“The Way I See It” is an attempt by the guest columnist to enlighten readers on a subject, as he views it, and does not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.
Liberal Tolerance
From my earliest memories of “Liberalism”, circa 7th grade and 1956, was their continuous Mantra of “tolerance”. At that time the tolerance demand was more for different denominations of Christians, Jews, ethnic groups, especially post-WWII immigrants, but soon became more focused on Racial Tolerance and the Civil Rights struggle. The post WWII economic boom had developed a growing successful Negro middle-class and they were struggling for equal legal rights as well as economic, educational, and social assimilation. Republicans and military families widely accepted, if not actively supported, their aspirations, even in the South. The “Liberals” also urged tolerance for pacifists, socialists, and other ‘political theories’, and even for ‘de-criminalization of homosexual laws’. The Liberals’ message was they all just want to get along and live their lives in freedom, they are no threat to you or mainstream society.
As a Senior in high-school I watched John F. Kennedy elected the first Catholic President as the Democrat Party tore itself to shreds in many southern states as “Liberals” took the leadership of the National Democrat Party as well as a substantial influence in the Republican Party. The Civil Rights Laws that the Eisenhower administration had tried to get through a Democrat Senate controlled by Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson were finally passed, but the Liberal Democrats were on a roll and pushed through The Great Society – a large and ever-expanding Federal Welfare State. They also replaced “Equality Before the Law” with the totally unconstitutional Federal Preference for hiring, loans, grants, even college admissions. This was done with the ‘good intentions’ of making up for past discrimination against Negroes. But the Unintended Consequences of welfare destabilized many struggling Black families, encouraged ‘single-parent families’ and dependence on Govt hand-outs, and created a destructive atmosphere of “victimhood”..
The Liberals also spear-headed the Sexual Revolution, easy access to contraception, the ‘rights’ of women to be as sexually irresponsible as college frat boys, repeal of all anti-sodomy laws, and legalize abortion. This was freedom and tolerance. The “Conservationists” morphed into “Ecologists”, demanding govt save the planet from DDT and other chemicals that had greatly reduced tropical diseases and infant mortality and given rise to exploding populations in Third World countries. All this created large and powerful special interest groups and lobbies, but was “for our own good”.
During the Jimmy Carter administration, judges decided that children born to illegal aliens were “14th amendment citizens” and they, their parents, and family could not be deported, and all qualified for welfare. Also after a decade and a half of the Democrat Congress raiding the Social Security fund, illegal aliens were “qualified” to receive Social Security benefits, even if they had paid in nothing. After all, we must be tolerant, and “fair”. With great promises from the Democrat Congress to seal the border and control immigration, the Reagan administration agreed to a “One-time Amnesty” of about 3 million illegal aliens, mostly Mexicans. In the next decade or so that brought about 20 million new immigrants as these new citizens could sponsor wives, children, and other family members. Many corporations like food processing plants loved the endless supply of low paid labor and the Liberal social workers for welfare, Medicaid, and other social services loved the expansion of their bureaucracies. Many American workers found they were being under-bid and displaced by these new immigrants, legal and illegal, as they learned English and developed skills in construction, trucking, retail marketing, as well as service industries.
All these problems were incremental, but now with 30 years of growth and more radical Liberals gaining power in govt at all levels, we are seeing the result. Illegal aliens, even known criminals can not be deported. Homosexuals are a Federally Preferred Minority and can now sue Christians who refuse to serve them in their “Same-sex weddings”. Muslims have special “Prayer Rooms” in some public schools, but any Christian prayer is strictly forbidden. Violent and destructive Wall Street Occupiers and Race Rioters go unpunished, but any conservative or Christian groups are investigated and often denied legal status by politicized bureaucracies. Liberals are demanding churches that follow Biblical teaching that homosexuality is a sin should be taxed. Some are calling for Global Warming “deniers” to be taxed, silenced, even imprisoned. American kids are forbidden to wear American flag shirts on Mexican holidays. Display of the American flag is offensive. Any Christian display, even The Ten Commandments is offensive. Any deviation from the Liberal Template of ‘The Current Truth’ is labeled a “hate crime”.
This is what Liberal Tolerance really is: Totalitarianism enforced by courts, media, education systems, and endless govt bureaucratic manipulation.
Why is there such a Liberal furor over Religious Freedom protection acts? Civil Unions are good, perhaps even a necessity in today’s legalistic society, but traditionally marriage is a religious celebration of a man and a woman joining together to form a family, the basic building block of civilization. “Homosexual marriage” is a negative transformation, an impossible denial, perhaps even a mockery and perversion of the traditional nuclear family, but if they insist on calling it a marriage, so be it. However, to force people to support and participate in a ‘religious celebration’ that is in conflict with their ‘religion’ and moral code is a perversion of justice, Natural Law, and Common Law.
And for what end? Self aggrandizement and political divisiveness? I think the militant homosexuals are an embarrassment to ‘regular’ homosexuals that want to economically and socially assimilate into society. Sexuality should be private, I don’t care or want to know about what others do, request the same respect from others, and we all ought to try to keep Gov’t and divisive politicians out of everybody’s private lives. Most Americans won’t care about homosexuals if they just stay out everybody’s face, quit trying to teach it in school, and don’t ask the taxpayers to pay for it. The “Unintended Consequences” of Liberal political exploitation of this issue are dangerous to society, especially for the “homosexual community”. But the militant homosexual activists are constantly trying to expand and increase emotional tensions – their ‘Liberal’ idea of “Tolerance” is that society gives them whatever they demand, and then they can demand something else, and use the Federal Govt and courts to get it.
“Liberal Tolerance” has reached such a fervor in the last 6 years that we must ‘tolerate’ our avowed enemies if they are sufficiently anti-Christian and anti-American. Obama , Kerry, and “Helper-Bee” Valerie Jarrett are pushing so hard for a ‘treaty’ with Iran that they ignore the Mullahs leading chants of “Death to America!” They say that is just “for domestic consumption”. Do they lie so much to their citizens that they expect it from others? Iran refuses to give up their stated goal of the destruction of Israel and genocide against Jews, they support Islamofascist terrorism worldwide, and sliding into war with Saudi Arabia in Yemen. The Iranians have been laughing in their sleeves, increasing their demands, and even changing the written agreement, but we must tolerate all that for their desire for a “diplomatic solution”. Looks like a farce to me, more acquiescence and appeasement for a phony “treaty” that all parties know the Iranians have no intention of honoring, and that is intolerable. The Liberal Media is lauding this, making claims of a Nobel Peace Prize for Kerry, and another possible Presidential candidacy, but such an accusation would be “intolerant” and “conspiracy theory”. Maybe the Iranians won’t have a nuclear bomb soon, but this farce will precipitate a Nuclear Arms Race in the Middle East. The Saudis will buy them, and the Turks and possibly the Egyptians will start development programs.
Just what we need, Muzzies with Nukes. And more “tolerance”.
“I consider knowledge to be the soul of a republic, and as the weak and wicked are generally in alliance, as much care should be taken to diminish the number of the former as of that latter. Education is the way to do this, and nothing should be left undone to afford all ranks of people that means of obtaining a proper degree of it at a cheap and easy rate.” – John Jay, 1785
