Suicide Of The West

• 7 years ago

By JAMES K. FITZPATRICK

One of the most discussed books in conservative intellectual circles in the mid-1960s was Suicide of the West by James Burnham, one of the editors of National Review at the time. Burnham’s thesis was that the moral relativism and one-world aspirations central to secular liberalism would result in a lack of national resolve that could threaten the survival of the Western democracies. I’d say the jury is still out.

B.J. of Ft. Myers, Fla., writes to offer an analogous warning to modern Americans. B.J. informs us that there was a time when he was “a dedicated Democrat. I was a teacher from 1958 to 1965. My whole family were God-believing, Church-going Democrats.” That party affiliation ended for him when “Democratic judges and leaders changed America from a we society to a me first society, by pushing religion, God, Church, morals, and family values out of government and public places in pursuit of their misguided notion of separation of church and state.”

This situation was made worse, B.J. continues, “as a result of the 1973 passing of Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion on demand. Since then, America has aborted 60 plus million babies. In due course, same-sex marriage, which cannot procreate children, was legalized, and homosexuality came roaring out of the closets and transgender laws were passed.”

B.J. holds that as a result a “new form of religion” took root: “To show that they believed in something noble, secular liberals adopted campaigns to Save the Planet, Save the Animals, Save the Trees, Purify the Air, Stop Executions. The only thing these liberals forgot to save is their species! Their Me-Me-First attitude viewed babies living and growing in the womb as inconvenient and unwanted, so since abortion was legal and the taxpayers would pay for it, they went for it. The fertility rate for black and white American couples dropped all the way down to 1.4 babies, when 2.1 babies are needed for replacement. The Latinos are just slightly better, with a birthrate of 2.3 children.

“The problem is that the Muslim birthrate is 4.4 per couple. The consequence should be understandable to anyone with a basic level of critical thinking skills. Why do we want to annihilate ourselves? Do an Internet search of Dearborn, Mich., to see an American city being shaped by an ever-increasing Muslim population. More American cities will follow. Is that what we want?”

On another topic: the growing use of computer programs to teach reading to American students, discussed recently in this space. J.M. writes to put this trend in perspective. “The use of computers in the classroom is just the latest attempt to improve grade-level reading in our schools. These attempts never work, no matter how much money is spent on palatial facilities, reduced class size, early childhood education, or any of the other new education reforms.”

J.M. suggests that we consider the letters written to their families by common soldiers reproduced in the Ken Burns’ PBS special on the Civil War: “Many of the soldiers probably attended far fewer than eight grades, even part time. At one point, our classrooms commonly held more than 40 pupils. Many of those classrooms also incorporated more than one grade. No teaching assistants were available. Somehow learning was conveyed and students advanced. I suspect our students today, even many college graduates, would encounter major difficulty reading the Civil War letters in Burns’ TV special or writing at an equal level.”

What accounts for this phenomenon? J.M. believes that what is being overlooked today is the importance of reading. “If one cannot read, one cannot learn. If one can read, one can educate himself or herself, even independently if motivated. Reading ability remains a predictor of results in other subjects. It is of primary importance.

“If our goal is only to train our students for future employment, grade-level reading is probably adequate. The tasks in most jobs do not typically require above average reading skills. On the other hand, if we are aspiring to provide an education seeking truth, recognizing it, understanding it, and accepting it, we need something more. As long as we accept the premise of the moral relativists that all opinions serve as equal truths, we cannot educate anyone.

“Our public schools are no longer permitted to teach virtue; it is seen as judgmental to do so by secular liberals. The protesting seen on modern college campuses is a reflection of what is taught in the schools these days. The protesters are convinced that they have a monopoly on truth that permits them to shout down those they disagree with.”

One final topic: H.A.L., a retired professor of engineering from Idaho, writes to make some observations about the criticism leveled at Vice President Pence for his and his wife’s decision to never have dinner alone with a member of the opposite sex or attend a social function without each other if alcohol is being served and members of the opposite sex are present. Many in the media accused the Pences of being medieval and puritanical in their thinking.

H.A.L disagrees: “My experience,” he writes, “with dozens of years of teaching classes, is that there are situations that are entirely innocent, but which cannot be proven so after the fact. It was for that reason that I didn’t counsel females unless it was in a public setting and where I would be able to demonstrate the nature of the meeting and defend my behavior, if asked.”

H.A.L. was especially vigilant in this regard when dealing with meetings in his office. The door was always kept open and he made sure there were other faculty members or staff in the area. “In addition, the occasional tutoring in my home was always done by appointment, with my wife at hand. This careful Pence-like behavior served me well in my 60 plus years in education: ‘Trust, but Safeguard!’ should be the adage in these matters.”

H.A.L., adds that if “Bill O’Reilly had been as discreet as Mike Pence, he might still be the number one Fox newscaster.”

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Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about this and other educational issues. The e-mail address for First Teachers is fitzpatrijames@sbcglobal.net, and the mailing address is P.O. Box 15, Wallingford, CT 06492.