Posted on 10/10/2018 11:46:51 AM PDT by Kaslin
America stands at a precipice.
It's a moral precipice of our own making: We're not facing any external existential threat, or any serious economic crisis. Nonetheless, we're at each other's throats in a shocking and unique way. At least in the 1960s, serious issues divided us: the national attempt to grapple with legally enshrined racism, the sexual revolution, the Vietnam War. We have no such excuse now. Yet to view the sheer chaos surrounding the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh is to realize that we may simply have nothing in common anymore, other than our sheer blind luck at having been born into the most prosperous, free, productive country in world history.
But a nation is more than a country. A nation is a people united by history, ideals, culture, institutions. But we've been steadily chipping away at each element of that nationhood.
Our history now divides us. This week, retired astronaut Scott Kelly was forced to apologize on Twitter for the grave sin of quoting Winston Churchill; he tweeted, "I will go and educate myself further on his atrocities, racist views which I do not support." Meanwhile, across America, left-leaning city councils celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day in place of Columbus Day, signaling their belief that Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World was a tragedy rather than a cause for celebration. We Americans are in the midst of a serious division regarding our own character: Was America and the West founded on fundamentally good and eternal principles, principles we've sometimes failed to live up to, of course, but principles worth fighting for? Or is America and the West the font of evil, the source of suffering, and is all our prosperity merely the fruit of the poisonous tree?
Our ideals divide us, too. On the one hand are "red state" Americans, steeped in traditional Judeo-Christian principles and mores -- Americans who believe that our rights are God-given, and that liberty must be balanced by traditional moral virtue. On the other hand are "blue state" Americans, steeped in egalitarian principles and mores -- Americans who believe that rights spring from government, and that inequality is a more pressing concern than individual liberty, and that systems of traditional virtue merely mask hierarchical power structures.
Without a shared history or shared ideals, culture and institutions crumble. Our culture has fragmented - can we celebrate July Fourth and stand for the national anthem together, or even watch a football game without arguing about our divisions? Can we attend a movie together without feeling sandbagged by the questions that divide us outside the theater? We certainly no longer attend church or even go bowling together.
And as for institutions, Democrats have now discussed packing the Supreme Court, destroying the Senate and ending the Electoral College thanks to their recent spate of political defeats. All of that follows hard on former President Barack Obama simply arrogating power to himself when he couldn't get Congress to go along with him. Our institutions won't restrain us if we decide to tear ourselves apart.
So, what can hold us together? We can start with gratitude, gratitude for this unique moment in human history, for our unique country, for our unique ideals, for our unique institutions. If we're ungrateful, spite will win the day. And that means that we could be setting the charges for a spectacular implosion.
Nothing really.
I think we’d be better off separating peacefully.
Fundmentally i agree with Shapiro but everything he writes feels obligatory and already said. Nothing new to say. IMHO.
Keep pushing legislation that improves the country, and over time we'll whittle down their support to nothing, leaving them a disenfranchised, angry, astroturf mob of morons.
bump
That is why i am in favor of #CALEXIT. A peaceful secession would be great for all!
Leftists believe the anti American tripe from their sociology seminar class.
“So, what can hold us together?”
Those that want to rule on the side of the left can probably only be killed.
But the useful idiots can be swayed. I’ve seen common ground on the dislike of business working with government to increase their market share or stifle competition. Both Dems and Repubs do this.
A good thing to vanquish to which many on both sides would agree. You just have to get the lefty UIs to realize that the guy in the government helping his buddy is half the problem. Lefty UIs have only been told that there are only saints in government.
Nothing with a #neverTrumper #trotskyite like Ben Shapiro.
As a thought experiment, I bet you could find out which side is the truly tolerant side, by proposing to split into two countries, or countries within countries.
As someone with libertarian leanings, I feel like people should always be given the option, and be free to live as they wish as long as they don’t harm or take from others. The fact that so many things are imposed upon me, without the the ability opt out of contributing to and receiving from them, is offensive to me. I tolerate it because, well, what can I do as one person. Besides, despite it’s problems, this is still a much better country than most anywhere else in the world.
But to the socialists, enough is never enough.
And their totalitarian creep is always justified to them.
So I ask, if we made two Americas (and in a few places, there would obviously have to be borders within borders) governed each by their own sets of rules, which one do you think would end up attacking, invading, or otherwise attempting to infringe upon the sovereignty of the other?
I think the answer is obvious. The Left coast could probably do fairly well for itself in terms of many natural resources and food, but water and power are a large problem. The right coast could probably solve a lot of it’s own problems do, but i’m not convinced it would be self supporting, and I certainly don’t think they would be happy under the weight and burden of their unchecked socialist acceleration. Socially, they wont be happy trying to radicalization amongst each other. Yes there will be fractionalizing within their own new country and fighting will grow, but they wont be happy with the other country out of their control. They will start to talk about victims in the other country needing their justice. They wont be sustainable.
BZZZZT. Wrong.
The Left HATES our unique country.
The Left HATES our unique ideals.
The Left HATES our unique institutions.
Ben isn’t America first as the election cycle proved. Can’t trust dual citizens.
But neverTrumper Ben would be a boy without a country.
Ok, the left can have Hollywood, LA, SF, NYC, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, and maybe a few other big sanctuary cities and we’ll keep (and salvage) the rest. We’ll build walls around their big ultra-leftist, criminal infested cities to keep them in. I think this will keep the peace. They can import their food and toilet paper from Cuba and Venezuela. Have no idea where they’ll get energy or fuel for transportation and warming their homes after they outlaw coal, gas & oil. But they can import as many illegal aliens as they like.
“gratitude...for our unique ideals...”. This is pure tripe from Ben. I expect better. Roughly half our country has rejected our unique ideals and now seeks to rule over us based on their unique ideals.
It’s over. Not even prosperity will win over the Progs. They are determined to go Venezuela on us. Not themselves of course.
Grow a spine Bennie. Pay close attention to what Democrats are doing and saying. They believe in NONE of that.
Rule of law, due process, 1 man 1 vote, all the things critical to a functioning US Society the insane Leftists in the Democrat party hold in complete contempt. This contempt for our institutions can only be solved either with with ballots or bullets.
Standing around handwriting instead of using your column to get IN the political fight Bennie is futile, infantile and gutless
They can have Chicago, Miami, the strip from Occupied Northern Virginia up through New England and the Left Coast starting at the northern border of Orange County. The rest including the inland portions of California, Oregon and Washington State is ours.
Then build the wall. Shoot any illegal border crossers.
What do we have in common? Needs. We all need to breathe, to eat and drink, sleep and have available adequate shelter.
Like barnyard animals.
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