Totalitarian Sentimentality

The American Spectator ^ | Roger Scruton

[ventanax5]

onservatives recognize that social order is hard to achieve and easy to destroy, that it is held in place by discipline and sacrifice, and that the indulgence of criminality and vice is not an act of kindness but an injustice for which all of us will pay. Conservatives therefore maintain severe and -- to many people -- unattractive attitudes. They favor retributive punishment in the criminal law; they uphold traditional marriage and the sacrifices that it requires; they believe in discipline in schools and the value of hard work and military service. They believe in the family and think that the father is an essential part in it. They see welfare provisions as necessary, but also as a potential threat to genuine charity, and a way both of rewarding antisocial conduct and creating a culture of dependency. They value the hard-won legal and constitutional inheritance of their country and believe that immigrants must also value it if they are to be allowed to settle here. Conservatives do not think that war is caused by military strength, but on the contrary by military weakness, of a kind that tempts adventurers and tyrants. And a properly ordered society must be prepared to fight wars -- even wars in foreign parts -- if it is to enjoy a lasting peace in its homeland. In short conservatives are a hard and unfriendly bunch who, in the world in which we live, must steel themselves to be reviled and despised by all people who make compassion into the cornerstone of the moral life.

[jessduntno]

[what's up]

We were just talking about this earlier today...the cheap sentimentality used so ubiquitously by liberals.

This cheap, tawdry stuff has taken the place of true sentiment and compassion. It seems so thick all around us and hard to shake off at times.

Good column.

[neverdem]

BTTT!

[1010RD]

BTTT

[bert]

When the lessons of history of civilization are abandoned, civilization will be abandoned.

Those who have and follow rules will come from afar, take over and rule.

[GOPJ]

Conservatives recognize that social order is hard to achieve and easy to destroy, that it is held in place by discipline and sacrifice, and that the indulgence of criminality and vice is not an act of kindness but an injustice for which all of us will pay.

a must read...ping

[FromLori]

Thanks for the ping excellent article.

[GOPJ]

ping

[GOPJ]

Conservatives recognize that social order is hard to achieve and easy to destroy, that it is held in place by discipline and sacrifice, and that the indulgence of criminality and vice is not an act of kindness but an injustice for which all of us will pay. Conservatives therefore maintain severe and -- to many people -- unattractive attitudes. They favor retributive punishment in the criminal law; they uphold traditional marriage and the sacrifices that it requires; they believe in discipline in schools and the value of hard work and military service.

A "great read" ping...

[steelyourfaith]

Thanx ! Excellent read indeed.

[GeronL]

to a leftist these days ‘discipline in schools’ means teaching S&M

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING!

[GOPJ]

We have seen this everywhere in Europe, whose situation is made worse by the pressure of mass immigration, subsidized by the state. The citizens whose taxes pay for the flood of incoming "victims" cannot protest, since the sentimentalists have succeeded in passing "hate speech" laws and in inventing crimes like "Islamophobia" which place their actions beyond discussion. This is just one example of a legislative tendency that can be observed in every area of social life: family, school, sexual relations, social initiatives, even the military -- all are being deprived of their authority and brought under the control of the "soft power" that rules from above.

Great read - ping

[Liberty Valance]

bttt

[Victoria Delsoul]

Good article, thanks.

[3D-JOY]

Thanks...

BTTT

[GOPJ]

...to a leftist these days ‘discipline in schools’ means teaching S&M

finally - something liberal teachers understand... /s

[Albion Wilde]

bump for later

[knighthawk]

Thanks for the ping!