DADvocate

Over the past few weeks I've read several rather diverse items that some how fit together quite well. The first is a column, Fear of Confrontation, by Arnold King at TCSDaily. In this essay about how Americans not standing up to but needing to standup to terrorists, Iran, Iraqi insurgents, radical Muslims, etc., King makes a critical point.

Unfortunately, large segments of American society no longer have the ability to confront real evil. People lack the confidence and moral clarity to stand up to intimidation.

Emphasis mine.

How true. The unending, vacillating debates over Iran, Iraq, illegal immigration and many other issues often revolve the inability or unwillingness to look at the world with moral clarity.

Moral clarity requires that one actually have a belief system of something other than relative morality. For many in today's world this seems quite difficult. These people are always ready to excuse away deviant or criminal behavior due to parenting, social conditions, poor education, and etc. ad nauseum. But as soon as they hear another take a clear moral stand they begin yelling intolerance, racism, fascism, bigotry, judgementalism, and more.

About a month ago I discovered Shelby Steele while he was being interviewed on some show on some sort of public cable TV channel. (Not very specific, huh?) He was talking about "white guilt" and how harmful it was to our society, even to those who were supposedly benefiting from the guilt.

Today Instapundit pointed out that on Tuesday, May 2, the WSJ published an opinion column by Steele regarding white guilt and how it creates a lack of ability of the white Western nations to effectively wage war, deal with terrorists and the such.

I call this white guilt not because it is a guilt of conscience but because people stigmatized with moral crimes--here racism and imperialism--lack moral authority and so act guiltily whether they feel guilt or not


Because dissociation from the racist and imperialist stigma is so tied to legitimacy in this age of white guilt, America's act of going to war can have legitimacy only if it seems to be an act of social work--something that uplifts and transforms the poor brown nation (thus dissociating us from the white exploitations of old).


White guilt makes our Third World enemies into colored victims, people whose problems--even the tyrannies they live under--were created by the historical disruptions and injustices of the white West. We must "understand" and pity our enemy even as we fight him.

Emphasis mine.

Quite a read.

At hurricaneradio Patrick Armstrong has written several excellent posts concerning the Mayday illegal immigrant protests. One post contains a link to Publius Pundit. Publius points out the failure of our government to act as it should.

The only reason they were able to get into the United States in the first place is because the government didn't - no, refused to - do its job. Despite an increase from just over 4000 border patrolmen in 1992 to 11,380 patrolmen in 2004, the number of illegal immigrants has surged from some 3.9 million in 1992 to 11.1 million in 2004 due to lax measures on arrest and deportation.

While I don't fully agree with Publius Pundits recommendation on how to deal with illegal immigration, I fully agree that the illegal immigration problem is the fault of our own government not fulfilling its responsibilities and duties.

It's funny how an arrogant, condescending man like John McCain can say, "You can't do it, my friend" to a group of American workers. John McCain and his cronies, Republican and Democrat, haven't done it. Congress of the last 6 plus years has been a lesson in abject failure. It appears our Congress needs to weigh the political winds before it can take a stand on any issue. There is a near complete lack of moral clarity. It's all about which action will garner the most votes or look best in the polls. Thus the illegal immigration problem is especially complex.

If I'm soft on illegal immigrants will I gain more votes from newly nationalized illegal immigrants than I'll lose from current voters? Can I spin this to keep the votes I have and gain new immigrant votes? What will be the time lag between giving illegal immigrants amnesty and getting their votes? Will I be able to ride out the storm until then?

These questions and many others must be driving the politicians crazy. Of course, if they had any moral clarity, weren't subservient to white guilt and were actually dedicated to doing their job of upholding the Constitution the choices would be clear. Making the right choices might not be easy but people of character have been making the right choices for centuries and dealing with the consequences.

For many it is fashionable to insult and criticize the "old white men" how founded this country. But one thing is sure, they acted with conviction, belief and courage. The leaders of the American Revolution were powerful, "privileged white males." They had a lot to lose including their lives. Their courage was such that Charles Carroll, the richest man in America at the time, signed his name on the Declaration of Independence "Charles Carroll of Carrollton" so that the British would know exactly to which Charles Carroll the signature belonged. (He was also the only Catholic to sign the declaration.) Boy, we've come a long way since. Mostly downhill.