Posted on 10/13/2008 10:09:17 PM PDT by goldstategop
It is time to confront the unhappy fact about our country: There are now two Americas. Not a rich one and a poor one; economic status plays little role in this division.
There is a Red one and a Blue one.
For most of my life I have believed, in what I now regard as wishful thinking, that the Right and Left wings have essentially the same vision for America, that it's only about ways to get there in which the two sides differ. Right and Left share the same ends, I thought.
That is not the case. For the most part, Right and Left differ in their visions of America and that is why they differ on policies.
Right and the Left do not want the same America.
The Left wants America to look as much like Western European countries as possible. The Left wants Europe's quasi-pacifism, cradle-to-grave socialism, egalitarianism and secularism in America. The Right wants none of those values to dominate America.
The Left wants America not only to have a secular government, but to have a secular society. The Left feels that if people want to be religious, they should do so at home and in their houses of prayer, but never try to inject their religious values into society. The Right wants America to continue to be what it has always been -- a Judeo-Christian society with a largely secular government (that is not indifferent to religion). These opposing visions explain, for example, their opposite views concerning nondenominational prayer in school.
The Left prefers to identify as citizens of the world. The Left fears nationalism in general (this has been true for the European Left since World War I), and since the 1960s, the American Left has come to fear American nationalism in particular. On the other side, the Right identifies first as citizens of America.
The Left therefore regards the notion of American exceptionalism as chauvinism; the United Nations and world opinion are regarded as better arbiters of what is good than is America. The Right has a low opinion of the U.N.'s moral compass and of world opinion, both of which it sees as having a much poorer record of stopping genocide and other evils than America has.
The Left is ambivalent about and often hostile to overt displays of American patriotism. That is why, for example, one is far more likely to find American flags displayed in Orange County, Calif., on national holidays than in liberal neighborhoods in West Los Angeles, Manhattan or San Francisco.
The Left subscribes to the French Revolution, whose guiding principles were "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity." The Right subscribes to the American formula, "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." The French/European notion of equality is not mentioned. The Right rejects the French Revolution and does not hold Western Europe as a model. The Left does. That alone makes Right and Left irreconcilable.
The Left envisions an egalitarian society. The Right does not. The Left values equality above other values because it yearns for an America in which all people have similar amounts of material possessions. This is what propels the Left to advocate laws that would force employers to pay women the same wages they pay men not only for the same job but for "comparable" jobs (as if that is objectively ascertainable). The Right values equality in opportunity and strongly believes that all people are created equal, but the Right values liberty, a man-woman based family and other values above equality.
The Left wants a world -- and therefore an America -- devoid of nuclear weapons. The Right wants America to have the best nuclear weapons. The Right trusts American might more than universal disarmament.
The Left wants to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples for the first time in history. The Right wants gays to have equal rights, but to keep marriage defined as man-woman. This, too, constitutes an irreconcilable divide.
For these and other reasons, calls for a unity among Americans that transcends Left and Right are either naive or disingenuous. America will be united only when one of them prevails over the other. The Left knows this. Most on the Right do not.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
My best example of a Leftist argument is regarding so-called “racial profiling” when it comes to minorities.
It is racial profiling when it means catching criminals and the ACLU gets involved with Rev. Jackson, Al Sharpton, etc. BUT when it comes to racial quotas, affirmative action and college admissions, those not wanting to be profiled for crimes against society are wildly waving their hands to be identified as minorities when the system grants them an unearned free pass.
The Liberal likes no profiling, no punishment and forced diversity in the workforce, irrespective of ability, tests or experience.
No.
The pundits like Prager and Hewitt still don't get it.
The Obamas of the world want far worse than that.
They want Cuba, N. Korea, USSR.
The evidence is right in their faces, with ACORN trying to perpetrate massive vote fraud. Just one example.
Another: Obama pretends he's pro-gun, while he receives an F rating from the NRA, and F- ratining from GOA.
F rating means "Elimination of 2nd Amendment."
When are the so-called "conservative" soft pundits like Prager and Hewitt going to wake up?
Why don't they mention Obama's support for Odinga?
They can't believe Obama is that bad?
Of course Country Club Hewitt would dismiss people like me as "one of the nutters."
I’ll take the right version of America anyday. Its what America was founded on. It IS America.
Dennis, you missed something: The Left so wants to dominate the nation and force-feed its version of America to the entire population that it is willing to lie, to cheat, to steal, to destroy innocents, etc. to accomplish its goals. It also seeks to completely disarm the civilian population so that it will face no resistance. The Right seeks no such domination, though it is well-armed and well-trained enough to resist considerable pressure by the armed agents of the Left (including, if need be, the military - or those rogue members who would betray their oaths to the Constitution).
The problem is that, the Left still wants all of the bounty created by a free, open economy. How many young lefties (the casual kind, not the hardcore moonbat kind) would do without the vast array of electronics, clothing, food, and other consumer product choices they currently enjoy? How many would do without the employment opportunities they have and the chance to gain wealth?
This is what will doom the Left. Most who support it do so for mostly social reasons, as well as social issue reasons. It’s the cool thing to do, as the rest of their peers are doing so. But when it gets down to dollars and cents, look out. Unfortunately it looks like it’s going to take living under some form of significant redistribution for them to ‘get it’. Gays, abortion, and the environment won’t seem so significant when they aren’t getting ahead economically.
I think the challenge for the Right will be able to incorporate these younger folks into their movement as they grow older, gain responsibilities, and become concerned about their taxes and jobs. A libertarian move by the GOP that embraces a co-existence between the socially liberal and socially conservative while advancing economic freedom could make the Right ascendant for some time. Unfortunately, the Rove strategy took the GOP down the opposite path, making the GOP a pure social conservative party while moving its economic policies generally leftward. The GOP needs to become the ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ party again.
I was with Dennis up until the last sentence. If you listen to Rush, you would have to disagree with Dennis on that one. (Whoops, sorry, Dennis, that’s right: you’re both on at the same time of day...)
We know it. We also know what 'prevail' actually means in the context of irreconcilable differences within a nation. Americans on the Right will NOT, no matter how much the media propagandizes, no matter how many words are thrown around to stigmatize and silence, no matter how clever the psuedo-intellectual 'intelligentsia' thinks they are, be ruled, i.e., "prevailed" over by those that would destroy everything America stands for.
For the first time in history, there are now numerically more takers than givers in this country. More voters who pay no taxes than there are voters who do pay taxes. It was only a matter of time before the takers wrested control of our government and our culture. We are on the brink. The downward slide will be swift unless we can find a way to reverse the trend.
Bringing back the poll tax might help but ACORN would just be there handing out our tax dollars to pay it for them.
I could say it started with women’s sufferage which did help but really it all goes back to when we stopped only allowing property owners to vote.
Right now, nearly 65% of voters pay either no income tax nationally or the lowest rate.
Thank you, Dennis Prager, for doing us this service in the new millennium. But what's the secret word to let us know when it's time for the red counties to separate from the blue?
The basic difference between the European and American ideas of “democracy” is that Americans instinctively believe in limited government. This is a concept we inherited from the English, who for many centuries believed that there were limits to a king’s power over his subjects. In Europe this tradition has been long dead. Their governments can do anything to enforce their version of “fairness”. So it’s easy for these “social democracies” to morph into “People’s Democratic Republics”.
It took awhile for us to realize the Islamic Extremists had declared war on us and it has also taken awhile for us to realize we are in our on Civil War, too.
If we want to win this Civil War its time to face the fact that our trust in the vote can not co-exist with the left also voting. That means it is time to split the country up. Kick out New England and the big cities like New York, Detroit, Chicago, Seattle, San Fransisco, and Los Angeles.
They can be Canadians or whatever.
We can make it without them.
Or maybe they do see it, but think it's imprudent to say so.
I don't know.
...”For the first time in history, there are now numerically more takers than givers in this country. More voters who pay no taxes than there are voters who do pay taxes. It was only a matter of time before the takers wrested control of our government and our culture. We are on the brink. The downward slide will be swift unless we can find a way to reverse the trend”...
You have identified the core of the problem. The producers have become serfs to the takers. That cannot last, for people will stop producing when they realize that they are enslaved by this system. Then, everyone, except those who rule in goverment will be poor. The best medical system in the world will go down, food production will stall for those with the scientific talent to figure out ways of producing more will not make the effort to learn. Research and development will lack the expertise, in every area, to go forward to heal disease and make life better for everyone. All of this grew out of the class warfare pushed and promoted by politicians. ENVY is one of the greatest flaws inside the human heart and it is a playground for war, neighbor against neighbor. Look around folks..The American Dream, the “shining light on a hill,” the place where diversity of ideas was the norm, the place where religion could be freely practiced, the place where the only detriment to one’s success was one’s own motivation and perseverance, the place where children, adopted from all over the world, are born into American families, the place where regional, historical, and cultural differences were not hated but enjoyed as a part of our history, the place where “love thy neighbor,” has been the norm, at least in the heartland...is dying..The dream is on it’s deathbed, killed by the disease of class warfare and the desire not to “love thy neighbor” but to try to be sure “thy neighbor” is stalled in his/her success by heavy taxation which will take his/her income after a certain level is reached. Another fact I never hear discussed..perhaps I have just missed it..is the fact that the ultra rich, just like the 40% of the population who pay little or no taxes, pay little or no taxes...They can afford to pay tax lawyers whatever they charge to set up trusts, etc., to protect their money. It is the little guy or gal, from a modest income family, who persevered to get an education and perhaps, to become an engineer, doctor, pharmacist, or small businessman/woman, who gets hit with the taxes and who will get hit more with Obama’s tax plan, This little guy has just now begun to realize the American dream after years of learning his/her skill or trade who will now have the ladder cut from under them. However, he/she cannot afford $50,000 a year to hire that tax lawyer who will protect the income. Therefore, it is this small group who will bear the brunt of the tax increase. Obama does not worry about their votes. They are too few in number. Government is like a pack of dogs. They do en mass what they would never do toe to toe in an individual way. That is why the takers will now take whatever they please from the givers. Only conscience, statesmanship, true leadership, decency, and a long view of history would deter a leader from exploiting this fact. History spells out the consequences of this kind of governance and history tells us that, under such a system, nobody wins. In fact, all roads on this map probably lead to war.
Dennis keeps saying that, but I doubt he knows a single liberal who actually wants to live like the median-income family in our country. A leftist wants everyone else to be "equal," while he himself gets special privileges because he is superior.
The right is losing this country. The men in this country who could make a difference are watching tiger woods and the nfl.
we are a goner unless god has mercy on us.
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