My Friends

I was among friends last night, many of whom I do not yet know. I attended the speech at St. John Fisher church by the great Dennis Prager, and was fortunate to sit in the front row between Marie Alessandra and Bill Kuretich and two seats from Father Ted Fisher. Anthony Lubega was there as was Carolyn Heyn and other friends, but I felt as though the packed hall was full of friends since we all share a fundamental value system.

Dennis spoke about the moral superiority of America’s Judeo-Christian values that made us great but are under attack from without and within.

If you want a short-hand reminder of the Judeo-Christian value system just look at any US coin with its three sayings: In God We Trust, Liberty and E Pluribus Unum. The fundamental American belief in God, the Creator of Judeo-Christian values, means that our values are universal, good for all peoples at all times. Hindus, Muslims, secularists and atheists have differing opinions – that is their right – but they are wrong.

America was the only nation founded on Judeo-Christian values and has been largely faithful to its roots. Values, like other important ideas, have consequences and our values have led to the most powerful, most successful country in history and the country that has done the most good for mankind.

Prager warned that secular leftists in America and Europe oppose our values and that the outcome of the resulting culture war is still in doubt. The anti-American-values crowd needs to bad mouth America, since admitting America’s greatness would validate our value system.

Liberty, a gift from God, is the right of all men. Yet there are governments and cultures that don’t share that belief. They are grotesquely wrong, and it is America’s obligation to work for the spread of liberty around the world. The American founders and presidents of both parties have believed in that principle and President Bush has made it the centerpiece of our foreign policy. Universal liberty is a basic Judeo-Christian value.

America has long been a cultural melting pot – e pluribus unum – yet lefty multiculturalists do not share that value, preferring e pluribus pluribus.
Cultural separation will destroy the unique American creed but that is the objective of some among us.

Dennis spoke of the objection on the left to the imposition of any social distinctions: good vs evil, morality vs amorality, men and women … none of these are distinguished by the moral relativists. To them one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. To them, who are we to impose child porn laws on the internet. How dare we suggest that men and women have differing interests and talents or that men should marry women? You have to be a college graduate to have the lefties' advanced views.

In the Q&A session, someone asked whether Dennis was pessimistic about America’s future given the culture war, suspecting that he was. Dennis admitted that he was becoming more and more pessimistic before 9/11. However, the 9/11 attack on America had the effect of clarifying the issues. We can no longer pretend like Bill Clinton did that the Islamists are not our enemies. In 20 years time when we look back, some of us were concerned with terrorism and others with Algore’s global warming. One side will be right.

Clarity is more important than agreement to Dennis. Thus, in the aftermath of 9/11 the sharp divide between the left and right in America - on issues from abortion to public education to socialism to support of Israel to fighting the forces of evil - are clearer than ever. Your friends will be those who share your views on those seminal issues.

Thank you, Dennis.