Sunday, November 16, 2008

So now it's time for unity?

Were you touched by the calls for unity we heard after the election?

Not me. As someone who always views where society is going with some skepticism anyway, I felt no sentimental surge. Is it time to feel unity and forget our differences? To stand behind Barack and whatever change may bring?

To any on America's Left who call for unity now, I have to ask, where was the beautiful unity and brotherhood all this time during the last eight years? I noted how Obama characterized those who disagreed with him as divisive in campaign speeches, a clever rhetorical tool. But can anyone say with a straight face that conservatives are divisive compared to liberals? That liberals have not been divisive?

Aren't we forgetting about "Bush stole the election" and "Bush is not my president" along with many other lines not so kosher to print? About frenzied protests throughout the years, including protests at thought-suppressed campuses against well-known conservatives simply being invited to speak? The threats of riots if the media-Anointed One lost? The "bitter" people clinging to guns and religion?

Of course they're all for unity--when they are in charge! Then, of course, it's time for everyone else to fall right in step with their big plans. (Rather than fight an all-out guerrilla political war as they did.)

The truth is that conservatives have usually been more politically correct than the champions of political correctness when it comes to dealing with the opposition. We see pretty good sportsmanship on the whole after a political loss, which is admirable. However, conservatives mustn't forget what it takes to win a culture in the long run. Maybe this is a good chance for them to learn, by watching the Democrats in 2009, because I think we may see a powerful lesson.

Furthermore, it wouldn't hurt to contemplate the enormous gains liberals have accomplished for their causes during the last few decades. Step by step they have been literally remaking our society to fit their ideals, finding a multitude of effective ways to gain power and influence and create change. And all this before the current Agent of Change even took the stage!

The problem is that when Republicans were in charge, they held back on transforming the nation and the culture. Imagine abortion never being brought to a standstill, despite Reagan, Bush, and the Republican Revolution. In contrast, Obama has indicated his plans to enshrine the right to abortion and sweep away all restrictions, without delay. Which course of action is more effective? Obama is fighting to win. (He also outlined a simple plan to win more minds and thus bolster the culture as well as the law on this issue.) Conservative leaders have been putting up only a half-hearted fight in comparison.

Liberals (the supposedly pacifist folks) know that wars are won by relentless and clever fighting, not by negotiating, talking, or hoping; by winning minds, not by passively respecting other viewpoints.

If you're the type of conservative that wants to win (in other words, you believe that the issues really do matter, there is a great deal at stake, and you want culture and politics to change) then now is the time to start thinking about 2010 and 2012, and even more importantly, how to influence society--something that transcends election years.

Otherwise, just sit back and watch the show. Oh yeah, and don't forget to be part of the new big happy family of unity! (At least until the rhetoric from the "uniters" turns nasty again.)

1 comment:

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