Posted on 10/20/2003 9:31:19 PM PDT by kattracks
In part one, I described nine areas of major conflict between the Right and the Left in American life, a conflict that rivals the First Civil War in intensity, though thankfully not in violence. Here in part two, I describe 15 others.
The Left regards American nationalism as dangerous, is more comfortable celebrating world citizenship and prefers that America follow the lead of international organizations such as the United Nations. The Right celebrates American nationalism, distrusts world organizations, prefers that America lead humanity and regards the United Nations as largely a moral wasteland.The Left believes that sensitivity to minorities' feelings trumps the majority's will. The Right believes that when not immoral, the majority's will trumps that of the minority. For example, because some employees do not celebrate Christmas, the Left believes that organizations should rename their Christmas party the "holiday party." The Right believes that because the vast majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, the party should be called a Christmas party.
The Left believes that a woman must have an unrestricted right to choose an abortion but no right to choose a silicone breast implant. The Right believes that society must decide when abortions are moral and legal but a woman has the right to choose to have a silicone breast implant.
The Left believes that attacking world poverty will greatly reduce Islamic terror. The Right believes that poverty is largely unrelated to Islamic terror.
The Left believes that George W. Bush attacked Iraq mostly for economic gain. The Right believes George W. Bush attacked Iraq to protect America and to change the Arab world for the better.
The Left believes that a high rate of taxation of people who earn more money is a moral imperative. The Right believes that allowing people to keep as much of their money as possible is a moral imperative.
The Left identifies with the values of most university professors in the liberal arts and values their insights. The Right regards most of these professors as moral idiots.
The Left believes that the greatest danger to mankind, as former Vice President Al Gore wrote in his book "Earth in the Balance," is the threat to the environment. The Right believes that the greatest danger to humanity is, as it always has been, human evil.
The Left believes that marriage should be redefined and that judges alone are entitled to do so. The Right believes that the millennia-old definition of marriage as between members of the two sexes is inviolable and that it can't be redefined by jurists.
The Left believes that in terms of parenthood, all a child needs is love, whether that love comes from a single parent, two men, two women or some other adult. The Right believes that children do best with the love of two married parents of the opposite sex.
The Left believes that opposing race-based college dorms, graduation ceremonies, congressional caucuses or professional organizations is racist. The Right believes that race-based college dorms, graduation ceremonies, congressional caucuses and professional organizations are racist.
The Left believes that labeling any enemy of the United States "evil" is wrong. It was wrong when President Ronald Reagan labeled the Soviet Union an "evil empire," and it was wrong when President George W. Bush labeled Iran, Iraq and North Korea an "axis of evil." The Right believes that not labeling such regimes "evil" is a sign of moral confusion and appeasement.
The Left is preoccupied with health. Leftist parents are more likely to believe that it is preferable that their teenager cheat on a test than smoke. Parents on the Right are more likely to believe that it is better that their teenager smoke than cheat.
The Left believes that just as America and the Soviet Union were equally responsible for the Cold War, Israel and the Palestinians are equally responsible for Middle East violence. The Right believes that just as the Soviets were responsible for the Cold War, the Arab enemies of Israel are responsible for Middle East violence.
The Left believes that criticism of Christianity is important and that criticism of Islam is bigoted. The Right believes that criticism of Islam is important and that most criticism of Christianity is bigoted.
I am well aware that not everyone on the Left agrees with every leftist position and not everyone on the Right agrees with every rightist one. Nat Hentoff is a leftist who doesn't support abortion rights; Pat Buchanan is a rightist who doesn't support Israel. But the existence of individual exceptions does not negate the fact that all the positions listed here as Left or Right are correctly labeled.
The fact is that this country is profoundly divided on virtually every major social, personal and political issue. We are in the midst of the Second American Civil War. Who wins it will determine the nature of this country as much as the winner of the first did.
©2003 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
FReeppost re: Tom Chittum's Civil War II "The Comming Breakup of America" A Checklist, *here*.
'fraid so. Sam, you want on our ping list regarding the countdown?
-archy-/-
Please feel free to include me in this list
Are the issue dividing left and right more severe than those in the 60s around the time of Vietnam? Maybe. But that didn't lead to a civil war. In fact we were much closer then based on the fact that there were multiple leftist organizations which had renounced politics and explicity set out to fight. These include the Black Liberation Army, the Black Pathers, the Weather Underground, the Symbionese Liberation Army, and others. Despite several hundreds of fanatics willing to fight, backed by tens of thousands of leftists, they failed to inculcate the civil war they wanted. The vast overwhelming majority on both sides would not support their radical proposition that politics had failed. The left was able, eventually, and in part due to the fear the militant left engendered, to force many changes in society. Changes which still anger conservatives and have greatly contributed to the deep division the author sites.
Yet despite these differences I see little or no broad support for the military option on either side. In the first Civil War state after state passed resolutions in their legislature leaving the Union. These were often followed up by plebecites among all voters that re-affirmed the majority desire of these citizens to break away. Millions volunteered (or were drafted) to fight in the ensuing civil war.
I don't see the analogy yet. I believe today is more like the sixties. Perhaps a few people feel it is time to give up on politics, by they are a tiny minority. The only domestic war-like act in recent years was the McVeigh bombing. It was roundly denounced by citizens and politicians of every stripe. It would be hard to find one organized group that had anything good to say about it. On the left most of the violence of the last few decades has been largely symbolic violence against property, and again the majority of leftists have denounced it. The only group that has actually caused anything remotely resembling a civil war are the LA King rioters. But that was clearly a riot, and not overly motivated by the positions the author discusses on either the left or right.
In summary while we are clearly deeply divided politically I feel Mr. Prager has completely failed to make his case that this is even a percursor to civil war. His statement that it already IS a civil war is pure hyperbole. It made for a nice provocitive title, but there is no evidence submitted to prove that his bold assertion is true. It is not, and we are not in the midst of a civil war.
I think he was being too easy on the left here. I'd say:
The left believes America was responsible for the Cold War and Israel is responsible for Middle East violence.
BTW, if you are going to say the right uses language just a violent please cite sources. TIA.
What about those "I hope the war is a disaster, it will help the Democrats" comments from the likes of Democrat stalwarts like Ellen Ratner and salon's Gary Kamiya?
Ellen Ratner's pre-war comments, http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30414 or http://bulldogbulletinarchives.lhhosting.com/page32B1.htm
Fox News Channel's "Your World" Dec. 28, 2002
Gary Kamiya of salon.com, April 11, 2003 column.
You say, "the majority of leftists have denounced [symbolic violence against property]." I'd love to see a source or two. TIA.
You are correct about the 1960s groups. But my recollection was that darn few knew the intent of those groups. Guys like H. Rap Brown, Newton, et al. were presented on the "news" as civil rights activists and victims of "lawn order" racism, the term used to ridicule law and order concerns.
"Anti-war" groups chanting "Ho Chi Min is going to win" and waving their blue, red, and yellow "protest banner" (as the press called the Viet Cong flag) were featured nightly. So well presented by the press that North Vietnam general Giap honored the American press by calling them his best guerilla.
Yes, I remember those days. The difference today is we have a free press. In those days you had to depend upon limited circulation publications to get news. Many of us knew what was happening, the vast majority of Americans thought we were nuts. The majority accepted the sanitized images of the the leftist pukes. The New Left took over control of the Democrat Party in the 1970s driving traditional Democrats outof the party. Things cooled a bit. The Third Way was invented.
This is not a civil war in the 19th century model. This is modeled after the Revolution. It is not necessarily against the government either. It is similar in that "all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such [evil]. . ."
Those abuses include PC, treason against our sovereignty by deferring to internationalists, the leftist pukes' argument that America is the "root cause of most of the world's problems," that our military is the biggest threat to world peace, and many more offenses listed here many times in the past.
"The left believe the 2nd amendment is an anachronism and an embarrasment, and has no validity in today's world. The right believes that the 2nd amd is a critical bulwark of the defense of freedom, and against tyranny."
Or:
"The left believes that access to firearms make people kill people; the right believes that firearms are only a tool, to be used for either good or evil."
When a large part of your nation (including much of the opposition leadership and most of the prestige media) is secretly cheering for the bloody defeat of your military during a time of war, you are in a Cold Civil War.
When they are working to subjugate American sovereignty to the rule of the U.N., you are in a Cold Civil War.
When they are working for "open borders," driver's licenses for illegals, amnesty for illegals etc with the intention of adding to the voter rolls of the opposition party, you are in a Cold Civil War.
Those are just three examples.
What could turn the Cold Civil War hot? What happened in Florida in the 2000 election was a harbinger of things to come.
If massive vote fraud occurs in a presidential election (can you say "touchscreen voting?") that could well trigger a Hot Civil War. >{? Another trigger could be a manufactured event, such as the bogus "Stadium Massacre" described in my novel.
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