By John Eberhard
05/27/05
My purpose in writing this series is to bring the issue of the culture wars to your attention. Although Americans are aware of the feeding tube being removed from Terri Schiavo and her subsequent death, of the Massachusetts Supreme court ordering the legislature to pass laws legalizing gay marriage in the state, of environmentalists burning down building developments, and of the ACLU suing for the removal of the symbols of religious expression from public property, probably very few people are aware of the overarching movement that is making these things happen. And fewer still are aware of what plans this movement has yet in store.
In my first article in this series, I covered the basic description of the culture wars, which is basically a war between two polarized groups for the direction of American culture.
The side represented by radical modern liberalism is trying to move the culture toward radical egalitarianism and radical individualism. Radical egalitarianism is the idea that all people and all groups should have not just equal opportunities but equal outcomes, socially, economically, and politically. Radical individualism is the idea that people should be allowed to do whatever they want to do, with no restraints on their behavior, particularly sexually, and elimination of the idea of right and wrong.
I think it is important to point out that the radical modern liberal does not represent anything close to a majority in America today. A 2004 Gallup poll found that 20% of the US population described themselves as liberal, 40% described themselves as conservative, and 40% said they were moderate.
So liberals are not a majority, and in fact never have been, despite the apparency of this that we often get from the fact that liberals control the mainstream news media. But even within the group identifying themselves as "liberal," although there are no specific statistics for this, I doubt very much that the radical modern liberal represents a majority within that 20%.
But unfortunately, the radical modern liberals do more or less control the Democratic Party. And their issues are supported completely by the mainstream news media, by Hollywood, and within college faculties. Their occupation of positions of power and control of many of the main communication lines of the society is what makes them so dangerous.
Aside from radical egalitarianism and individualism, there are a few other general thrusts to the radical modern liberal agenda:
a. Cheapening life
b. Destroying institutions (family, church, schools)
c. Stopping business/Capitalism in general, and the US in particular
d. Promoting general societal chaos
The side represented by conservatism is fighting against radical egalitarianism and radical individualism, and all the other activities above, and trying to return to a concept of both equality and freedom that is not destructive to the society and social order.
It’s a rather contentious battle, and up until the last few years, radical, modern liberalism has been winning, hands down. Only just recently have conservatives begun making significant progress in the battle. See Part 5 of this series to find out how each side is doing today
What Radical Modern Liberals are For and Against
Here’s a quick list of the things that radical modern liberalism is for and against in the culture wars. After each I’ll add which of the above general thrusts each is related to, though there is some overlap:
FOR:
1. Welfare (egalitarianism)
2. Affirmative action (egalitarianism)
3. Other forms of socialism such as national health care (egalitarianism)
4. Abortion, including partial birth abortion (cheapening life, destroying institutions)
5. Gay rights including gay marriage (individualism, destroying institutions)
6. Right-to-die and assisted suicide (cheapening life)
7. Open borders, against deporting illegals, even criminals (egalitarianism, promoting general societal chaos)
8. Demanding equal outcomes, not just equal opportunities (egalitarianism)
9. Radical environmentalism (Stopping business/Capitalism in general, and the US in particular)
10. Radical feminism, including redefining "gender" to mean that there are now five genders, male, female, gay, lesbian, and transexual (individualism, destroying institutions)
11. Moral relativism, where there is no concept of right and wrong, only your "opinion" (individualism)
12. Multiculturalism, where all cultures are considered and treated equal, including those that practice slavery, capital punishment for practicing a religion other than Islam (which most of the Middle East does), that practices female genital mutilation, etc. (Stopping business/Capitalism in general, and the US in particular)
13. Liberal judicial activism (all)
14. Permissiveness about sex, including early sex education, condoms, etc. (individualism)
15. The United Nations, and for the US surrendering its sovereignty to it (Stopping business/Capitalism in general, and the US in particular)
16. Tax increases (egalitarianism)
17. Democratizing zones of life that have been formerly heirarchical, such as businesses, churches, universities, families (promoting general societal chaos, destroying institutions)
18. Rewriting history to remove teachings of the merits and brilliance of the Founding Fathers, and instead to vilify them (Stopping business/Capitalism in general, and the US in particular)
19. The rights and/or rewarding of various "victims" groups (promoting general societal chaos)
AGAINST:
1. Incarceration and punishment for criminals, even violent criminals, but enthusiastic for the rights of criminals (promoting general societal chaos)
2. Personal responsibility (promoting general societal chaos)
3. The war in Iraq (Stopping business/Capitalism in general, and the US in particular)
4. The war on terrorism (Stopping business/Capitalism in general, and the US in particular)
5. The US defending itself (Stopping business/Capitalism in general, and the US in particular)
6. The military (Stopping business/Capitalism in general, and the US in particular)
7. The US acting alone to protect its interests (Stopping business/Capitalism in general, and the US in particular)
8. Tort reform (promoting general societal chaos)
9. Religious expression in public, especially Christianity (individualism, destroying institutions)
10. Business (Stopping business/Capitalism in general, and the US in particular)
11. Tax cuts (egalitarianism)
12. Americans owning guns (promoting general societal chaos)
As a personal note, a couple of years ago, after studying the liberal movement closely for several years by that time, I was trying to figure out why liberals believed all the things above. I knew that liberals followed the Marxist concept of welfare and redistribution of wealth, but couldn’t figure out what that had to do with things like abortion and the environment.
Then, after a bit more study of the issues, it hit me, almost like a thunderbolt. Just about everything in the modern liberal agenda either,
a) Penalizes those who are productive or have achieved things, and rewards those who are NOT productive or who are active liabilities to society, or
b) Tends to destroy those things, like the family or the church or business, that are the pillars of society and keep it going strong.
Of course each plank in the liberal agenda is dressed up in pretty clothing (arguments) that sound plausible, fair, compassionate, reasonable, etc. Numerous arguments are cloaked in the mantle of "rights." And some of the arguments are damned good. But all these arguments are meant to fool one and all. They are not the real reason for any of the issues above.
And note that the modern liberal doesn’t just support gay rights, but the most radical version of gay rights. He doesn’t just support protecting the environment, but environmental measures that are anti-business, anti-capitalism and even anti-human. Radical feminists are no longer concerned with improving the plight of women, but with destroying the family, the institution of marriage and what they view as the patriarchal influence in life. In each area, the modern liberal supports the most radical position that he can get away with.
My personal belief is that most of the people who call themselves "liberal" do not understand that the radicals are controlling the Democratic Party, and that the collective modern liberal agenda, if accomplished, would basically destroy modern western civilization as we know it.
However, the good news is that after studying these issues for the past several years, I have a plan (a "battle plan" if you will) for how the radical modern liberal can be defeated. For that, unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until Part 6. Here’s how this series will play out:
Part 3: The Genesis of Radical Modern Liberalism
Part 4: Radical Modern Liberalism’s tactics
Part 5: Culture Wars Status Report: Who’s Winning?
Part 6: A Conservative Culture Wars Battle Plan
Part 7: Summary and Wrapup
Stay tuned for Part 3.