Due to decades of vilification and misinformation by the left-wing, the term "conservative" has come to denote a rather stodgy ideology, concerned with preserving the status quo, and fighting progress. For all too many people, the conservative appellation invokes feelings of repressive, reactionary stagnation.
This is not at all what conservatism is about, but conservatives have been negatively libeled and labeled for so long by the liberal media, that the inaccurate depiction trumps reality.
With this in mind, I humbly suggest a name change. As Frank Luntz points out in his book, "What Americans Really Want...Really," words are very important. By a name change, I mean reinventing, reinvigorating, and reestablishing the vitality of the term conservative.
Let's stop letting the left-wing define us, and move out of a defensive, reactive mode. We need to start being much more proactive, assertive, and proud. God and truth is on our side, after all -- or more to the point, we are on the side of God and truth.
Back to the media. It seems to me that the WSJ (The Wall Street Journal) is poised to start wearing the journalistic mantle once worn by The New York Times. The NY Times has become obviously, and blatantly, a propaganda outlet for the Far Left. As such, it is no longer a trustworthy or reputable news organization. It is, in Beck's words, fringe media.
The WSJ is reputable, widely read, and extols the traditional American values of fiscal responsibility, integrity, and entrepreneurial freedom.
Which leads me to a pet peeve. I am way past tired of hearing Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, et al., quote the "NY Times bestseller list." Why do we need to give any legitimacy whatsoever to that rag?
What in the world is wrong with the "WSJ's bestseller list" -- the WSJ's book reviews? Why aren't the WSJ's bestseller lists being quoted?
Why this kowtowing to the NY Times, as if they had a monopoly on intelligence and truth? Conservative pundits should be endorsing and seeking validation from conservative papers. Period.
By quoting the NY Times, they are by implication, saying that this Far Left mouthpiece has greater legitimacy than any conservative paper. I suppose they quote the NY Times bestseller list because...well, I don't know why. Because the NY Times is who you quote?
Get over it -- enough is enough. Start using the bestseller lists of the WSJ, or other conservative papers.
And the WSJ should take note, and implement any needed improvements to their literary section. There is no reason whatsoever, why they shouldn't become America's "go to" source for book reviews and bestseller lists.
Then I won't have to hear about the vaunted "NY Times bestseller list" any more. Thank you Lord, for small favors.
Speaking of the Lord, several emails from my readers have brought to my notice that there is quite some confusion, and/or ignorance, regarding the term "unalienable rights," as used in The Declaration of Independence.
Such confusion is understandable, given the fact that the vast majority of folks have no idea what "unalienable" means. Fair enough -- it's not exactly a word you often run across in a typical conversation.
In fact, outside of quoting the Declaration of Independence, the word "unalienable" isn't even used anymore. It has been replaced by the word "inalienable."
I can hear a number of readers saying, "Well thanks for clearing that up. Now what in the heck does "inalienable" mean?" Glad you asked. (The word "unalienable" may actually come back into vogue, due to the increased interest in America's roots).
Inalienable (unalienable) is an adjective meaning, "incapable of being separated, given away, or taken away." For example, the color blue is an inalienable quality of a clear sky -- you can't get one without the other.
The "unalienable rights" that the Declaration specifically mentions are "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Why are these rights unalienable? Because they were given to the people by God -- they were "endowed by their Creator."
Do you see the insidious danger of the ever increasing secularization of our government and culture? It strikes at the very heart of our freedom.
The atheistic Far Left has been pushing a Godless agenda for a long time, and there has been precious little public outcry.
The commendable American trait of "live and let live," in this instance, will prove deadly.
It's not okay to say "Well, what's the difference. As long as I'm free to follow whatever religion I choose, who needs God in the government?" Such an attitude is about as un-okay as you can get.
If that's the way you feel, then you're a victim of sly, long-term collectivist propaganda and indoctrination.
Contrary to what Obama says, America IS a Christian nation. If you doubt it,
check out the Preambles to each of the fifty states.
Because of America's admirable insistence on freedom of religion, all of the world's major faiths have been welcomed here -- and not a few screwball cults. But as Billy Graham has famously said, "Freedom of religion, does not mean freedom from religion."
An open-minded tolerance of various religions is one thing, a secular, atheistic government and culture is quite another. By denying America's Judeo-Christian roots, we are denying America's soul, the very foundation of our freedom.
Keep in mind that our Declaration of Independence says that God endowed us with our rights. What happens to those rights when you take God out of the equation?
And just where are these unalienable rights that God endowed us with -- are they in the Bible? Yes they are, and there are many references to them. I'll mention just a couple of instances of each.
LIFE: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27), "Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture." (Psalm 100:3)
LIBERTY: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (2 Corinthians 3:1) "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (Gal. 5:1)
HAPPINESS: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" (Phil. 4:4) This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)
It is time to show America's enemies -- foreign and domestic -- that they have mistaken tolerance and forbearance, for weakness and indifference. They have misjudged us badly. We will not fall without a fight.
In fact, we will not fall at all, but will rise up stronger, wiser, and more committed than ever, to securing America's precious freedoms for ourselves, and posterity.
We must commit ourselves with the same fervor and devotion as our ancestors did. "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. "
Some of us are actually duty-bound to such a course.
Laus Deo.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - From the United States Declaration of Independence
It has been evident for some time that the liberal LSM (Lame Stream Media) -- what Glenn Beck calls the "Fringe Media" -- are out of step, out of line, and out of time.
So what to replace them with?
Conservative media, of course. And this is as good a time as any for me to discuss the term "conservative."
