"Modern liberalism, moreover, maintains its hold on the institutions that shape values and manipulate symbols. Hollywood and the network evening news will not change their ways because of Republican majorities. Political correctness and multiculturalism will not be ejected from the universities by Newt Gingrich. If the reaction of the left to Reagan's elections is any guide, modern liberalism will become more aggressive and intolerant. In any event, even a persistently conservative government can do little to deal with social deterioration other than stop subsidizing it through welfare, and it remains to be seen whether Republicans have the will to overcome the constituencies that want welfare. Moral decay is evident, moreover, among people who are not on welfare and never will be."
Fiscal band-aids, even if brilliantly implemented like Newt did with Welfare Reform, do not fix the underlying problems as we clearly have evidence today.
I could summarize all this in one sentence: “Liberaliam is a mental illness.” (with apologies to Mr. Savage.)
By the nature of leftism, there has never been a liberal who could express their views with such logic and clarity. Sadly, we seem to lack conservatives today who can communicate as well as Bork did 17 years ago.
could care less about Santorum, but this article rocks. thanks for posting.
A very good essay.
Emphasis and slight modification added. The distinction is important because it shows the evolution of the socialist apparatus. The decay we see is not an accident. It is not collateral damage. It is the very goal of liberalism.
Required reading for the ‘moral anarchists’ among us.
bfl
I'll share it with everyone who will listen.
Such deep wisdom in the thoughts and writings of Robert Bork. I purchased Slouching Towards Gommorrah years ago.
Pity what the liberals did to skewer him many years back....
I'll share it with everyone who will listen.
Such deep wisdom in the thoughts and writings of Robert Bork. I purchased Slouching Towards Gommorrah years ago.
Pity what the liberals did to skewer him many years back....
bump
“It would be difficult to contend that, the end of racial segregation aside, American culture today is superior to, or even on a par with, the culture of the 1950s.”
+1
He seems to have a real problem with individualism, or what he calls radical individualism. Rugged individualism is what made this country great, not conformance with “society” as defined by whoever.
It’s no wonder the left hated this guy.
"Modern liberalism is most particularly a disease of our cultural elites, the people who control the institutions that manufacture or disseminate ideas, attitudes, and symbols-universities, some churches, Hollywood, the national press (print and electronic), much of the congressional Democratic party and some of the congressional Republicans as well, large sections of the judiciary, foundation staffs, and almost all the "public interest" organizations that exercise a profound if largely unseen effect on public policy. So pervasive is the influence of those who occupy the commanding heights of our culture that it is not entirely accurate to call the United States a majoritarian democracy. The elites of modern liberalism do not win all the battles, but despite their relatively small numbers, they win more than their share and move the culture always in one direction."
That was Judge Bork's thesis 17 years ago. Barack Obama and his minions are truth positive the elites of modern liberalism win more than their share and move the culture always in one direction ... LEFT!
I have been lamenting for 3 decades now about the coarsening of our culture. Only a small example can been seen in all the trashing of the Republican candidates by supposed conservatives, one to the other here on Free Republic.
I do believe we have crossed the Rubicon and the coming result will not be pretty at all.
Ping
I did not read this all — too long - but read Bork’s book back a while ago. I personally think when you chuck Christianity, all moral constraints go. It’s like the French Revolution, and the chaos then invites a ‘Napoleon’ who sees things clearly and then wants to establish order. His way. And the people go for it, because they are tired of the chaos.
History repeats itself endlessly, as the source of the evil is always that selfish tendency in the human heart.
BM
We need both Newt and Rick on the ticket.
Newt (the attack dog) can cut through the heart of a matter, clearly and exacting, leaving liberals shell-shocked and not prepared to respond. Newt can handle the media, the leftist in academia, the politicians who have sold their soul and leave them sputtering like a bad engine. The media is not reporting all that is going on; kids in kindergarten learning sex about homosexuality at school instead of RRR Our schools are failing our kids because they are busy socializing them on the lefts agenda.
Rick can talk to the people, reaching their heart and souls, reminding them that their children are going to have to face a world that is so selfish, self-centered and corrupt. Where hard work is rewarded by giving it to the non-producer and where the guilty are coddled and the innocent are told to be tolerant. He can remind people that obama has no problem with abortion up to 9 months in the womb and even having a doctor finish the job when an abortion fail and a baby is born alive. What kind of heartless, soulless person can live with that. They even refuse to give these babies anesthesia like Europe does, because it might give the impression that its not just cells, but a kicking, crying baby trying to live.
Remember, over 80% of US believes in God, though many don't regularly attend church. Removing God from schools, who gave us our moral codes, started the moral decline in the schools. You can track the growth of problems from then on.
Since abortion was legalize you can track the rate of child abuse. If life is so cheap that you can kill your babies in the womb, how different are they then the ones you already have. Some people don't value life anymore, including the born. (We got some of these stats from Focus on the Family when I was a counselor at a CPC) Remember to watch who you get stats from because, just like anything else the left tends to adjust their numbers to meet their goals.
Kids are having sex earlier and with more people since schools started teaching the leftist curriculum which tells them, they can't control themselves—like they are animal- so they have to be given condoms....
50 years ago their was 4 types of STD.s. Today there is over 25 different types of STD even more strains of STD’s. (by the way-why can we tell kids they can say no to drugs and cigarettes, but not sex?)
Divorce rates higher
Children having children
Drug use up
Gangs, even in conservative cities
.....
everyone could add to this list.
I stand with Irving Kristol, and the other "cheerful pessimists"! I believe that there is still time to turn the culture around, and, with God's help, and faith whole mountains of sin can be moved.
Of course, modern liberalism has attacked nearly all of our cultural institutions. Of all of these institutions, education is one of the most important. It is why I am on Free Republic nearly daily urging conservatives to do several things:
1) Immediately remove your child from the government schools. Your child's godless government school is **not** different! It is evil to send your child into godless schools where they must learn to think and reason godlessly just to cooperate in the classroom.
2) Conservatives must work to entirely shut down our godless, single-payer, socialist entitlement, K-12 schools. They can **not** be reformed! When was it ever possible to reform a godless, socialist, and single-payer program?
3) Conservatives must work to see that all children in the nation have access to a private education that fully upholds Judeo-Christian values and our nation's founding principles. The prison-like Prussia-model of schooling should be abandoned. It is expensive. It is inefficient. It teaches children to be good little compliant prisoners. Instead, we should support neighborhood dame schools, one room schools, tutoring centers, and homeschool cooperatives.
Personally....Government schooling is, in my opinion, sooooo evil, so hurtful to children, and such a threat to our continuing freedom, that I have recently made a decision. I will no longer have a government teacher for a friend. I am done with them. I won't have an abortion worker for a friend either.