A well written piece from my friend Will from the Samsphere group I belong to; abstracted (emphasis mine):
The triple crown of liberalism is relativism as opposed to absolute truth, multiculturalism as opposed to tradition and virtue, and self-indulgence (in the form of drug use) as opposed to self-discipline. Is this what led to the shooting in Tucson, Arizona?
Thanks to the tenets of relativism, the Arizona man who tried to murder a member of Congress, and who murdered 6 others, including a 9 year old girl, was able to imbibe in the worse possible ideologies without any real social constraints on such thinking or context.
Was the shooter’s avowed love of Karl Marx or of Mein Kampf, both manuals for totalitarianism, questioned or were his studies of these writings put within the context of writings of our Founders or the Bible? In our present culture, imposed as it is from above, he would not have received such instruction that might have dissuaded him from embracing the hatefulness of Marx and Hitler.
When the murderous young man was rejecting a culture of life and love and justice, would this present imposed culture have provided any context or social pressure to dissuade him from his chosen path? No, the multiculturalists don’t believe in any kind of “judgment” of “other cultures”, just like they refuse to “judge” the pan-Islamic culture of Jihadism and intolerance.
While I have counseled that political judgment be withheld until Jared Loughner be evaluated, this may be a time to review the results of the two opposing political philosophies now vying for supremacy in this country. Certainly judgment on a social scale for correction is no longer seemingly available, nor even desirable. In many cases, a libertine "no holds barred" lifestyle choice is no longer shunned. Those traditional societal norms, practices that tradition has honed over centuries, that have proven their worth, are derided as outmoded and of stilted thinking. When some attempt to apply "correction’, angry outbursts of "mind your own business", "who are you to judge me", and "by whose rules" (or equivalent) are thrown back in anger. Seemingly, no one is in charge and no behavior is out of bounds.
I am often taken to task in that I am a hindrance to "progress"; I am oft taken to task as well in that I am too Neanderthalic in that I seem clueless that "times have changed". The question is, where we are right now, and where we seemingly to be headed, a good thing?
A trite example: Growing up, if I did something at odds to ‘the social norm", you can be sure that Mom was at the back step door, ready to greet me. Yes, the "Mom network" had already passed the word. Even though from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, and different faith backgrounds (or none at all), there was a common belief at that time that certain activities were wrong based on principles. And Lord knows, I knew it as I made my way through the neighborhood. And made doubly sure once arriving at home. That reinforcement was made over and over again – if not personally, but to friends and enemies alike.
The tool? Simple shame. And the courage to use it. Oh sure, sometimes there were times when the parents got into a tiff over interpretations, but in the whole, there was general agreement of what was right and wrong.
Sure, the America I grew up in had problems – some remain today and they need to be worked upon. I often say, however, that overall, the worst thing to have happened to America was my generation, the Boomers. Rebellious, selfish, an almost total rejection of the traditions of what has worked for society, and a "me first" attitude has done nothing to provide "progress" of societal values. Passing from a "no shame" self image to an overly important self-esteem awareness, to that of the victim-entitlement mentality of today puts more stress on a system that is already badly stretched.
When everyone believes that they are no longer at fault, and that their needs are required to be fulfilled by others upon demand, that is a recipe for disaster. Further, when third parties demand that some are no longer entitled to their own work results but that it should be given to others, we are in danger, for it only fuels more of the former – it approves and codifies the bad behavior. It is that time, like this, that the adolescent stiltification of society shows its horrible head.
