Culture, Education, the Media, and the Romney Loss...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty
-vs- Tyranny



The following excerpt from an article written by William Bennett is thought provoking. As the nation adjusts to the demographic changes it is undergoing it would be well if the issues Mr. Bennett talks about are placed on the academic and politic tables for discussion. While few will agree with everything he writes it remains there is validity in much of what he says.

CNN ...Rather than offer a broad sweeping vision for the country, Democrats played identity politics. Republicans were the culprits, and women, young adults, black, Latinos, etc... were the victims. And voters believed it. Why? For the same reason this litany -- gender, race, ethnicity, class -- sound so familiar.

Voters believed it, not because it was something new or groundbreaking, but because this has been the template of many of our character-building institutions -- our public schools, our colleges, and public universities -- for the past 50 years. Go to any major university in America and this is the mindset that is taught, preached, and ingested. It also gets an assist from television drama, from the movies, and from much of the mainstream media.

For decades liberals have succeeded in defining the national discourse, the terms of discussion, and, therefore, the election, in these terms. They have successfully set the parameters and focus of the national and political dialogue as predominantly about gender, race, ethnicity, and class. This is the paradigm, the template through which many Americans, probably a majority, more or less view the world, our country, and the election. It is a divisive strategy and Democrats have targeted and exploited those divides.

How else can we explain that more young people now favor socialism to capitalism?

According to a Pew Research poll taken last year, 49% of Americans age 18-29 have a positive view of socialism while just 46% have a positive view of capitalism. Such a view has roots.

So while we Republicans opine about election strategies and changing demographics, and appropriately so as that is our immediate order of business, in the long run we must address the problem at its source: the culture.

Politics are downstream from the culture. Plato summarized the two most important questions in a society: Who teaches the young and what do we teach them?... (Emphasis mine.) {Read More}

Food for thought. Truly thoughtful individuals will seriously consider Mr. Bennett points.

Via: Memeorandum

Comments

  1. Bennet's suppositions are not supported by the facts.
    If Democrats have been winning the "identity" war for decades, how does he explain the success of Republicans at the polls?
    Republican majority moved in (1990's) after years of being the minority. Republicans have held the White House for 20 out of the last 32 years.
    Republican policies have ruled for decades. Not only fiscal policies, which have been a proven failure, but their foreign policies have only led to war.
    Yes, Americans have given Republicans more than enough chance to institute their policies. It's time Republicans concede and realize their policies have failed. Americans have conceded that, and told Republicans that through the last two presidential elections.
    War on women? Voters believe that, because Republicans have proven it through their legislative efforts and their oratory over the decades, especially this election year with all its talk of rape and contraception, which most Americans don't think should be law, but left to choice by individuals. .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thing about partisanship Anon is that it is universal.

      Both parties share blame fr the fiscal and economic mess we find ourselves in as well as the foreign policy blunders we made.

      Only a true partisan would deny this.

      So, the solution? Congress and the Senate need to get busy and get the country's sh*t together... Soon. Or just maybe the American electorate will finally wake up, get its sh*t together, and vote the bast*rds out of office.

      Delete
    2. "Both parties share blame fr the fiscal and economic mess we find ourselves in as well as the foreign policy blunders we made.'

      We need to look closer at fault. We need to know where our mistakes came from, to avoid the same mistakes in the future.

      Surely Republicans are more responsible for war and debt. Surely Democrats are more responsible for the welfare state and government growth.

      The debt now is from not paying for our spending (tax cuts, wars, drug plans, etc). Our future debt will come from entitlement programs. SS has not added one dime to the debt, yet.

      With Obama's election, the country is not yet ready to give up their social programs. Fine, but it's criminal to keep adding to the debt. If Americans want these programs, then raise taxes to pay for them, and I don't mean just the rich! There's another war coming, and it won't be a false alarm like Iraq. We better get in shape by then.

      Delete
  2. Who teaches the young and what do we teach them?

    Bingo!

    Progressives took that over 100 years ago.

    Mission Accomplished.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even in 1970, when I was entering college (and was a uneducated liberal) I understood the political leanings and agenda of most professors at the time. One would have been deaf and blind not to know.

      But what do we know Silver? After all, aren't we just uneducated conservative sheeple that mindlessly, like ventriloquists act as mouth pieces for the delusional right.

      When it comes to sheeplehood and ventriloquism nobody does it better than the progressives. All one needs to know this is the truth is to visit progressives sites daily to confirm it.

      Having said the above I can safely say there are conservatives that wear the label as well. And just as proudly.

      Delete
    2. What do we do? Follow CSN's advice and teach your children well. My kids are hardcore libertarians and thanks to many discussions and 'teachable moments" they can smell political bs a mile away and break down and analyze propaganda and rhetoric.

      Delete
  3. Anon said: "Republican policies have ruled for decades. Not only fiscal policies, which have been a proven failure, but their foreign policies have only led to war."

    Sometimes really silly statements need to be correct. The fiscal policies are a proven success, such as the Bush muddle class tax cuts... there was strong revenue growth after they were passed. That's just one example.

    As for "leading to war", lets look at the most famous and recent example. It was the Clinton policy to ignore and not take seriously threats from terrorists. This led to the 9/11 incident, which resulted from Bush mistakenly continuing the Clinton policies. This war was left for Bush.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Complex issues dmarks, and I'm sure you agree. Right?

      Problem is, both parties are looking for simple answers and the "quick fix."

      I'm pretty sure there is none to be found.

      Meanwhile, the fiscal cliff is closing in. The fall will be real. It won't be fun. Not one bit.

      Delete
    2. You are spot-on, Les. On the right we have morons like Marsha Blackburn saying that we can balance the budget just by cutting nondefense discretionary spending and on the left we have idiots like Raul Grijalva saying that the only thing necessary is allowing the Bush tax-cuts to expire on families making over $250,000 a year (68 billion out of a 1.2 trillion dollar deficit). I personally don't trust either of these 2 parties.

      Delete
  4. Bennett calls it identity politics. I prefer to call it constituency politics and Obama was far more masterful at it than any American President since Roosevelt (free contraception, increased subsidizing of education, multiple goodies for labor unions, etc.). I mean, how the hell else can you explain a President getting reelected with an 8% (10-12% if you include all of the people who have left the labor force since 2008) unemployment rate.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bennett's missing the point. These "liberal" institutions did not make us who we are. We are who we are because these are the things that actually happened in our total and real lives. And in reality, conservatism (rightwing-ism, religious radicalism, whatever variety) has often been a disaster for the same demographics over many, many generations. Just as it has benefited a small sum.

    These is not an invention of liberal institutions. This is reality. I'm sorry Bennett has such a problem with teaching friggin' reality in the schools.

    JMJ

    ReplyDelete
  6. .

    "How else can we explain that more young people now favor socialism to capitalism?"

    Maybe because capitalism does not work and socialism does. Jus sayin.

    Could it be the young people see, for a vast number of people throughout the civilized world, socialism works well? Look at countries like Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, Japan, China, South Africa, United Kingdom, France, Korea, Germany, etc who all have positive social welfare programs designed to meet the basic needs of the people are prospering. Then look at the capitalist country of USA under President Obama, who by Bill Bennett's, Murdoch Media/Fox Network's, and your accounts is an absolute utter without redeeming value abject FAILURE.

    So given a choice, as you have been pointing out for so long, between capitalism (FAILURE) and socialism, why wouldn't young people choose not to go along with failure?

    Ema Nymton
    ~@:o?
    .

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ema said:

    Maybe because capitalism does not work and socialism does. Jus sayin.

    Care to give an example of this assertion? Which socialist, top-down society today "works"? Which has in past history? I'd like to know.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sociliasm is proven most effective at "working" to amass the most power for the rulers and crushing the ruled utterly.

      Nazi Germany, Milosevic's Yugoslavia, Red China,Pol pot are all rather typical examples of socialism, and not the exception.

      Delete
  8. .

    "Care to give an example of this assertion?"

    Did I type my comment too fast for you? Try re-reading again. Or have someone read it to you.

    Can you give an example of a "capitalist" society today that is working? Maybe China?

    Ema Nymton
    ~@:o?
    .

    ReplyDelete
  9. In response to Anon's comment above, reprinted below...

    "The debt now is from not paying for our spending (tax cuts, wars, drug plans, etc). Our future debt will come from entitlement programs. SS has not added one dime to the debt, yet.

    With Obama's election, the country is not yet ready to give up their social programs. Fine, but it's criminal to keep adding to the debt. If Americans want these programs, then raise taxes to pay for them, and I don't mean just the rich! There's another war coming, and it won't be a false alarm like Iraq. We better get in shape by then."

    My question then is...

    Is anybody really paying attention? If so good. However, indications are MOST are not. In which case I suggest you start.

    Thanks Anon for your appropriate and very timely observations. Although philosophically there are other, and in my opinion better ways than further burdening the hard working taxpayers.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Do you care to share those other and better ways? Philosophy and actions are two different things.
    I don't know how well Americans are paying attention. I do know who and what they voted for last week. It was clear.

    ReplyDelete

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