Haven’t Gotten the Memo? It’s Coming
Published in Marietta Daily Journal (GA) May 27, 2023
It’s sad when an
individual knows little or nothing about his or her parents and family
background. If one doesn’t know from where or from whom he or she came, then
one doesn’t really know who he or she is.
At the
personal level, ignorance of one’s origins is sorrowful, but at the national
level it is downright dangerous. An individual with uncertain parentage can
survive by making friends and creating a family of friends, but a nation must
have far more connections such as a considerable measure of common culture:
common values, traditions, and a body of known facts about its founding. If
not, tribalism reigns.
The
diversity/global gospel is driving America to tribalism. Thus, the constant
verbal warfare on television “news” and our ubiquitous division. Genuine
diversity is one thing, but using the term diversity as a Trojan horse is another. Indoctrination of every ideology under the
sun will eventually mean death to America. Diverse means unlike. The question
is how much unlikeness can we take without committing cultural suicide?
That
question has nothing to do with race or one’s national origin. From the start
America has always been a nation of nations. The question has to do with
ideology. As Wall Street Journal columnist Gerard Baker recently put it, “We in
the West are in the grip of an ideology that disowns our genius, denounces our
success, disdains merit, elevates victimhood, embraces self-loathing, and
enforces it all in a web of authoritarian rules.” We in the West are also
yielding to the cry that science is subjective, gender is a spectrum, and that
universities must aggressively pursue diversity, equity, and inclusion. Forget
intellectual growth.
Ponder
Baker’s statement above. Count the times you have seen members of Congress on
television claiming victimhood, denouncing capitalism, putting America down, or
clamoring for reparations for a sin none of us have ever committed.
Our
problem is our prevailing forgetfulness and the silence of those who actually
haven’t forgotten. Forgotten is 1776 and knowledge of what the American
Revolution was all about. We’ve forgotten that Western Civilization, birthed by
the ancient Greeks, cradled more than is realized by the Romans and perpetuated
by the British, is the foundation upon which America rests. Alas, we’ve
forgotten that there’s no civilization without civility.
Recall Jesse Jackson’s famous appearance at
Stanford University in 1992. Leading a crowd of protestors at Stanford, he
chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Western Civ has got to go.” Jackson and his
clamorers were protesting Stanford’s “Western Culture and Humanities” emphasis,
the university’s effort to beef up its Western Civilization curriculum.
Actually Jackson was ahead of his time. Using the term long before it was cool,
Jackson argued to Stanford administrators that Western Culture was not
“diverse” enough. Of course Stanford did what universities and corporations do
best. They caved. Forsaking their broad constituency and caving to the few who
screamed the loudest, literally, Stanford’s administration changed their
“Western Culture” program to “Our Many Cultures.” That 1992 moment of cowardice was the
beginning of what we have today: denial of a cultural identity and surrender to
loud progressive voices who wish to give
the nation a make-over with their soft tyranny, one that would bring tears to
Jefferson, Madison, and every other framer. Soft tyranny never stays soft for
very long. Reread Constitutional Amendments I, II, IV, VI, and X and see if you
think they have been infringed or ignored.
Yes,
the memos are being sent out, not just from universities to students, telling
them how they must view this, that, and the other, but from corporations as
well. But from Fox Corporation? Yep! And CVS, Kohls, Target, and you name it.
Don’t forget banks. Even Goldman Sachs, that lion of global investment banking,
has joined the growing line of cultural revolutionaries. Goldman’s memo to its
employees calls for “rainbow pronouns” such as “ze,” “zir,” and “zemself.” God
help us when such foolishness reigns.
In
recent decades Western tradition, particularly its Judeo-Christian
underpinnings, has been targeted by memos. Its philosophical cornerstone is
under assault. Sexuality, science in general, jurisprudence, higher education,
and now the youngest of elementary school children are all affected by the
handed down memos: “This is how we will from now on address each other.” “Here
are words you must not use.” “Show
respect for LGBQT.” Etc.
The
memo wheel is well greased. If you work for a corporation, an educational
institution, or the federal government, your memo is coming. I beg you to
resist. And please tell your kids and grandkids who and what they are: they are
– for right now – the envy of millions around the world who risk their lives to
get to America.
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