Peace: Liberals Call for Pacifism – Conservatives Call for Power

As a continuation from my previous two blog postings, I share (again) the profound explanation of the difference between liberals and conservatives … largely in the words of SRN (Salem Radio Network) host Dennis Prager.  [If you haven’t read the Monday, July 6 and Wednesday, July 8, 2015 postings, consider reading them before this one.]

A third example of contrasting liberals and conservatives is “peace.”

Prager says, “The left has a soft spot for pacifism – the belief that killing another human being is always immoral.  Not all leftists are pacifists, but pacifism emanates from the left, and just about all leftists support ‘peace activism,’ ‘peace studies’ and whatever else contains the word ‘peace.’ ”

“The right, on the other hand, while just as desirous of peace as the left – what conservative parent wants their child to die in battle? – knows that pacifism and most ‘peace activists’ increase the chances of war, not peace,” says Prager.  “Nothing guarantees the triumph of evil like refusing to fight it.  Great evil is therefore never defeated by peace activists, but by superior military might.  The Allied victory in World War II is an obvious example.”

Prager points out, “Supporters of pacifism, peace studies, American nuclear disarmament, American military withdrawal from countries in which it has fought – Iraq is the most recent example – do not ask, ‘Does it do good?’  Did the withdrawal of America from Iraq do good?  Of course not.  It only led to the rise of Islamic State with its mass murder and torture.”

So, then, if in assessing what public policies to pursue, conservatives ask “Does it do good?”, what question do liberals ask?  The answer is, “Does it make people – including myself – feel good?”

Why do liberals support a higher minimum wage if doesn’t do good? Because it makes the recipients of the higher wage feel good (even if other workers lose their jobs when restaurants and other businesses that cannot afford the higher wage close down) and it makes liberals feel good about themselves.

Why do liberals support race-based affirmative action?  For the same reasons.  It makes the recipients feel good when they are admitted to more prestigious colleges.  And it makes liberals feel good about themselves for appearing to right the wrongs of historical racism.

The same holds true for left-wing peace activism: Supporting “peace” … rather than the military … makes liberals feel good about themselves.

Prager says, “Perhaps the best example is the self-esteem movement.  It has had an almost wholly negative effect on a generation of Americans raised to have high self-esteem without having earned it.  They then suffer from narcissism and an incapacity to deal with life’s inevitable setbacks. But self-esteem feels good.  And feelings – not reason – is what liberalism is largely about.  Reason asks: ‘Does it do good?’  Liberalism asks, ‘Does it feel good?’ ”

Prager concludes, “Liberals find it too painful to look reality in the eye and acknowledge that human nature is deeply flawed.  This is especially so because left-wing thought is rooted in secularism, and if you don’t believe in God, you had better believe in humanity – or you will despair.”

Amen, Dennis!  Amen!

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel