In today’s liberal rhetoric, America was great until, uh, sometime between Reagan’s inauguration and the invasion of Iraq

Dan H. writes:

Just a thought on the Obama San Francisco kerfuffle:

It is interesting that he gives a time period to his comment about middle American bitterness. He dates the job loss-related frustration at beginning 25 years ago.

Presumably, that means that the bitter clinging to religion and guns and antipathy (can you cling to antipathy?) also began 25 years ago.

In his history-less liberal viewpoint, Obama cannot fathom that religious belief and the right to bear arms and uneasiness with homosexuality are part and parcel of the American Experiment. They are not 25 years old, they are as old as, if not older than, this country.

To admit the longevity and tradition of the above is to admit that there is something to them, so instead Obama cunningly cuts them down to a mere 25 year old phenomena.

I wonder if you have had similar thoughts

LA replies:

Yes. Every time Obama or Michelle (or other Democrats) say, “I grew up in an America with hope,” etc., suggesting that the problems began recently, I think, “Whoa. Are you saying you approve of the America of 1985, 1960, 1950, 1930, 1910? In 1985 Ronald Reagan was president and the left said the sky was falling. Prior to 1960, America was a lot more anti-black and life was harder than now. So it’s a typical liberal fraud. To make their complaints sound plausible, they need to sound as if they’re only against some recent problem, when in reality they’re against everything that America has ever been.

Not only that, they are against everything America ever will be, because, as we’ve discussed at VFR before, with each new liberal advance, everything in America up to that point is cast as a world of darkness and reaction which is being overcome only at this moment. Since liberals can only relate positively to any human event by seeing it as a victory of progress over injustice, every step in liberal progress means that America prior to that step was unjust. In other words, since liberals can only think in terms of overcoming injustice, they have no concept of justice. They cannot conceive of a good social order actually existing and being worthy of love and protection.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at April 15, 2008 02:37 PM | Send