We are All Being Radicalized. But to Whose "Radix"?
Our nation is more polarized than ever, with just about everyone being radicalized towards one political/ideological direction or another. The question to answer is, which way are you being pulled?
Even before Charlie Kirk’s assassination, there was a feeling that the Left/Right divide was becoming unbridgeable. Those of us who have paid attention to politics, culture, and religion (even as a hobby) were already aware of that. Arguably, the issue of abortion represents the point at which the Left and Right have forever parted ways. But, because conservatives are ever hopeful, we believe there is still a chance of reasoning with the other side, some convincing that might be able to move the Overton Window to a more normal place.
But that hasn’t happened, and after September 10, it seems unlikely to happen for decades, if ever. Elon’s meme (adjusted post-Kirk’s assassination) of him being in the political center, only to observe the Left sprint, well, leftward, leaving him on the center-Right is perfect.
On issue after issue, and upon reading headline after headline, we can see that America is definitely getting more radicalized. The only question is, to whose radix?
Radix is the Latin word from which we get the word “radical.” It simply means “root,” as in the root of a plant, or the foundation of an idea. Being radicalized is not in and of itself an entirely bad thing. It just means getting down to the thing itself, cutting out the noise, and getting to the essence (i.e. the root) of an idea, religious belief, or movement, etc.
When I first heard the word used in the mid-2000s, it was used to describe young Muslim men who had been “radicalized” to a more extreme form of Islam. Arguably, that use of the word is correct as the jihadist, violent form of Islam, is its most “based” and rooted form. These jihadis regard more moderate forms of Islam as false. Are they wrong?
Likewise, as a young man I became a convinced capitalist. I thought America was an inherently capitalist nation. But as I see all of the regulation, taxation, cronyism, political lobbying and resulting favors, it is hard to say that America remains capitalist in any real sense. My hope is that we will revert to a more “radical” form of capitalism, one where free markets have more of a say in healthcare and commerce, and where the economy is freed from government interference.
Radicalization appears inevitable in America today. The Left has imposed its will on the culture through our most basic institutions. While Trump’s victory was the first sign of hope for conservatives to win back the culture, both sides are digging in. Fence-sitters are becoming an endangered species, and moderates are right to complain that they no longer have a home.
So what does the future portend? If radicalization is indeed taking place, and if you will ultimately have to make a choice between Left and Right, what are the sine qua nons of each side?
The Left’s Beliefs
1. Atheistic - even if the Left doesn’t always explicitly deny God, they refuse to submit to the authority of God. If a person or a group of persons determine truth, morality, and ethics, they in effect act as their own god. Therefore, they are professed to be or are de facto atheistic.
2. Multiculturalism is the dominant culture. Multiculturalism is just the first step to the erasure of borders and the establishment of globalism. The Left adores multiculturalism, whereas the Right is skeptical of it.
3. Pro womb killing. The Left’s defense of abortion is the clearest indication of their abandonment of Christian values and a belief in the dignity of the human person.
4. As several recent polls have proved, violence is seen as justifiable and a useful tool (Means-to-an-End-ism). The Left is willing to commit atrocities, kill the Right’s leaders, defend violent rioters, and use lawfare to achieve its ends.
5. Institutional/distant. The Left believes problems can only be solved by distant, even global, cooperations. Problems are solved by the biggest possible cooperation.
The Right’s Beliefs
1. Theistic. Conservatives believe in God, at the least as an abstraction, if not a being to whom they owe fealty and submission. They believe this is God’s world, and they are merely living in it on a temporary basis. Therefore, God is the supreme authority, and our society should thus revolve around His revealed Will.
2. “Western culture” is superior (note: every culture, including the concept of Multiculturalism, assumes it’s superiority). Western Culture and Multiculturalism are incompatible.
3. Anti-womb-killing. If you get this issue right (the dignity of the human person), almost everything else falls into place. Get it wrong, and your political and moral framework will be untethered and confusing.
4. The Right upholds the Rule of Law, though acknowledges that it is fragile, can sometimes get it wrong, and depends on a populace that is at least personally committed to virtue.
5. Local/immediate. The Right is more concerned with family, community, church, and state. After that comes nation, then world. If you care about your fellow man in a non-abstract way, you are a conservative.
While there are caveats to make and some things have been left out, these are the basic roots of the Left and Right. With every assassination, train stabbing, or insistence on abortion to the point of birth, nascent conservatives will get radicalized towards the Right. With every “fascist” Executive Order, questioning of the Civil Rights Act, pro-life defense, or low-info interpretation of the news, every nascent liberal will get radicalized towards the Left. This radicalization appears to be inevitable.
Which leaves us asking…where do we go from here? Civil war? No, that won’t be necessary, and it is impractical. If Leftism is a type of social disease, we understand that it won’t be eradicated it in our lifetimes. But we can treat the symptoms. An entire essay could be offered on that topic, but in the interest of time, I’ll only offer a list of policies that would deeply curtail the rise of Leftism. And thanks to Trump, some of this is already being done!
1. Designate ANTIFA as a terrorist org…done!
2. End cashless bail…in process.
3. Establish Turning Point chapters everywhere…in process.
4. End homelessness…in process.
5. Defund anti-American speech on college campuses…a long-term goal.
6. End welfare…a long-term goal.
7. Make pornography illegal…a very long-term goal.
The unfortunate truth is, unless and until we treat Leftism as a radical departure from Americanism, this divide will only increase.
In the meantime, we unfortunately should expect to see more and more radicalization take place…on both sides of the dividing line.
Photo Credit- Politico.
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Two faults in the article.
First: The fundamental conflict is between the Individual and the State. There are things we must do together: defend the border, keep civil peace, enforce contracts. But government must not overreach, nor take too much from the economy for that which it does. That way leads to endless expansion of State, cultivation of entitlement among bureaucrats and a weak, un-self-reliant populace.
Second: The imagined “left – right” divide is collectivist propaganda, to mischaracterize America’s historical values as mere “fascism.” Lenin would be proud of that lie.
Article presciently identifies the most fundamental weaknesses in America. “These jihadis regard more moderate forms of Islam as false. Are they wrong?”
If you listen to imams in the Muslim world—and preaching in Dallas or Houston—jihad is normative Islam. They’ll quote you chapter and verse from the Koran or Hadith to prove it. Gullible Christians believe what they’re told by Islamists in Europe: that jihad means only internal struggle. But faithful Muslims believe the words of the “perfect book”, the Koran, that jihad also means struggle and warfare to conquer infidels, e.g., “unbelievers” like Christians and Jews to force them to submit.
Over the 1400-year history of Islam, there have been several “reform” movements, but they’re not what you think. They’re the fundamentalist return of Islam to its literal meaning in authoritative texts. Thus Al-Qaeda and ISIS are considered prototypical reform movements within Islam. That’s why you see jihadis cutting off the heads of “infidels” or throwing gays off high places to their deaths. That’s how it was done in early 7th century Arabia.
The modern Islamic revival was ushered in by a) the 1979 fall of the Shah and rise of a theocratic state under Khomeini; and by b) defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan by the mujahideen backed by the CIA. Before this, it seemed that Islam would continue to recede in favor of secularism as had happened with Christianity in the West since the mid-19th century. The powerful Islamic religious revival coincided with a huge influx of Muslims into the West, which had already lost the will to survive and sustain its own demographic. Thus for the first time since the Ottoman invasion of Europe, Islam found a foothold in the heart of a vulnerable, unresisting Christian Europe.
Is America next? Not necessarily. You can't beat something with nothing. Yet we have two "somethings": Christianity and American exceptionalism.