THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume V, Issue # 105, April 9, 2003
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
AMERICA' OMINOUS NEW POLITICAL DOGMA:
DISLOYALTY, CLASS WARFARE, & REDISTRIBUTIONISM
By Paul Walfield
Lots of folks, well some anyway, have a tendency to distrust their government. In rep- resentative democracies, they elect people they like, or the "lesser of the evils," then spend the rest of the election term being skeptical. People who are skeptical by nature, those who voted for the other candidate, speak the loudest, but even the ones who elected the current majority in the legislature and the officeholder(s) at the top of the executive branch of the government have a tendency to give credence to the idea that, if they, as voting citizens, trust their government, they are somehow leaving a door open to disaster.
For about three decades now, the trend has been increasing. In the early to mid 1960's, about 75% of the American public said they trusted our government. In the mid 1990's, that was reduced to about 15%. Now, the latest polls show that nearly 8 out of 10 Amer- icans agree with the President's decision on Iraq. However, the 2 out of 10 that don't agree also don't agree that the polls show what they show. This minority of 20 percent do not agree that the polls reflect the true sentiments of a majority of Americans. Ap- parently, being contrary is a way of life for some Americans when a Republican occupies the Office of President and Republicans hold majoritirs in the two houses of Congress.
There have been books written about why Americans have developed skepticism into a way of life. Even the "scholars" at Harvard have given it a crack, finding that most of the mistrust of government is not generated by economic factors, either here or in the rest of the world, and does not even stem from despicable politicians, but might have something to do with our news broadcasts and media. This was demonstrated in 1997 by Nye, Zelikow, and King, when they edited a series of essays into the book Why People Don't Trust Government, which can be enlightening in many ways and not just to the cause of people's mistrust of government. But, that book is not the subject.
Other than Oliver Stone types, few of us looked at our news media the same way we looked at the propaganda mills of totalitarian regimes across the world.
After all, we are America, and the wisest of the wise in American history, our Founding Fathers, or as the news media and others, for the sake of "political correctness," have designated the "Framers," chose to give the right--the First Amendment right--to free- dom of the press to America's "news hounds."
They got it, we trusted them, and they abused that trust, royally.
Of course it's not just the press. Anyone who has gone to the movies in the past 3 or 4 decades or so has been treated to subtle or not so subtle depictions of the evils that run America. If you don't believe it, pick virtually any movie that has any reference to the American government since the mid 1960's and pay attention to that aspect. The mes- sage will come through loud and clear. The American government is awful and there is always someone or some group in or out of government opposed to something the evil American government has done, is doing, or is planning on doing. The hero is always someone who bucks the system. We were told that was a good thing, that it promotes independent thought or something. It did promote something, all right.
Whether it is the CIA, the police, secret governmental organizations or whatever, the evildoers involved are out to get us, and they do it secretly, which in effect, means our government is deceiving all of us, all the time. Some no longer look to the government to do the right thing, rather the opposite. If the government is always deceiving us, as some believe, it is up to those out of government to decide what is right.
It has gotten to the point that some people don't even view the written Constitution as the instrument that gives us rights as Americans. Rather, rights are determined by who doesn't have something. Rights are not determined by the basic law of the land, but by who are the have-nots and what is it they don't have.
It stands to reason that if you are part of the now 20-30% of the population that distrusts the American government to say or do anything without ulterior and nefarious motives, your view of what you are entitled to as a citizen must be derived from humanist dogma, rather than American fundamental law.
People nowadays believe they have all kinds of entitlements as a matter of right. It would be correct to say that casual Friday is not a constitutionally protected right, nor is a two week vacation. Yet, lots of folks believe otherwise.
People are suing hamburger places because they ate there, liked it, and came back often. It isn't clear what right hamburger-eaters have that was breached and sued for, but it is clear that there will be more and more outrageous claims in the future, at least so long as those who have are perceived as easy pickings for those who don't have. Or more to the point, the frivolous lawsuits will continue, so long as Americans are taught class warfare.
Somewhere along the line, love of country and personal responsibility became not only "politically incorrect," but patently naive notions. On the other hand, disdain for gov- ernment, collective responsibility, and class warfare are considered fashionable.
Lots of attention is given to those who attack the present Republican administration and America in general. A college professor at Columbia University, named Nicholas De Genova, gave a speech and called for the defeat of the American military by Iraq, "If we really believe that this war is criminal ... then we have to believe in the victory of the Iraqi people and the defeat of the U.S. war machine."
The professor was condemned by most, and defended by some. Yet little was said about the three thousand Americans in the audience who applauded and cheered him when he made that call.
A University in California has forbidden the displaying of American flags because it will offend some people. Much attention was given to the people who made that decision. What about giving attention to and exposing the people who claimed to be offended by the sight of the flag?
Peter Arnett, an American "journalist" working for National Geographic and MSNBC in Iraq, broadcast an interview in which he praised Iraqi resistance and tactics while damn- ing the American military. For some, his "dissent" was patriotic.
According to some on the political Left, dissenting in and of itself is "what America is all about," and it is "what made America great." No it didn't. What you say is what mat- ters; it lets others know who you are. What America has stood for is what allowed dis- sent, not the other way around.
The new political dogma--the distrust for what America is, and the twisting of how it got there, the trashing of all governmental agencies that aren't directly involved in entitle- ments--is ominous.
If the new dogma is allowed to continue to its logical conclusion, where does that leave America?
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, & Other Leftists
Political Culture, Patriotism, & American National Identity
Paul Walfield is a freelance writer and member of the State Bar of California, with an undergraduate degree in Psychology
and post-graduate study in behavioral and analytical psychology. He resided for a number of years in the small town of
Houlton, Maine, and is now a California attorney. His articles appear in numerous periodicals and on numerous websites. He
has been the featured guest on KTSA News Talk Radio. CONTACT INFORMATION: Email:
paul.walfield@cox.net
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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