In the news of late are all sorts of accusations concerning
hate, prejudice, race-baiting and class warfare. Not surprisingly,
these indictments have been hurled from left to right, although
some might argue that they are best applied in the opposite
direction. Now, liberals have long contended — often in direct
opposition to the historical record — that Republicans have been
hostile to minorities and their plight. But nothing can be farther
from the truth; it is they, in fact, who have done their best to
keep certain groups down.
According to the leftist manifesto, if you were born into
certain circumstances, you must act a certain way; preferably one
dictated by the left. Those born to blue collar families must sell
their souls to unions that are little more than political slush
funds; women must put their “reproductive rights” ahead of their
faith and families; and it is imperative that blacks and other
minorities “be down for the struggle.” These folks are frequently
told by the media-controlled modern culture that, far from
embracing the things that have made America great, it is these very
things that are holding them back; especially those two great
bugaboos, faith and capitalism.
On the other hand, conservatives do not look at classes of
people based on accidents of birth; on the contrary, they believe
that the American Dream, when firmly rooted in our Constitution and
the work ethic as espoused by our founders, can ameliorate all
disadvantages arising from those circumstances. And this is an
essential difference between the left and the right.
To repeat; the left believes that their circumstances of
birth entitle groups to special rights not enumerated in our
founding documents and certainly not advantageous to their
long-term advancement. Conservatives believe that the very rights
upon which our nation was founded are precisely those which, when
applied to the letter of the law, will improve the lot of all
Americans, regardless of the station to which they were
born.
Attaining this prosperity takes a certain amount of guts
and determination, as well as an innate love for and belief in the
underpinnings of what used to be called the American Way: a
combination of hard work, integrity, and, most of all, freedom from
governmental interference. Our nation was born of this foundational
belief: that our natural rights come from God and that governments
are necessary to secure them; not to invent or constrain
them.
My old high school’s motto was “Life is to rise, and not
to rest,” which I think neatly sums up the way in which
conservatives view America. We love people that are vital and
energetic about life, work, and faith, and who are willing and able
to interject that vitality and energy into growing our economy and
strengthening our moral fiber as envisioned by our founders. The
left loves those who are morose and lackadaisical about most
aspects of life, and who bring that pessimism and even anger to the
national stage; witness the Occupy Wall Street gang. It’s almost
astounding that these disparate outlooks on life can coexist in the
same country; one still seen by most around the world as the land
of opportunity where the streets are paved with gold.
Which is why liberals seek to separate certain classes of
Americans from others; so afraid are they that a revival of classic
American optimism might threaten to overwhelm their decades-old
propaganda war against the goodness of our country. After all, a
high tide lifts all boats. Likewise, a moral and economic malaise
will drag down the spirit of the whole country; anyone who lived
through the Carter years can well attest to that. But they will
also recall the difference made by a man who espoused the worth of
our founding values and appealed to the patriotism and optimism
that naturally attend them.
So the question for Americans seems clear: can a country
that has flourished for two centuries, that was founded on certain
moral, governing, and economic principles, suddenly abandon them
and still be viable? The answer, as astonishingly demonstrated in
the past three years, must be a resounding no.
