Culture Warrior (4 page)

A good battle plan merits repetition. So, again, defining all liberals as secular-progressives is a huge tactical mistake. You see conservatives falling into this error every day, especially on talk radio. At this point, traditionalists of all stripes need to understand who the real enemy is and cultivate all the allies they can get.

                  

                  

American culture, in my opinion, has deteriorated drastically in large part because the ACLU, thanks to its enormous power, gets a free pass from most of the media. Many of the approximately four hundred thousand members of the ACLU are rabid in their support of the organization and are fanatically committed to the S-P cause. But there are a good number of other ACLUers who, I believe, have no idea of the group's true radicalism. They buy the smoke-screen propaganda and think the ACLU's primary mission is looking out for your civil liberties.

Well, let's examine the record.

Founded in 1920 by a man named Roger Baldwin, a dedicated secular zealot, the ACLU began as an openly radical group, quickly discovered that was a dangerous misstep, then took a strategic turn into “patriotism.” According to author Peggy Lamson, a Baldwin biographer, he explained this strategy with chilling clarity: “I am for socialism, disarmament, and ultimately for abolishing the state itself as an instrument of violence and compulsion. I seek social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class, and sole control by those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal.”

In the book
The ACLU vs. America,
by Alan Sears and Craig Osten, Baldwin's plan is also revealed unmistakably. The authors quote a letter he wrote to a supporter: “Do steer away from making it [the ACLU] look like a Socialist enterprise…we want to look like patriots in everything we do. We want to get a lot of flags, talk a good deal about the Constitution and what our forefathers wanted to make of this country, and to show that we are really for the folks…”

Eighty-nine years later, the ACLU is still using Baldwin's strategy, wrapping itself in the flag and defending the rights of the “folks.” Unless, of course, the folks are Christians, Boy Scouts, parents who want to know if their underage daughters are having abortions, or concerned Americans who want sexual predators who hurt children held accountable. Those folks need not apply for ACLU membership.

The present-day ACLU is headed by Anthony Romero, a committed far-left culture warrior who formerly worked for the Ford Foundation, conveniently a great source of funding for radical left causes. (Started with funds contributed by Henry Ford and his son Edsel, the foundation is now independent of the Ford Motor Company or the Ford family.)

An openly gay activist, Romero has brought a ton of money to the ACLU by energizing wealthy radicals such as Peter Lewis and George Soros (more on him later). Romero is leading the charge to change the United States into a secular-progressive nation and is an effective and fanatical general for the S-P movement. He is a first-rate propagandist, unrelenting in his quest to bring down America's Judeo-Christian traditions. By the way, Romero has given orders to all his ACLU cohorts never to appear on
The O'Reilly Factor.
I must be the enemy! I take that as a great compliment, although Romero is welcome to come on the program anytime to set me straight.

Finally, in the first ten years of the Fox Newschannel's existence, I have succeeded in unmasking much of the ACLU's true agenda. Of course, not everyone agrees with me about the group, but I have their attention. In a letter to me dated December 23, 2002, ACLU media relations director Emily Whitfield wrote:

         

Dear Mr. O'Reilly:

I write to offer you sincere thanks on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union. After your characterization of the ACLU as a “fascist” organization and your undefined call for “intense scrutiny” of the organization, we had the best day all year of online donations and new memberships…

I'm sure this unintended consequence presents as much of a pleasant surprise to you as it does to us. Please keep up the good work.

         

I'll try, Ms. Whitfield. And the next time you see your Daddy Warbucks, George Soros, please tell him this: You can't put a price on the truth.

                  

                  

Behind every effective political or social movement, there is a guiding philosopher to articulate theory and, sometimes, strategy. For communism it was Karl Marx. For democracy it was Thomas Jefferson and his contemporaries. And for secular-progressivism it is George Lakoff, a professor of cognitive science and linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley (the mother ship for S-P academia).

A complimentary letter from my biggest fans.

Chances are you've never heard of Lakoff himself; he is a shadowy guy. Although he's written several books and occasionally appears in far-left forums, mainly he guides radical left thought from his California perch and decries the horrors of “conservatism.”

Lakoff's philosophy is easy enough to understand, and I'll define it by taking his own words from the book
Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate:

         

• “If you work hard; play by the rules; and serve your family, community, and nation, the nation should
provide
[my italics] a decent standard of living…”

         

You undoubtedly recognize this for what it is: standard-issue socialism, according to which the central government owes its compliant citizens economic prosperity. In other words, the government is there to
provide.

         

• “Bring corporations under stakeholder control, not just stockholder control.”

         

Again, another top ten hit from the socialism playlist: Control free enterprise by having a centralized government dictate what is in the public's interest and what is not. Fidel Castro loves this Lakoff guy.

         

• “It is the job of government to promote and, if possible,
provide…
more freedom, a better environment, broader prosperity, better health, greater fulfillment in life…”

         

George Lakoff, the Yoda of the secular-progressives.

There's that “provide” word again. I actually agree with this guy about more freedom and a better environment—who doesn't want those things? But then Lakoff goes off the rails, demanding “greater fulfillment in life.” How nuts is that? Jimmy Carter's gonna come to my house when my roof leaks? Ronald Reagan owes me a pep talk if I'm depressed? Bill Clinton should act as a therapist for my screwed-up kid? George W. Bush should be clearing the brush from our yards?

Lakoff really believes this nonsense. His vision is that first and foremost, a central government should make sure we all have fulfilling lives. Talk about a nanny state! No, this is worse, much worse—this is a
Dr. Phil state
!

Lakoff goes on to avow the following: Businesses should not adversely affect the public good; the United States should have a “values based foreign policy”; every American has a right to “state-of-the-art,” affordable health care, and every child has the right to “high-quality early childhood education.” Hold it. Doesn't every American deserve a masseuse, too? After all, how can we have fulfilling lives if our backs hurt?

What Lakoff absolutely wants to do is set up an enormous central government that
provides
(that word again) cradle-to-grave security and entitlements to 300 million people. And who would rule that central government? Well, people who think like George Lakoff, that's who; enlightened souls who can judge behavior and mandate social change in such a way that justice is perfect every time. In other words, Jesus would return to earth to run the United States. (Jesus the man—not the deity. Separation of church and state, you see.)

Herewith some other pearls of wisdom from George Lakoff, the Yoda of the S-P movement:

         

• “There is no such thing as a self made man.” (All success is due to societal assistance.)

• “The United States has systematically promoted a terrorism of its own…”

• “In the ‘nurturant' parent model, discipline arises not from painful physical punishment, but through the promotion of responsible behavior via empathetic connection…” (Translation: Lakoff would outlaw spanking.)

• “In the ‘nurturant' form of religion, your spiritual experience has to do with your connection to other people and the world…” (This means the “higher power” concept is out; atheism is the way to go and would be subtly promoted by the government.)

         

Interestingly, the very far-left
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
is pushing Lakoff's central societal vision, that the “rich” owe everybody else, hard. On January 4, 2006, columnist Harris Green wrote: “Whatever the rich receive, it is not due entirely to their own talent and effort, as many would have us believe. They owe their parents. They owe the teachers and counselors and clergy who taught them and civilized them. They owe the farmers and truckers and grocery store workers who put food on their tables, and the firefighters and police officers and emergency medical technicians who protected them from harm and further harm. The list of people they owe is endless. Therefore, whatever success they achieve in life is due mostly to the talents and efforts of a legion of people.”

This is standard-issue communist thought. The rich (affluent) owe everybody else, and therefore the government has a right to take assets from the rich (affluent) to pay the debt. The S-P movement will vehemently deny any sympathy with communist doctrine, but that is as big a lie as telling a successful person that the guy who sold him breakfast deserves part of his income that day. This secular-progressive belief in income redistribution and government seizure of private property is extremely important to keep in mind.