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 Liberalism
is Jousting with Windmills
Nancy Salvato
May 21, 2004 |
"If we want to save the whales, we call
the Democrats. If we want to save the world, we call the Republicans."
--Tom Adkins
It’s a common trait of every generation to wax nostalgia about the way
things were. Just last week my husband and I were pouring over a website
called Tick Tock Toys-Archives and Galleries, a cavalcade of images and
ideas
http://theimaginaryworld.com/page4.html. We were having a lot of fun
remembering Libby’s Fruit Float, Wacky Packs, Space Food Sticks, Frito
Bandito erasers, and…well, I could go on and on.
For us, the 1970’s was a good time to be a kid growing up. We could walk
outside at any given moment and find other kids who wanted to play. We’d be
out all summer digging in sandboxes, building forts, and playing Running
Bases. We’d spend whole afternoons at the pool diving into the water,
playing Marco Polo, and doing underwater handstands until we had to come up
for air. Evenings would slip into darkness as we ran around playing
Flashlight Tag. Our socializing was only interrupted by the ringing of the
dinner bell, and after eating with the family we’d be right back with our
friends riding bikes, shooting baskets, and playing Hide N Seek,
Who could have imagined that today’s kids would have to arrange play dates
and join organized sports in order to get together and have fun? Who would
have thought that short cuts would have to be abandoned because child
molesters would have the right, sanctioned by our courts, to be our
neighbors?
Our society is changing and not all of the changes are for the better. Don’t
get me wrong, there have been amazing technological advances of which I am
the first to take advantage, but I’m not talking about this kind of
difference. In an article Common Sense vs Experts, the author, Walter
Williams, raises some concerns with which I concur.
He points out that before "there were hoards of school administrators,
consultants and educational research spending”…kids who graduated from high
school had a much higher achievement level than today. There's one estimate
that a 1947 high school diploma was equivalent to today's college degree.”1
He remembers, "Before experts like Dr. Spock told us not to spank kids, kids
didn't curse, shoot and rape teachers or fellow students.” And he recalls
that it was only "after allowing experts to handle sex education” that teen
promiscuity became pervasive leading to "record rates of teen pregnancy and
sexually transmitted diseases.”2
Experts decided, "Criminals were really victims of poverty, discrimination
and broken homes. Instead of punishing them "with incarceration and
execution”, they suggested trying, "rehabilitation, group counseling,
probation and parole.” Yet, "every category of crime skyrocketed.”3
Wardens with degrees in Social Work tried out their theories of how
criminals should be handled. The result was, "more prison riots and more
guards and prisoners assaulted and murdered. Prison rape and sodomy are
rife.” Now some prisons issue condoms to inmates "as a means to fight the
spread of venereal disease.” 4
Experts said it was unfair that welfare recipients could not have "luxuries"
such as a telephone, television, car and vacations. Welfare workers
monitored recipients, sometimes unannounced. If you could afford those
things you didn't belong on welfare. Today, people are entitled to welfare
and to have children they can't afford. There is no stigma attached to
welfare. Welfare has become a way of life.5
Mr. Williams opines that, "Society was far more civilized before (experts)
took over our schools, prisons, welfare programs, police departments and
courts.” 6
Benjamin Disraeli, back in 1872, gave voice to the following idea. "The tone
and tendency of liberalism...is to attack the institutions of the country
under the name of reform and to make war on the manners and customs of the
people under the pretext of progress”.7 This indicates that Disraeli was
ahead of his time in understanding that "Political Correctness” (PC) would
make a mockery of our values and conventions.
If our society could turn back time, we could stop "Political Correctness”
at its roots before it could tear apart our culture. What would be the
correct way to forge ahead?
First, we need our childhoods back. Childhood is especially important
because when we’re young we use our imaginations and act out adult behaviors
when we "play” different rolls or scenarios. This is critical to our
development because we learn empathy and understanding. Adult ideas of right
and wrong are reinforced when "playing by the rules” in our games. At some
point we stop these games of "make believe” when we’re old enough to take
responsibility for our actions. We use our knowledge and experience to take
on our real roles in society and become grown ups.
Society needs rules of morality and civil conduct; we have to be able to
trust and get along with one another. According to Steven Yates, these rules
are being replaced by a type of fascism, "exemplified in political
correctness”8 which is trying to control our thinking through propaganda,
"euphemism, and Orwellian subterfuge. Intolerance becomes tolerance,
ideological conformity becomes diversity or inclusiveness, and perversion
becomes an alternative lifestyle choice.”9
Furthermore, Yates believes that, "Liberalism is the ideology most
responsible for abandoning the rules that must be in place if a society is
to survive in the long run.” The politics espoused by liberalists embrace
the notion of entitlement and have destroyed education, undermined our
military capabilities, infiltrated businesses, and became a major source of
income for lawyers.10
He hits the nail on the head when he says that, "Entire generations can lose
sight of what actually sustains their world if they grow up privileged and
overprotected.”11 I know he’s right because I had a very comfortable
upbringing. I had a good education. And I identified as a liberal when I was
in college and old enough to vote. I wanted to save the world.
I was a liberal during my first marriage when I spent more money than I
contributed to our joint income. I still wanted to save the world. But after
a divorce, I realized that it was up to me to do the caretaking. I actually
had to grow up and rely on my income from teaching to survive with any level
of comfort.
Now I am a Conservative. In my job I’ve had to deal with PC in the school
system and I see first hand how it doesn’t work. My eyes were opened to the
"real world”. I still want to save it, but differently. As I grew older I
discovered that liberalism is for those who never grow up. I completely
agree with Yates that "liberalism really is an ideology of let’s pretend.”12
Liberals pretend that Gun control will make our streets safer; that
Affirmative Action programs really help blacks by lowering standards, and
don’t discriminate in reverse against white men; and that men and women are
interchangeable in combat situations.13
When children pretend, no one is affected on a grand scale. This is when
mistakes can be made and experimenting is appropriate. Grown ups need to
think through the long term results of their actions before they act on
them. Conservatives ask themselves how our lives will be affected in the
long run before they sign ideas into law. They are not impulsive, thus the
name Conservative.
Conservatives question popular notions. In the real world, are government
schools better at raising civilized children than their parents? Shouldn’t
we save the institution of family? When children become teenagers, should we
give them condoms to protect them from pregnancy and sexually transmitted
diseases? Wouldn’t abstinence make more sense? Will AIDS be cured by more
Federal funds? Wouldn’t monogamy be a better choice? Is a stable marriage
between one man and one woman really just one of many options? What is the
definition of marriage? Do women have a Constitutional right to kill their
unborn babies if they become inconvenient? When does life begin? 14
The liberal politics which evolve from PC or Let’s Pretend are what will
destroy our society. Conservatives realize we cannot continue to pretend
anymore. We have to see things as they are. The survival of our society
depends on understanding that morality is not subjective and personal. What
is real is that we need to protect our Constitution and acknowledge that it
is based on Judeo-Christian values. We need to take responsibility for our
actions and ourselves. We need to behave with civility. We need to be
Conservatives.
1-7 Doctrinaire Liberalism: The ideology of Let’s
Pretend
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/yates7.html
8-14 Common Sense vs Experts
http://www.wealth4freedom.com/truth/commonsense.htm
Nancy Salvato is a middle school teacher in Illinois and an independent
contractor for Prism Educational Consulting. She is the Educational Liaison
to IL Sen. Ray Soden and she works with national and local organizations
furthering the cause of Civic Education. She is a columnist for American
Daily, The Common Voice, GOP-USA, OpinionEditorials and The New Media Journal.us. Her
writing has been recognized by the US Secretary of Education. She has been published in
The Washington Times, The Washington Dispatch,
Iconoclast, Free Republic Network & Townhall.com., as well as other
nationally and internationally published media outlets.
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