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| More on Doug Giles essay | | Date Created: Mar 06, 2005, 03:26 PM |
Here's the list of beliefs that Doug Giles feels are held by the current rebels on campus in his essay, Rebels With A Cause. I don't agree with many of them even though I agree with his basic premiss. The current establishment other than Big Government is mainstream media, limousine liberals in Hollywood, and our leftist driven schools with the most obvious being our universities (and the best comparison to the rebellion of the 60's). Blogs, talk shows, alternative media outlets, and the internet are ways to get around mainstream media, but rebelling on campus is a different thing.
I don't think this is full blown yet. I also don't think it takes or will take the conservative form that Giles does but it will be interesting to see how it goes. I'm also hoping that, like the 60's, it will also include a rebellion in music, film, and other artistic endeavors. Unfortunately, I doubt it will increase personal freedom and scale back Big Government.
(Quoting Doug Giles with editorial comment in [ ] ):
1. is pro-traditional family,
[sounds like a plug for what liberals worry about -- traditional values. I agree that alternatives to the traditional family structure have not worked well or can be relatively harmful]
2. is pro-abstinence 'til married,
[I don't agree with this one and I don't see young male rebels today agreeing with this one either. It really has little to do with rebelling against liberal orthodoxy. Unsafe sex and the consequences of sex outside of marriage are and should be the same problems and issues for young adults today]
3. is pro-heterosexuality and who thinks it is okay to not think it's okay to be gay,
[You don't have to be anti-gay to rebel against liberal dogma. There is a personal freedom or anti-"tyrannical" way to deal with issues of homosexuality]
4. is opposed to anti-intellectualism,
[This is confused. Liberals claim intellectualism and academic freedom. What we should be rebelling against is elitism and the idea that you (the intellectual or academic) know what's best for everyone else and you're going to make sure they do it. It should be rebelling against the tyranny of intellectuals.]
5. doesn't get so fat that he could hide small toys between his blubber,
[That's not worth rebelling against - just like the gay issue. What should be rebelled against is the idea that if you're fat it's someone else's fault and you bear no responsibility for it. Liberal lawyers will also argue that someone should be made to pay for your weight problem, preferably on a contingency fee basis]
6. is for protecting the life of the unborn,
[Another conservative shibboleth. You don't have to be anti-abortion to rebel against liberals on this one. This is an issue of an arbitrary dividing point between legitimate rights. The conservatives are the tyrannical position on this one.]
7. owns a gun, loves to shoot and hunts animals,
[Gun ownership, yes. Loving to hunt and shoot animals is more complicated and again looks like a conservative stereotype]
8. is pro-God, goes to worship service every week and studies the Bible no matter what his "friends" say,
[Here's where I really break with Giles. It's true that liberal dogma acts just like a religion without a god figure, but you don't have to be religious to rebel against liberal tyranny and you don't have to "have God" to enjoy personal freedom and have a moral code or behavior that works in a society. I wouldn't want to trade the liberal myths for the myths of God. Religion can be quite tyrannical]
9. believes that faith has a space in the market place,
[In the sense of free markets, yes. In the government "market place", no. Separation of church and state was and is a valid concept. The problem is when the state runs things like public schools.]
1o. supports the War on Terror,
[Too political. Supports defense against terrorism and terrorist acts, yes. Defend the country, yes. Republican foreign policy, not necessarily and certainly not blindly.]
11. thinks that Iraq and Afghanistan are better off than ever before,
[They probably are but that doesn't mean it was worth it necessarily and you don't have to believe this to fight tyranny at the campus level]
12. thinks America is a fundamentally good nation,
[I don't think there is such a thing as a "nation" is fundamentally good. It's little different than saying what's best for "society". I think it's reasonable to believe that the people of the US are fundamentally good, knowing that there certainly are a few that aren't, as is true for all countries. Blind patriotism isn't necessary to rebel against liberal tyranny either.]
13. believes moral relativism is an immoral croc which has gotten us into societal deep weeds.
[Most non-intellectuals don't know what moral relativism is and could care less. Yes, it's a cornerstone of disordered liberal thinking but it's hard to rebel against.]
14. doesn't do drugs or abuse alcohol but rather gets high on life.
[Same as abstinence and overeating. You're not going to win on this one with young adults. The point again is that you shouldn't be told what you can and can't do with your own body but you do have to accept the consequences for your actions. Liberals want to have it both ways -- they can tell you what you should and shouldn't be doing but if you do something with bad consequences it wasn't your fault and someone else is to blame, someone with deep pockets preferably. Both liberals and conservatives support the War on Drugs which isn't any more successful than the War on Poverty]
[The biggest thing to rebel against is the idea that everything would just be wonderful if liberals controlled the White House and Congress (or the campuses -- oops, they already do). The rebellion will be on campuses as it was in the 60's. The tyranny of Big Government will be much harder to rebel against.] |
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