Where Our Rights Rest

A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, jury box, and the cartridge box.

Frederick Douglas

How the LEFT Are Like Nazis

German National Socialism differs from Italian fascism in making race—as opposed to national allegiance—primary.  Interestingly modern American progressivism also developed an obsession with race. Today if you propose removing racial categories from the census, the strongest opposition is likely to come from the progressives who believe, as one of their number, Cornel West, put it in the title of a book, Race Matters. Mussolini would not have agreed, but [Marxist Ludwig] Woltmann would have, as would any dedicated member of the Nazi Party.

Dinesh D’Souza, The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left, pg.82

What Fascism Really Is

Fascism is an Italian term that means “groupism” or “collectivism.”  The fasci in Italy were groups of political activists who got their name from the fasces of ancient Rome—the bundles of rods carried by the lictors to symbolize the unified strength of the Romans. The core meaning of the term fascism is that people are stronger in groups than they are as individuals.

…

Here is a direct quotation from [Anthony] Gregor’s The Ideology of Fascism: “The movement itself was not conservative. It was revolutionary. Its clear intention was to destroy all the social, economic and political artifacts of classical liberalism.”  And here is a quote from [Stanley] Payne: “The nucleus that eventually founded fascism in Italy did not stem from the right-wing nationalists but from the transformation of part of the revolutionary left.”

Dinesh D’Souza, The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left, pg.37, 38

What the LEFT Means by “Progress”

Progress by itself is a vacant term; we need to know what progressives mean when they use it.  What they mean is progress toward greater federal power and federal control.  The progressives, in other words, are champions of the power of the centralized state.  Two very bad words in modern progressivism are “state’s rights.” Progressives are happiest when the federal government is running things, and when they are in charge of the federal government.

Dinesh D’Souza, The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left, pg.34

The Racist Democrat Party

The Ku Klux Klan was the domestic terrorist arm of the Democratic Party.  The racism of the Democratic Party in America not only preceded the racism of the Nazis, it lasted longer—more than a century compared to the twelve years of Nazi rule in Germany. The Democratic Party’s racism after the Civil War was preceded by the Democratic Party’s defense of slavery and its support of policies for the relocation and extermination of American Indians.

Dinesh D’Souza, The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left, pg.25

Be Where the Battle Is

Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefields besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.

Martin Luther

They Control the Culture When They Control the Language

One of the most insidious impacts of the “progressive” movement of the last 20 years is the way the voices of the liberal left have imposed politically correct language on the American public by creating new meanings for old words.

For example, in an attempt to quash reasoned dialogue on important cultural and moral issues, the misuse of the word "hate" has worked very well for the left against conservative Christians. Most Americans – especially Christians – recoil at the idea of hating people. Rightfully so. Therefore, if one can establish hate as the motive for opposing a particular issue or behavior, it sabotages any real debate. End of discussion.  . . .

For example, when it comes to human sexuality, progressives have done a masterful job of seemingly turning Christianity against Christians. How? By convincing the general public – and even many Christians – that to speak against homosexuality or transgenderism is in fact hateful. Thus, Christians must be haters, even though their Bible and their creeds teach love. It’s akin to saying that because Christians believe drunkenness is a sin, we, therefore, hate the person who is drunk. The teaching of “hate the sin but love the sinner” is not allowed by the progressives.

Tim Weldon, How the Loud Left Hijacked Hate, American Family Association Email, 2/14/18

Psychology is NOT a Coherent Science

Clinical psychology and its active arm of psychotherapy have indeed adopted the scientific posture. However, from a strictly scientific point of view they haven’t been able to meet the requirements. In attempting to evaluate the status of psychology, the American Psychological Association appointed Sigmund Koch to plan and direct a study that was subsidized by the National Science Foundation. This examination involved eighty eminent scholars in assessing the facts, theories, and methods of psychology. The results of this extensive endeavor were then published in a seven-volume series entitled Psychology: A Study of a Science.

Koch describes the delusion of people regarding psychology as a science: “The hope of a psychological science became indistinguishable from the fact of psychological science. The entire subsequent history of psychology can be seen as a ritualistic endeavor to emulate the forms of science in order to sustain the delusion that it already is a science” (italics his).

Koch says: “Throughout psychology’s history as ‘science,’ the hard knowledge it has deposited has been uniformly negative” (italics his). He contends that much of psychology is not a cumulative or progressive discipline in which knowledge is added to knowledge. Rather, what is discovered by one generation “typically disenfranchises the theoretical fictions of the past.” Instead of refining and specifying larger generalizations of the past, psychologists are busy replacing them. He adds, “I think it by this time utterly and finally clear that psychology cannot be a coherent science” (italics his). Koch suggests, “As the beginning of a therapeutic humility, we might re-christen psychology and speak instead of the psychological studies”

(italics his). And he would certainly criticize psychotherapy for living under “the delusion that it already is a science” when it is not.

Another reason why psychotherapy cannot legitimately be called a coherent science is because it attempts to deal with deep human complexities that can’t be directly observed or consistently predicted. Furthermore, the therapist and client are each individually unique, and their interaction lends an additional dimension of variability. When one adds time and changing circumstances, it’s no wonder that the therapeutic relationship escapes the rigors of science. In considering the dilemma between science and personal individuality, Dr. Gordon Allport says: “The Individual, whatever else he may be, is an internally consistent and unique organization of bodily and mental processes. But since he is unique, science finds him an embarrassment. Science, it is said, deals only with broad, preferably universal, laws….  Individuality cannot be studied by science, but only by history, art, or biography.”

Dr. Martin and Deidre Bobgan and T.A. McMahon, PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (PART 1). 

Psychotherapy is Based on Unscientific Opinions

Psychotherapy is based on theories of personality that are simply unproved opinions originating from atheists, agnostics, and other non-Christians. These theories aren’t like scientific theories. They’re simply collections of unscientific, secular, and, in many cases, anti-Christian beliefs that often contradict one another. The therapy itself is simply “talk,” which includes talking about the client and the client’s problems and helping the client to see himself/herself from the perspective of whatever particular theory is being used by the therapist. Psychotherapy (psychological counseling) is the most subjective and therefore the most deceptive branch of psychology.

Dr. Martin and Deidre Bobgan and T.A. McMahon, PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (PART 1). 

Psychology is NOT Science

Psychology hints at being a science but has failed to produce a significant body of information to prove itself in that way. Its primary emphasis is on human behavior, which can’t be quantified in any meaningful manner. The nature of human choices is extremely subjective, involving emotions, values, and consciousness—none of which can be measured; nor can the mind, being a nonphysical part of the human makeup. The issue of whether or not psychology is a science wouldn’t be worth debating except that just the term “science” carries a great weight of influence. Legitimate or not, the “science” label impresses the masses. Nearly 100 disciplines of psychology cover a wide spectrum of undertakings, from applied behavior analysis to transpersonal psychology. Psychotherapy, i.e., psychological counseling or clinical psychology, is the most prevalent.

Dr. Martin and Deidre Bobgan and T.A. McMahon, PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (PART 1). 

Celebrating Mediocrity?

They [public school] keep inventing new ways to celebrate mediocrity.

Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible), in "The Incredibles"

Educate Yourself, Think for Yourself

Privacy is harder than ever when everyone is invited to be linked in, connected and transparent to others (including hackers and the government), but it matters.  Reading books is time consuming, but it matters. Reflection is easily drowned out when life is fired at us point-blank, but it matters. Independent thinking is hard when the social media reinforce groupthink, but it matters. Thinking for ourselves is difficult when it is so much easier to download an expert opinion, but it is essential to the freedom of our own agency, so it matters. Conversations with an iron-sharpens-iron quality are rarer when minds seek carbon-copy approval from others in their own bubble, but they matter. History is more crucial than ever when the relentless modern focus is on the present and the future, but it matters. The courage to hold unfashionable convictions is more difficult when social media mobs give their thumbs-up or thumbs-down like a Roman emperor, but it matters.

And so it goes.  Having the right information is vital, but achieving genuine knowledge is better, and mastering both and then attaining true wisdom is better still.

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.201-202

Words Need Truth Backing

Words, which are on proper occasions the most powerful engines, lose their weight and power and values when they are not backed by fact or winged by truth, when they are obviously the expression of a strong feeling, and not related in any way to the actual facts of the situation.

Winston Churchill, 1926. Cited by Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.200

The Lack of Tolerance With the “LGBT” Agenda

If you don’t believe that Caitlyn Jenner is a woman, you’re the worst kind of hateful. If you think a child deserves a mother and a father, you are a bigot. If you think a gender-dysphoric boy should not be treated as a girl, you’re evil. If you think a man should use the men’s restroom, regardless of what sex he thinks he is, you are discriminatory. If you think parents’ desire to get their children counseling help for their same-sex attraction is okay, you’re very dangerous. If your church teaches that homosexual sexual activity is wrong, your church is bigoted. You must agree with every part of LGBT values or be slimed. This dictatorial absolutism is not sitting well with many Americans.

The crown jewel of the gay movement’s efforts—the Supreme Court’s degendering of marriage—was sold to the heterosexual world on the question, “How does someone else’s gay marriage affect me?” Most people unquestioningly accepted that it wouldn’t.

But they are learning through real-life events that gay marriage does indeed affect them—or, at least, people very much like them. A great many Americans figured they don’t have to like gay marriage, but why should they stand in the way of Jim and Frank across the street marrying? You live your life, they reasoned, and I’ll live mine. But the equation has turned out to be much more complicated. Jim and Frank needed “marriage equality” to feel like full citizens, we were told. Who doesn’t want Jim and Frank to feel like full citizens? I do. But now they are learning that “marriage equality” is not enough. They must also agree to any and all demands from the LGBT powers, regardless of their personal religious or moral beliefs—or be branded with a Scarlet B.

 . . .

The average American who was asked to back same-sex marriage on the principle of justice and tolerance is seeing that those who requested their support are not living by their own rules. They are finding that “marriage equality” is not enough. They are finding the deal has been unilaterally renegotiated: “You will not only support our right to marry, but you will also support our marriages in every way that we ask. If you do not, we will take you to court, ruin your business, take your money, slime your good name, and even threaten your life.” The remarkable examples of these injustices are surprising and alarming many good citizens.

When winners overplay their hand, demanding everything from their opponents by threat of devastating penalty, those who cheered their victory tend to be turned off by their abuse of power.

Glenn T. Stanton, Is America Running Out of Patience with LGBT Activism?

Sexual Anarchy and the Collapse of Culture

If we are to believe the cheerleaders for the sexual revolution and what it is they are out to teach our children, sex is now only for fun with your friends, so experiment freely within the sole proviso of mutual consent. Parents, after all, are no longer the primary educators for their own children. They have no right to interfere with relationships, and marriage and families are irrelevant as anything other than one more lifestyle choice among others. Against such dangerous fantasies, the truth stands that, to the degree that these follies continue, our societies will face unprecedented psychological confusion, social chaos and eventual loss of liberty. With the family devastated through the disaster of such deliberate cultural change, cultural transmission and tradition will be the losers too, and with them our civilization itself. But will enough people think twice before it becomes too late?

 Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.189

The Crisis of the Natural Family

The crisis of the natural family represents a crisis for freedom, a crisis for the transmission of culture and a crisis for civilization. The French philosopher Hypolite Taine described the family as “the only cure for death,” and in the same vein the Swiss theologian Emil Brunner observed that the fifth commandment (on honoring parents) is the Magna Carta of tradition. The overall crisis of the family needs no exposition. From permissiveness of the hookup culture to the pill that separates sexual pleasure pleasure and procreation, to no-fault divorce, to abortion on demand, to alternative forms of marriage, to assisted suicide, to the collapse of the family dining table, and to all the sex education materials for students in public schools, all these recent trends have joined forces to undermine the Jewish and Christian view of the family as the bedrock nurturing and transmitting institution of civilization.

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.189

Broken Families Leads to Broken Governments

Not even the best of governments can compensate for a broken society with broken families, and a broken society with broken families will produce the government it deserves, which will not be the best of governments.

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.187

We Learn About Humanity From History, Not Science

Why is it that, contrary to what people think, we can learn more about humanity from history than from science? (As John Lukacs notes, history seeks to understand human beings as agents and subjects, whereas in science they can never be more than objects.)

How do secularists hope to help the advanced modern world rise above a hedonistic mass culture and civilization when they have no strong values to offer, let alone transcendent values, when they have deliberately destroyed such institutions as tradition and the family, and when they are now intent on gutting the independence of the world of civil society and allowing it to be invaded by the forces of the state and market?

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.150

Personal Integrity and Public Order Are Necessary

According to the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, personal integrity and public order are a necessity and not a luxury for those who desire to build just, free, and stable human societies. To flout the will of God openly will therefore be the fast track to social and national failure for Western nations.

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.134

A Reason to Study History

One of the most important reasons for studying history is that virtually every stupid idea that is in vogue today has been tried before and proved disastrous before, time and again.

Thomas Sowell

Respect God’s Created Order

For both the Jewish and Christian faiths, and a key part of their strength as the working faith of the West, is the assumption that there are indeed givens. The universe has a created order, including right and wrong, true and false, male and female, and therefore it has an ethical and social ecology just as it has an environmental ecology. Respect this order and the result will be the blessing of a multilevel prosperity, but reject it and the outcome will be the curse of deepening chaos and disaster. In short, there is an ethical equivalent to the second law of thermodynamics. Like all systems and institutions, nations and civilizations lose energy over time, and the idea of ever-innovating, self-engineered perpetual growth is a mirage. Social construction is anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, anti-Western and ultimately anti-human.

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.134

When Cultures Reject God

When cultures reject God, they cut themselves off from the ultimate ground of reality, and in the end they do indeed become weightless, insubstantial, light as air, ephemeral or, in the terms used by the prophets, “weighed in the balances, and found wanting” (Dan 5:27 KJV). They give birth “only to wind” (Is 26:18), and like tumbleweed before the hurricanes of history, they are eventually “gone with the wind” (Is 57:13).  The judgment over their end is the verdict “Ichabod”—the glory, the reality, the weightiness has gone (1 Sam 4:21).

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.126

Splitting Sex From Marriage and Children

Thanks to the pill and the libertine freedom of the wider sexual revolution, the modern world has differentiated between sex and love and split apart love and commitment, marriage and having children, and having children and taking care of them ourselves. All these once-integrated areas and ideas are now different matters of individual freedom and choice.

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.76-77

Three Questions to Always Ask

There are always essential questions too ask of anyone we hear or anything we read. What is being said? Is it true? And what of it? All three questions are discounted in our modern age of information, but as Christians we must never allow the truth question to be removed from its central place. To be sure, faithfulness is costly in the short term. It is upstream and against the flow, and the flow that was once politically correct can suddenly become a raging and life-threatening intolerance. But costly though that stand may be, it is never as costly as the long-term price of rejecting the authority of Jesus and abandoning the way of life in the gospel. Our Lord warned of that very danger: “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt10:28). 

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.73-74

The West Has Lost Its Soul

The West has lost its soul.  It is no longer distinguished and admired for its ideals it once had, for these have either vanished or are viewed only as spurious claims of a hypocrite. Increasingly now, if the West is admired, it is only for its technological prowess, its economic prosperity and its military power, all of which will soon fade too.

Os Guinness, Impossible People, pg.39

The Ease of Deceiving the Populace

The great masses of the people more easily fall victim to the big lie than to a little one, since they themselves lie in little things, but would be ashamed of lies that were too big.  Such a falsehood will never enter their heads, and they will not be able to believe in the possibility of such monstrous effrontery and infamous misrepresentation in others.

Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf

No, Hitler was not a conservative, but this citation from him demonstrates the ideology of the LEFT, including the Democrat Party.  The LEFT uses big lies to promote their agenda, as they have learned from Hitler.