PrintJuly 18, 2010
Progressivism and the Dissolution of Boundaries
The genie is out of the bottle, and has been for some time. Unfortunately, this genie has bestowed more curses than gifts upon mankind. The genie I am referring to goes by many names: liberalism, progressivism, idealism, secularism -- call it what you will, but the end game has been the degradation of morality, the trampling of traditional values, the destruction of the nuclear family, and the annihilation of our economy. In its place we have apathetic youth, abortion on demand, scientific historicism, Social Darwinism, voter disenfranchisement, and financial chicanery. The genesis of all these issues is the same: the unrelenting erosion of boundaries that traditional mores placed on individuals, families, and communities. You can see this trend everywhere you look nowadays.
Student Apathy
Classroom teachers regularly report that their students are disrespectful, rude, and disengaged. And when conservatives point out that removing religion from schools has had a deleterious effect on student behavior, liberals scoff and mock this sentiment, concluding we are simpletons who are stuck in a bygone, myopic era of "Mom and Apple Pie" mentality. Maybe so, but how do you explain that teachers consistently rank discipline and student apathy as the number one challenge of their profession? To be sure, educators face many issues that have wrung much of the joy out of teaching. Still, the majority of teachers are willing to deal with these problems if their students are motivated and respectful. Religion provided the basis for this respect and work ethic. Secularists have replaced this ethos with attitudes of sullenness and entitlement, causing widespread apathy and a resultant and marked decline in excellence.
Classroom teachers regularly report that their students are disrespectful, rude, and disengaged. And when conservatives point out that removing religion from schools has had a deleterious effect on student behavior, liberals scoff and mock this sentiment, concluding we are simpletons who are stuck in a bygone, myopic era of "Mom and Apple Pie" mentality. Maybe so, but how do you explain that teachers consistently rank discipline and student apathy as the number one challenge of their profession? To be sure, educators face many issues that have wrung much of the joy out of teaching. Still, the majority of teachers are willing to deal with these problems if their students are motivated and respectful. Religion provided the basis for this respect and work ethic. Secularists have replaced this ethos with attitudes of sullenness and entitlement, causing widespread apathy and a resultant and marked decline in excellence.
Infanticide
While reasonable and rational people can differ on reproductive rights, and even some conservatives can agree there are valid reasons for some abortions, the practice of partial-birth abortion is an abomination of the highest order. It obliterates the boundaries between a medical procedure meant to safeguard the health and well being of woman, and replaces this act with a form of infanticide. Obstetrics science has evolved to such a degree that it is a rare occasion that late-term pregnancy issues could not be solved through medical intervention. How far have we gotten off the appropriate path when the Left writhe in convulsion over the demise of the Delta Smelt, yet desperately cling to their political dogma in their justification of the slaughter of babies?
While reasonable and rational people can differ on reproductive rights, and even some conservatives can agree there are valid reasons for some abortions, the practice of partial-birth abortion is an abomination of the highest order. It obliterates the boundaries between a medical procedure meant to safeguard the health and well being of woman, and replaces this act with a form of infanticide. Obstetrics science has evolved to such a degree that it is a rare occasion that late-term pregnancy issues could not be solved through medical intervention. How far have we gotten off the appropriate path when the Left writhe in convulsion over the demise of the Delta Smelt, yet desperately cling to their political dogma in their justification of the slaughter of babies?
Scientific Historicism
Even science, the last bastion of objectivity and neutrality, has been compromised, as the extreme environmental movement has pushed and pedaled a form of junk science that threatens to undermine any sense of rationale and impartial search for truth. In case after case, policy that has been created on the grounds of environmental preservation has led to untold human suffering. In Africa, for example, where malaria is the number one killer of children in more than eight different countries, environmental policy has forbidden the draining of mosquito-infested swamps to protect fauna, or blocked the use of effective pesticides in order to preserve an "organic" label. For cotton crops. The result has been devastating, with hundreds of thousands of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. In parallel fashion, the advent of Climategate has casts serious doubt on the design, procedures, methodologies, and integrity of the investigative process of anthropogenic global warming, further distorting the boundaries between science and religiously-charged political fundamentalism.
Even science, the last bastion of objectivity and neutrality, has been compromised, as the extreme environmental movement has pushed and pedaled a form of junk science that threatens to undermine any sense of rationale and impartial search for truth. In case after case, policy that has been created on the grounds of environmental preservation has led to untold human suffering. In Africa, for example, where malaria is the number one killer of children in more than eight different countries, environmental policy has forbidden the draining of mosquito-infested swamps to protect fauna, or blocked the use of effective pesticides in order to preserve an "organic" label. For cotton crops. The result has been devastating, with hundreds of thousands of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. In parallel fashion, the advent of Climategate has casts serious doubt on the design, procedures, methodologies, and integrity of the investigative process of anthropogenic global warming, further distorting the boundaries between science and religiously-charged political fundamentalism.
Social Darwinism
Despite their rhetoric about compassion for fellow human beings, the Left has a long and storied tradition of marginalizing the weak while hiding behind the veil of social progress. Perhaps this is nowhere more evident than with Margaret Sanger, often cited by progressives as a forerunner in civil rights. Sanger's legacy is symbolic of the suspension of ethical boundaries in order to achieve a perceived greater end: the perfection of the human race. In reality, Sanger was a racist, who created and organized "The Negro Project", which was cleverly disguised as "family planning," but was in reality designed to inflict a form of genocide on African Americans. Moreover, Sanger was a proponent of eugenics, the study and practice of selective breeding applied to humans. And while the vast majority of people recoil at Hitler's nightmarish plans to build an Aryan nation, few realize that this ideology was hatched in the United States by people such as Sanger and then exported to Europe, not the other way around.
Despite their rhetoric about compassion for fellow human beings, the Left has a long and storied tradition of marginalizing the weak while hiding behind the veil of social progress. Perhaps this is nowhere more evident than with Margaret Sanger, often cited by progressives as a forerunner in civil rights. Sanger's legacy is symbolic of the suspension of ethical boundaries in order to achieve a perceived greater end: the perfection of the human race. In reality, Sanger was a racist, who created and organized "The Negro Project", which was cleverly disguised as "family planning," but was in reality designed to inflict a form of genocide on African Americans. Moreover, Sanger was a proponent of eugenics, the study and practice of selective breeding applied to humans. And while the vast majority of people recoil at Hitler's nightmarish plans to build an Aryan nation, few realize that this ideology was hatched in the United States by people such as Sanger and then exported to Europe, not the other way around.
Voter Disenfranchisement
This rich history of deception and degradation rolls on in to present times, and has manifested itself, ironically, as voter intimidation. The video images of two Black Panthers shouting profanities and spewing hatred and racial epithets in front of a 2008 polling site in Philadelphia lay bare the viciousness of the more radical elements of the Left. Even worse is the hypocrisy of our federal government, embodied by Attorney General Eric Holder, who has refused to pursue appropriate prosecution of the these individuals, citing a "lack of evidence" as his reason. This legal rationale was offered by Holder despite clear evidence, not only captured on video, but also corroborated by the testimony of multiple witnesses, and further substantiated by a whistleblower from the Department of Justice. For any rational person, liberal or conservative, this is an obvious and flagrant violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Yet, the radical perpetrators are off the hook, and so apparently is Holder as once again, the Left usurps the boundaries of law and order, allowing criminality to prosper in its wake.
This rich history of deception and degradation rolls on in to present times, and has manifested itself, ironically, as voter intimidation. The video images of two Black Panthers shouting profanities and spewing hatred and racial epithets in front of a 2008 polling site in Philadelphia lay bare the viciousness of the more radical elements of the Left. Even worse is the hypocrisy of our federal government, embodied by Attorney General Eric Holder, who has refused to pursue appropriate prosecution of the these individuals, citing a "lack of evidence" as his reason. This legal rationale was offered by Holder despite clear evidence, not only captured on video, but also corroborated by the testimony of multiple witnesses, and further substantiated by a whistleblower from the Department of Justice. For any rational person, liberal or conservative, this is an obvious and flagrant violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Yet, the radical perpetrators are off the hook, and so apparently is Holder as once again, the Left usurps the boundaries of law and order, allowing criminality to prosper in its wake.
Financial Chicanery
Our financial sector has been particularly vulnerable to the elimination of boundaries. Americans witnessed this firsthand when Wall Street crashed and plunged our economy into a severe recession. Multiple lines were crossed during this escapade, starting with government and big-bank collusion in which lenders were coerced to offer risky mortgages and then provided a steady diet of no-interest loans to underwrite the process. Much like a junkie getting a fix from his pusher, banks got high on derivatives, and passed the cost of recovery on to the taxpayer. Also shattered was the boundary between profit and outright greed. According to the documentary, Generation Zero, it was the hippies-become-yuppies-become hedge-fund managers whose blatant lack of regard for financial fundamentals led to the inevitable meltdown. And, in typical Leftwing fashion, these narcissists were not only unpunished and unrepentant, but absolved and rewarded by the politicians they had long ago bought and paid for.
Our financial sector has been particularly vulnerable to the elimination of boundaries. Americans witnessed this firsthand when Wall Street crashed and plunged our economy into a severe recession. Multiple lines were crossed during this escapade, starting with government and big-bank collusion in which lenders were coerced to offer risky mortgages and then provided a steady diet of no-interest loans to underwrite the process. Much like a junkie getting a fix from his pusher, banks got high on derivatives, and passed the cost of recovery on to the taxpayer. Also shattered was the boundary between profit and outright greed. According to the documentary, Generation Zero, it was the hippies-become-yuppies-become hedge-fund managers whose blatant lack of regard for financial fundamentals led to the inevitable meltdown. And, in typical Leftwing fashion, these narcissists were not only unpunished and unrepentant, but absolved and rewarded by the politicians they had long ago bought and paid for.
At the end of the day, however, this undoing and unraveling of America is not a failure of economics or policy. Rather, it is a failure of multiple generations to pass down the heritage of American Exceptionalism, of the belief that the United States has a unique and purposeful role in making the world a better, safe, and freer place. This means that while the mechanism of change occurs in the voting booth, the real transformation has to come from our hearts.
