PrintOctober 31, 2009
The Pillars of Liberal Progressivism
The United States of America rests at a crossroads today that is every bit as dire as what Americans faced during the Second World War. In fact, it may be even more so.
Liberal Progressives have fashioned so strong a hold on the American political landscape that to escape their clutches may no longer be possible for most citizens. What I call the 'Pillars of Liberal Progressivism' have infected America with a virus so deadly that fighting it has become extremely difficult.
What are these pillars that progressives have worked so hard to erect in order to infiltrate and control?
1) University Academia: No institution was more instrumental than the university in shaping the minds and behavior of the young. Students schooled in the writings of radical revolutionaries such as Mao, Lenin, Trotsky -- and lesser-known malcontents like Alinsky, Zinn, and Chomsky -- spread their noxious fumes throughout the halls of academia. The 'true believer' filled his pliant mind with the writings of these disaffected statists. The earlier attempts of scholars in the twenties and thirties to poison the minds of the young were but a pretext for this new assault. The Port Huron Statement in 1962 and the founding of SDS formed the initial assault on the staid halls of higher learning. Academia, unable to contain or even properly challenge this misguided agenda, floundered in its response. Aiding and abetting the radicals was the US Government's entry to an ill-advised conflict in Southeast Asia. Combine the two and University administrations in several key bastions of higher learning fell to the radical elements. The virus had taken a tenuous hold. It would grow and infect future leaders to prey upon unsuspecting minds, inculcating them with a sense of guilt, radical redress and egalitarian fervor.
2) Law Schools: Those infected with this radical new virus could now expand their activities to include law schools. What better way to attain a redress of grievances against a racist, sexist, homophobic nation than to change the Constitution? New radical lawyers imbued with this bubonic sickness attacked our nation's laws at the principal level. Judicial activists unleashed a torrent of bad constitutional law that would make any radical proud. The links that bound us to our founding were now severely strained.
3)Primary and Secondary Education: The lessons learned in academia could now be spread to the more basic levels of education. Rather than parents teaching their children tolerance and good moral underpinnings, the Hard Left would give no quarter in acceptance of gay lifestyles and gay marriage, wealth redistribution, equality of outcome, and disparagement of conservatism. These became staples in the indoctrination of the very young. The occasional parent outburst has not deterred the righteous from their mission.
4)Entertainment: The Hard Left could now attack the entertainment industry. The poor, limp, listless minds of this industry were ripe for the picking. What could be more important than compassion for the poor, not getting involved in military conflict, and equality for all who had suffered under the dreaded capitalist state? The film industry offered itself in humble prostration to these noble ideas. Films depicting the evils of capitalism and the inadequacy of the free market spawned a whole new generation of useful idiots to spread the biblical word.
5)News Media: This last pillar would prove to be one of the most important. With the help of academia and entertainment, however, it was possible to invade the newsroom without much difficulty. Vietnam, once again, provided a ready means to achieve control of what was once considered an inviolable institution and move it inexorably to the Left. One can remember the hallowed omtonations of Walter Cronkite on the uselessness of continued combat in Southeast Asia. What Cronkite deemed lost must surely have been. So ingrained in the American psyche was his preeminence for reporting the facts that those facts must certainly have been correct.
The infection of the newsroom continues unabated today with such lackluster cronies as Brian Williams, Charles Gibson, and Katie Couric reporting a brand of news so skewed to the Left that "embarrassing" would be its most flattering description. Think of President Obama's reference to sleeping with Brian Williams and words lose meaning to convey a sense of outrage. Beneath the veneer of an Obama attempt at humor was a major news outlet willing to do the administration's bidding.
These are the pillars Liberal Progressives have safely ensconced in their method of attack on America. The restoration of our country to a more reasonable state may lie beyond hope. Those of us who can must make our voices heard to all of the above institutions. We have to come in from the wilderness of being afraid to confront Liberals on their ground. We must fight the bankrupt ideas of socialism in academia through the media. The internet has given us an outlet that must not be squandered; it may well provide the ground for a last stand.
We must find strength in ourselves to define our character so that future generations will know what life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness really are. We must articulate what we mean by real freedom, a freedom and equality that will inspire our children and grandchildren to uphold these precious ideals. There is no time to lose. It's been repeated on many occasions, but should be said again -- If we don't do it, who will? If not now, when?
Pete Morin also writes an opinion and satirical blog.
