HORIST: Why does the radical left hate America?

The headline is certainly going to raise some dander on the left.  I did not ask, “Does the radical left hate American values?” because that question is already answered by the words and actions every day in a thousand ways.

Even though it is obvious, I suppose it deserves some explanation.  In terms of America as a nation with noble values, which side wants to change the very core values of the nation as carefully crafted by our Founders?  Which side rejects the Founders’ universal belief in a very LIMITED federal government – with limited taxing and regulatory powers?

The Founders saw the potential danger of a national income tax to enable the federal government to expropriate too much of the people’s wealth – and to use the money to excessively empower a distant elitist government in the nation’s capital.  The specifically forbade the income tax as part of the Constitution.  That changed in the early 1900s, when the rise of radical progressivism within the then-ruling Democratic Party – under the leadership of such people as President Woodrow Wilson – passed a constitutional amendment to impose the income tax.

The Founders gave us the Tenth Amendment, which says that any power that is not SPECIFICALLY granted to the federal government remains with the several states and the people.  Activist (meaning liberal) Supreme Courts – the most autocratic of our three supposedly co-equal branches of government – have found numerous ways around that portion of our Bill of Rights.

For almost 200 years, free-market capitalism has been the economic foundation of America’s high standard of living – with socialism as the dark alternative.  That is because big government taxing and spending – ultimately socialism – requires an elite ruling class.  It requires a semi-permanent (and eventually, permanent) ruling establishment.  The more powerful the federal government, the weaker is the ability of we the people to influence their government.  Socialism is top-down governance.

A positive and proudful belief in a national culture, national ideals and civic nobility is, by definition, patriotism.  The radical left burns the flag, disrespects the National Anthem and rejects the concept of American exceptionalism.  They reject peaceful assembly and free speech in favor violent protests and censoring the voice of the people.

Protesting – including desecration of the flag and demonstrable disrespect for the National Anthem — IS protected by the full meaning of the First Amendment, but it is noteworthy that it is the left that takes advantage of that freedom to mount a broad-brush assault on the very Republic for which they stand.

The left is no fan of the Constitution.  They openly declare it to be a “living document” – subject to change by contemporary whims or political advantage.  The Constitution is to be capriciously reinterpreted by left-wing judges ruling according to the progressive politics of the day rather than the fundamental principles of personal freedom.  When the left cannot change the Constitution, or have it politically re-interpreted, they will simply defy it.

While the left pays lip service to the highly vaunted rule-of-law, they are quick to ignore law, whether in the streets or the offices of government.  Rioters, arsonists and looters are rarely arrested and prosecuted for the damage, mayhem and even their deaths they may cause – claiming such criminal actions are protected free speech and assembly.  Liberal mayors have actually ordered the police to “stand down” as private property is destroyed and personal safety imperiled.  It is the left that brazenly refuses to enforce our laws at the border.  They defy the law by creating “sanctuaries” for law violators.

While there is much to praise and be thankful about America, the left most often focus on the negative portions of the nation’s history and current events.  We have seen a left-wing President in Barack Obama make what became known as “an apology tour” – traveling around the world to demean America’s most noble achievements as excessive nationalism and dismissed American Exceptionalism is nothing more than a pride that all people have for their country.  He ignored the many generosities, sacrifices and actions that constitute American Exceptionalism.

Since the rise of the left in the 1960s, the left have not only failed to appreciate the work and sacrifices of our men and women in uniform but have actually maligned their service.  Liberal legislators are myopic and tenacious in their constant desire to reduce the nation’s military budget despite the fact that it has been our strong military that has kept our country safe and defeated the most heinous threats to humanity – the authoritarianism of abusively powerful central governments.

The Founders understood the importance of religion to a moral and civil society.  But, they also understood that any sort of theocracy undermines personal freedom.  In the First Amendment, they specifically called for the protection of individual religious beliefs against political atheism AND against the imposition of a mandated sectarian monolith.  It was never their intention to drive religion out of the commons, but to create a commons in which all religions can flourish.  The left proffers for political atheism in the public square.

The left has gained the most by controlling our school systems that pass our history and culture on to the next generation.  Today, one can be considered a “well educated” college graduate and know very little of the civics of America.  They are unfamiliar with the thoughtful writings of our Founders, and the great debates that shaped America.  They know very little of the meaning of a republic and the protective divisions of power between the state and national governments inherent in a federal system.  In the past “liberal education” meant an objective consideration of all views.  Today it means doctrinaire adherence to a left-wing authoritarian agenda.

We are not a perfect society because we are not perfect people.  But by all measure, America is the greatest nation in producing both domestic and international good than any nation in the history of the world.  We have been the bright aspirational beacon of democracy, the economic engine that has raised the standard of living for most of the world (and counting) and the strongest armed forces against those axes of evil that rise from time to time.

So … why do those on the political port side seem to hate America so much – especially when they, as much as any of us, have been uniquely benefited by all that is America?  I have no rational explanation.

So, there ‘tis.