taking
over of college presidents' offices and the illegal occupation of state
capitols, nonviolence is not guaranteed to be a permanent characteristic of the
Second Civil War.
There are those on both the left and
right who call for American unity. But these calls are either naive or
disingenuous. Unity was possible between the right and liberals, but not
between the right and the left.
Liberalism -- which was anti-left,
pro-American and deeply committed to the Judeo-Christian foundations of
America; and which regarded the melting pot as the American ideal, fought for
free speech for its opponents, regarded Western civilization as the greatest
moral and artistic human achievement and viewed the celebration of racial
identity as racism -- is now affirmed almost exclusively on the right and among
a handful of people who don't call themselves conservative.
The left, however, is opposed to
every one of those core principles of liberalism. Like the left in every other
country, the left in America essentially sees America as a racist, xenophobic,
colonialist, imperialist, warmongering, money-worshipping, moronically
religious nation.
Just as in Western Europe, the left
in America seeks to erase America's Judeo-Christian foundations. The melting
pot is regarded as nothing more than an anti-black, anti-Muslim, anti-Hispanic
meme. The left suppresses free speech wherever possible for those who oppose
it, labeling all non-left speech "hate speech." To cite only one
example, if you think Shakespeare is the greatest playwright or Bach is the
greatest composer, you are a proponent of dead white European males and therefore
racist.
Without any important value held in
common, how can there be unity between left and non-left? Obviously, there
cannot. There will be unity only when the
left vanquishes the right or the right vanquishes the left. Using the First
Civil War analogy, American unity was achieved only after the South was
vanquished and slavery was abolished.
How are those of us who oppose
left-wing nihilism -- there is no other word for an ideology that holds Western
civilization and America's core values in contempt -- supposed to unite with
"educators" who instruct elementary school teachers to cease calling
their students "boys" and "girls" because that implies
gender identity? With English departments that don't require reading
Shakespeare in order to receive a degree in English? With those who regard
virtually every war America has fought as imperialist and immoral? With those
who regard the free market as a form of oppression? With those who want the
state to control as much of American life as possible? With those who
repeatedly tell America and its black minority that the greatest problems
afflicting black Americans are caused by white racism, "white
privilege" and "systemic racism"? With those who think that the
nuclear family ideal is inherently misogynistic and homophobic? With those who
hold that Israel is the villain in the Middle East? With those who claim that
the term "Islamic terrorist" is an expression of religious bigotry?
The third significant difference
between the First and Second Civil Wars is that in the Second Civil war, one
side has been doing nearly all the fighting. That is how it has been able to
take over schools -- from elementary schools, to high schools, to universities
-- and indoctrinate America's young people; how it has taken over nearly all
the news media; and how it has taken over entertainment media.
The conservative side has lost on
every one of these fronts because it has rarely fought back with anything near
the ferocity with which the left fights. Name a Republican politician who has
run against the left as opposed to running solely against his or her Democratic
opponent. And nearly all American conservatives, people who are proud of
America and affirm its basic tenets, readily send their children to schools
that indoctrinate their children against everything the parents hold precious.
A mere handful protest when their child's teacher ceases calling their son a
boy or their daughter a girl, or makes "slave owner" the defining
characteristic of the Founding Fathers.
With the defeat of the left in the
last presidential election, the defeat of the left in two-thirds of the
gubernatorial elections and the defeat of the left in a majority of House and
Senate elections, this is likely the last chance liberals, conservatives and the
right have to defeat the American left. But it will not happen until these
groups understand that we are fighting for the survival of America no less than
the Union troops were in the First Civil War.
No comments:
Post a Comment