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.
Conspicuous by its absence (did I miss it?) is the abuse of language. The left's reliance on double speak, phony "polls" to shape public opinion, amd use of the courts to circumvent moral use of the majority rule.
Are the issue dividing left and right more severe than those in the 60s around the time of Vietnam? Maybe.Yes.
Someone has not been paying attention.
This is not simple disagreement. This is in your face by-any-means defiance of orderly reasoned debate: Florida, the threats in California, the control by other means violent demonstrations, arson, explosives in backpacks, the usual historic tools of the clueless-turned activist.
It is the precursor of a shooting war.
When two things have happened, the success of anti-firearms and the defining of self-defense as a crime worse than the criminal's (as in England, Canada), I expect the beginnings of the shooting war.
And please spare us the citations from nuts in obscure web sites; cite public high profile figures as in the "progressive"'s example above.
Every group across the spectrum has nutcases. These are not the ones that really count.
The Right believes that allowing people to keep as much of their money as possible is a moral imperative.
If the word "Right" represents "Republicans" above, then I must conclude that the above statements, and most of this article is BS, or least delusional.
It came from a recent national poll that concluded overwhelmingly that this was the case. Dennis did not make this up.
Indeed, it was what finally triggered his exploration of the serious divide between right and left and led to this series of essays.
And I believe it is dead on.
My personal opinion about these symptoms, the car is the biggest threat to civilization, health is paramount, the evironment uber alles is simply the "other means" for the proleteriat to assert control of society in search of the long dead new "perfect man".
If this does not sound familiar, I suggest that you educate yourself. Fast.
Is This the Kind of Country That You Want? (A letter to a Republican Friend)
I just posted it here I didn't write it.
You evidently don't know Dennis Prager.
I have known and respected Dennis' intellectual and philosophical approach to societal problems for at least ten years.
Three years ago, I would have said it is unthinkable to hear stuff like this from him.
I think it is uprecedented and remarkable, when these ideas finally penetrate the minds of what are mainly thinkers, and outstanding well-prepared, educated well-traveled and historically aware commentators.
Let me refine my statement, then: I don't think any of the things Prager outlined would, in and of themselves or even taken as a whole, trigger an actual civil war.
Obviously we are in agreement, since I am calmly preparing to go to work as I type this.
But huge, gigantic, obvious highway signs are popping up around the landscape, metaphorically speaking, and we pretend we don't see them at our peril.
One of the examples produced hourly around the clock in one form or another is the Reagan mini-series. "Grumbling Trickles Down From Reagan Biopic," by Jim Rutenberg, New York Times, talks about the "biopic."
Mr. Rutenberg and the people involved in making the Reagan mini-series have a mission. "It is about telling a good story in our honest sort of way. We all believe it's a story that should be told."
And why is their "honest sort of way" likely to be criticized? Because of the "ugly specter of patriotism."
"If this film can help create a bit more questioning in the public about the direction America has been going in since the 1970's, I guess then I think it will be doing a service." Helping stamp out that "ugly specter of patriotism?"
The makers of the miniseries are going to save us from that "ugly specter of patriotism." You see, they hope that "the film would prompt Americans to be more suspect of their leaders." But not just any leaders, of course. Only those that promote that "ugly specter of patriotism."
BTW, questioning "the direction America has been going in since the 1970's" is extremely interesting. Those were the times that moved the "center" of political spectrum far to the left. Perhaps the speaker meant since the late 1980s. That's when the free press was re-established and the "ugly specter of patriotism" began to re-emerge.
And this is the main reason there will be a violent civil war in the United States. People that want to follow the U.N. should move to a country that agrees with their view. To force this on a free people by political intrigue will let slip the dogs of war no matter how many third worlders they ship in to direct the ship of state towards totalitarianism.
"If you want a vision of the future, picture a boot on a human face, forever."
Socialism is the refuge of the inadequate, and patriotism just pisses them off.
People whom I met as loveable children, go literally berserk, for example, when I play patriotic music during Fourth of July celebrations. This has crossed a pathological boundary, and is an alarming sign.
It is lost on these people that patriotism simply means a healthy admiration for the means of nurturing, sustaining and extending into the future the most moral, successful and desireable society that the world has ever known.
I do, if you please
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