“Whether this (Independence) will prove a blessing or a
curse, will depend upon the use our people will make of the blessings which a
gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and
happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable.
Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation. Reader! Whoever thou art,
remember this: and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, and encourage it in
others”
1Patrick Henry – written
in his will
Here
is Dennis Prager.
2”What is the difference between a
leftist and a liberal?
Answering this question is vital to understanding
the crisis facing America and the West today. Yet few seem able to do it. I
offer the following as a guide.
Here's the first thing to know: The two have almost
nothing in common.
On the contrary, liberalism has far more in common
with conservatism than it does with leftism. The left has appropriated the word
"liberal" so effectively that almost everyone -- liberals, leftists
and conservatives -- thinks they are synonymous.
But they aren't. Let's look at some important
examples.
Race: This is perhaps the most obvious of the many
moral differences between liberalism and leftism. The essence of the liberal
position on race was that the color of one's skin is insignificant. To liberals
of a generation ago, only racists believed that race is intrinsically
significant. However, to the left, the notion that race is insignificant is
itself racist. Thus, the University of California officially regards the
statement "There is only one race, the human race" as racist. For
that reason, liberals were passionately committed to racial integration.
Liberals should be sickened by the existence of black dormitories and separate
black graduations on university campuses.
Capitalism: Liberals have always been pro
capitalism, recognizing it for what it is: the only economic means of lifting
great numbers out of poverty. Liberals did often view government as able to
play a bigger role in lifting people out of poverty than conservatives, but
they were never opposed to capitalism, and they were never for socialism.
Nationalism: Liberals deeply believed in the
nation-state, whether their nation was the United States, Great Britain or
France. The left has always opposed nationalism because leftism is rooted in
class solidarity, not national solidarity. The left has contempt for
nationalism, seeing in it intellectual and moral primitivism at best, and the
road to fascism at worst. Liberals always wanted to protect American
sovereignty and borders.
View of America: Liberals venerated America. Watch
American films from the 1930s through the 1950s and you will be watching
overtly patriotic, America-celebrating films -- virtually all produced,
directed and acted in by liberals. Liberals well understand that America is
imperfect, but they agree with a liberal icon named Abraham Lincoln that
America is "the last best hope of earth."
To the left, America is essentially a racist,
sexist, violent, homophobic, xenophobic and Islamophobic country. The left
around the world loathe America, and it is hard to imagine why the American
left would differ in this one way from fellow leftists around the world. The
left's view of America was encapsulated in then-presidential candidate Barack
Obama's statement in 2008. "We are five days away from fundamentally
transforming the United States of America," he said. Now, if you were to
meet a man who said that he wanted to fundamentally transform his wife, or a
woman who said that about her husband, would you assume that either loved their
spouse? Of course not.
Free speech: The difference between the left and
liberals regarding free speech is as dramatic as the difference regarding race.
No one was more committed than American liberals to the famous statement
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right
to say it." Liberals still are. But the left is leading the first
nationwide suppression of free speech in American history -- from the
universities to Google to almost every other institution and place of work. It
claims to only oppose hate speech. But protecting the right of person A to say
what person B deems objectionable is the entire point of free speech.
Western civilization: Liberals have a deep love of
Western civilization. They taught it at virtually every university and
celebrated its unique moral, ethical, philosophical, artistic, musical and
literary achievements. No liberal would have joined the leftist Rev. Jesse
Jackson in chanting at Stanford University: "Hey, hey. Ho, ho. Western civ
has got to go." The most revered liberal in American history is probably
former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who frequently cited the need to
protect not just Western civilization but Christian civilization.
Judaism and Christianity: Liberals knew and
appreciated the Judeo-Christian roots of American civilization. They themselves
went to church or synagogue, or at the very least appreciated that most of
their fellow Americans did. The contempt that the left has -- and has always
had -- for religion (except for Islam today) is not something with which a
liberal would ever have identified.
If the left is not defeated, American and Western
civilization will not survive. But the left will not be defeated until good
liberals understand this and join the fight. Dear liberals: Conservatives are not your enemy. The left is. (Emphasis
mine).”
