Sunday, November 09, 2008

National Suicide?


There has been a political process going on in Europe for many years now of denigrating one's own culture and values and apologizing for one's own history. This process is perhaps furthest along in England and is going on in liberal politics in the US.

The great Melanie Phillips has written an excellent column describing this political process as it has affected (and is destroying) the UK and how it is underway in the US. This is a "must read" for anyone who cares about American culture and values.

Preventing National Suicide
Accordingly, his government either directly promoted or did nothing to stop the long march through Britain’s institutions — the systematic undermining of the country’s fundamental values and traditions, in line with the cultural Marxism strategy of the philosopher Antonin Gramsci. It tore up Britain’s (unwritten) constitution, devolving power to Scotland and changing the composition of the upper parliamentary chamber, the House of Lords, destroying the delicate equilibrium of the balance of power.

It also set about changing the identity of the country. Promoting the doctrine of multiculturalism, it opened Britain’s doors to mass immigration. In the state-controlled schools, teachers no longer saw their role as the transmission of Britain’s historic culture, which was “racist”; accordingly, children were not taught the history of their country, but instead a concept of ‘citizenship’ which was all about changing the values of the country. It undermined marriage, promoting instead “lifestyle choice” by incentivising lone parenthood (official forms no longer refer to husband and wives, merely “partners”). It discouraged prison sentences because criminals were said to be victims of life and jail would make them worse.

Obama has talked about remedying what he sees as the flaws in the U.S. Constitution which promotes only “negative liberties,” or freedom from something rather than positive rights to something. Well, through human-rights legislation Britain has exchanged its historic concept of “negative” liberty — everything is permitted unless it is actively prohibited — for the ‘positive’ European idea that only what is codified is to be permitted.

As a result, freedom has shrunk to what ideology permits. Equality legislation has cemented a “victim culture” under which the interests of all groups deemed to be powerless (black people, women, gays ) trump those deemed to be powerful (white people, men, Christians). Since this doctrine holds that the “powerless” can do no wrong while the “powerful” can do no right, injustice is thus institutionalized, and anyone who queries the preferential treatment afforded such groups is vilified as a racist or bigot.

All this constitutes a profoundly illiberal culture in which no dissent is permitted, group is set against group and intimidation is the order of the day. And this also happens to be the culture of ACORN, of the radical groups funded by the Annenberg Challenge and Woods Fund, and the ‘educational’ or criminal justice ideas of William Ayers, endorsed by Barack Obama.
Read it all, this is very important material and must be understood by anyone who loves American values and culture. This is what conservatives in the US have been saying for some time, only to be ridiculed by the Left™ and Democrats for political advantage. I know that there are members of the Democratic Party who do not support the Left™'s efforts to do this to America but still vote with their party because their leaders tell them to, and I know that there are Republicans who, out of an effort to "be compassionate" will allow this process to go forward. They need to stop thinking about political advantage and start caring about the country.

If you think that this cannot actually happen, take a close look at Europe.

Read, and read about, Antonio Gramsci.

This is critically important.

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