by Nancy Morgan 
RightBias.com 
March 29, 2010 

My generation could well be the first generation in American history to leave our country worse off than we found it.

I am a member of the baby boomer generation. The generation that came of age in the late sixties during the turbulent times of Woodstock, Watergate and Vietnam. The generation that is now holding the reins of power in most American institutions, from politics to media, to education and culture. The generation that will likely be responsible for squandering America’s hard won freedoms and changing America into a third world country, all in the name of ‘equality’ and ‘social justice.’

A defining hallmark of baby boomers on the left is hubris and an absolute refusal to learn or acknowledge the lessons of history. They know best.

Moral relativism is the cornerstone of most baby boomers. Their theories rest on subjective, personal values instead of concrete scientific definitions. And they acknowledge no other authority or moral code larger than one’s choice. They have adopted the Rousseauian strategy of emphasis on passion instead of reason.* And despite the utter failure of the social policies they have instituted, they persist in believing that they can define their own reality.

Author Shelby Steele, in his book White Guilt, comes closest to explaining how and why the baby boomer generation believes as it does. Steele makes the excellent point that every generation, when it comes of age, seeks to challenge authority and tradition. Like most adolescent rebels, they are quickly humbled because they overestimate their own truth and underestimate the truth of their elders. They learn a valuable life lesson when they are smacked down by their elders and reality. 

My generation never learned this lesson. As Steele writes, "The sixties generation of youth is very likely the first generation in American history to have won its adolescent rebellion against its elders."

The reason for this: As baby boomers came of age, America had just taken the giant step of acknowledging and apologizing for its history of slavery and racism. At that moment in time, America had lost its moral authority, hence the progressive assaults on campuses resulted in defeating the traditional hierarchy. Heady stuff.

With this victory, my fellow boomers adopted the notion that they were invincible. "Their rite of passage to maturity was cut short and they were falsely inflated instead of humbled. Uninitiated, they devalue history rather than find direction in it, and feel entitled to break sharply and recklessly with the past."

The boomer’s adolescent rebellion was validated. They then proceeded to infect every segment of American society with their own, unproven theories.

The media that had historically acted as a watchdog became an enabler for the boomers. The media encouraged and validated the politically correct, utopian theories that were a result of hubris rather than sound policy. And convinced millions of unsuspecting Americans along the way.

Our universities not only succumbed, they incorporated and taught as fact the baby boomers’ notion of America as an oppressor and capitalism as evil. Courses in Western Civilization were replaced with women’s studies, black studies and queer theory. Indoctrination replaced debate and group identity quietly started trumping individual accomplishment as the road to success.

Fast forward to today. President Obama and our Democrat Congress are the end result of a generation steeped in successful rebellion. They are the quintessential perpetual adolescents that define the baby boomer generation. Never having had to pay the price for our freedoms, they are oblivious to its worth. To Obama and most of his fellow boomers on the left, the Constitution is a roadblock to their more perfect vision. Instead, they take their cue from Saul Alinsky’s Rules For Radicals.

My generation is now in a position to radically alter America. There is a very good chance that boomers will prevail in their efforts to defeat capitalism, God and traditional values and instill their own version of ‘social justice.’ Despite socialism having failed abjectly in every country it has been tried, baby boomers like Obama have the arrogance to believe that with them in charge, it will finally work.

Under the leadership of my fellow baby boomers, there is a very good chance that the America that we all know and love could end up on the ash heap of history. James Madison gave clear warning in 1788. "There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations…" 

America is in the process of being conquered from within. By an arrogant and elitist generation more concerned with their own status and power than with the good of the country. This is my generation. And I’m ashamed to be one of them.

Nancy Morgan is a columnist and news editor for RightBias.com 
Article published with the author’s permission

Originally posted 2010-04-05 23:10:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

With this opening statement in our nation’s Declaration of Independence, its 56 signers, represented by such great minds as Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and John Adams, established a core founding principle for what was to become a new nation; a nation different in its beliefs, values and government structure than any other at the time.

As is the case with many words in the English language, the word “equality” lacks certain precision and has historically been interpreted through different lenses. For example, mathematical equality assures sameness in quantity, but does not ascribe value to the equal results. An equal amount of rain having fallen over a rain forest and over a desert, although mathematically equivalent in volume, does not produce an equal effect. Nor is the magnificence of Niagara Falls’ cascade of water the same as that of a lazy river flowing through the plains, though again the volumes of water may be equal.

Equality as a doctrine in the 18^th century was indeed a revolutionary concept. Not since the ancient Greek and Minoan cultures has equality been written into a societal code of beliefs. So therefore, the opportunity to build a new nation on such beliefs was in and of itself a revolutionary step forward.

In order to understand the intentions of our founding fathers, we have to understand the psychology of the times in which this concept of equality was being presented. Indeed, we need to use the prism of an 18^th century intellectual to affix the proper meaning to the word. In particular we know that such prism would filter out any notions of equality in the context of modern day social systems such as welfare or affirmative action.

A reasonable and arguably most credible interpretation of the founding fathers intended meaning of equality is one where the goal of equality is defined as one of opportunity and not necessarily of results (or outcome). This is fundamental, in that it underscores the principle of giving each individual an equal opportunity to improve his own state but does not mandate that the results of such efforts be held to the same standard of equality as for others. In fact, an argument can be made that enforcing equality of results is fundamentally unfair in that it unjustly rewards low performance and is eerily akin to Marx’s “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” formulation, which would not be written until 100 years later (1875, Critique of the Gotha Program). The distinction between opportunity and results equality was recently taken up and extensively discussed by British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson at the 2009 Fabian Conference at the Imperial College in London.

In our modern society we can observe countless examples of divergence from the principle of equality of results.

1. Affirmative action, previously mentioned, is perhaps the most glaring example of the up-side-down interpretation of equality, where results trump all other objectives – a starkly Marxist construct indeed
2. Progressive taxation, though widely accepted as fair and equitable, in fact is not ubiquitously fair as it creates disincentives to higher productivity and redistributes the output of the individual’s labor to those who have not contributed to its creation
3. Compensation pay grade systems such as within the government and many older companies, where rewards are defined within pay scale boundaries, regardless of the value of an individual’s contribution

A society which does not respect equality of its citizens is frail and cannot sustain itself indefinitely without the degeneration of its social fabric, inevitably leading to massive resentment of government and eventually social unrest. By misinterpreting our founders’ meaning of equality, we are at risk of steering our social policies toward the statist objectives of government welfare and control over our means and our lives. Our Constitution is a finely tuned and time proven instrument of democratic government with ideals interwoven such that in concert they support and amplify each other’s meaning and value. A misinterpretation or misapplication of one of these fundamental ideals not only diminishes its individual value, but also jeopardizes the document’s role as a compilation of our guiding values.

Next time you’re engaged in a discussion with someone who is justifying their position with arguments of equality, make sure to ask them: “What do you mean?”

* * * * *

We welcome your comments and suggestions, either directly inline, or via email to editor@nakedliberty.com. If you would like to have your article published in Naked Liberty, please contact the editor at the above email address.

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One of the greatest gifts we can pass on to our children is the portfolio of values that we spend our life’s years developing. And we hope that, as our children weave their way through the obstacles that they will undoubtedly face in their own lives, they will not only apply the values they’ve assimilated from us, but indeed grow them and, by so doing, create an even greater value legacy to pass on to their own offspring.

Impact of Observed Behavior on our Children

Our children are keen observers of life around them. They astutely learn from all that we do and they are much more apt to learn from observing of our actions rather than listening to our words. And contrary to general beliefs, over time they will more deeply assimilate behavioral traits from figures of authority, more so than from their friends and peers. To older teens and young adults such authority figures include not only parents, but also teachers, professors and coaches (especially those that are particularly liked and respected), and revered political figures. To many in the 18 to 24 age bracket, President Obama is certainly looked up to as such an authority figure.

So when a President holds such esteem in the minds of our young, as parents, we should be keenly astute about the messaging and actions that such a figure communicates to our children. Are his words and actions consistent with those that represent our values? Are the messages he communicates through the public media the same or at least closely aligned with the messages that we espouse on our children?

A Dangerous Message

In a speech on May 14, 2009 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico President Obama addressed the “crisis” in the consumer credit card industry, proposing sweeping new legislation to make the use of credit cards more consumer friendly. This he presented in a two part interaction with a local town hall audience. In the first, read directly from a teleprompter, he laid out his three principal pillars of the plan – simpler and easier to understand terms and conditions of credit, extended grace periods before assessment of penalties, and significant advance notice of changes in future credit terms. All, most would argue, reasonably prudent steps to aid consumers in the use of such credit facilities. The youtube video of the town hall meeting can be found at this link.

In the second part of the town hall meeting, the President went off the teleprompter and addressed direct questions from the audience. And there a troubling tone of the misguided intent behind the proposed plan became visible. The undercurrent in most all of the President’s responses can be encapsulated in the following:

* taking on consumer credit is an entitlement to which all citizens should have equal access
* access to credit should not be predicated on the consumer’s financial condition
* the credit issuers (i.e credit card companies) are the root cause of the overwhelming majority of cases of consumers’ credit excesses; the consumers share little if any blame for their own misfortunes
* there is an unfair class struggle going on between those with good and those with poor credit; this should be addressed by making credit equally accessible to all and on the same terms

One of his responses went as far as to firmly assert that credit should be available to all consumers, and particularly those who are not able to afford to cover their current expenses! As we pause to reflect, the magnitude of these assertions comes into focus, and we begin to deeply ponder the consequences of such a dogma.

Dissecting the Message

Credit is not a societal entitlement. It is earned, over time, as a result of fiscally responsible behavior. It is the reward for having made a positive contribution to one’s financial well-being. It is the leverage that we build for ourselves through the disciplined balancing of our earning and spending habits and of consistently meeting our obligations. No one is entitled to credit and it is not a right of passage.

Q: But are we not striving to create a society where everyone is treated fairly and equally? Should’t everyone have access to the same elements of quality of life (such as credit)?

A: No. Equality and fairness are not the same concept. In fact, in many situation they are impossible to achieve at the same time. One could argue that equality aligns with fairness only when decisions are based on a measure of quotas. In a merit-based environment, we inevitably find equality and fairness at opposite poles. To cite examples, the lottery would represent a quota situation – a fair and equal distribution of a chance to win a defined amount of money. On the other hand, high school seniors competing for entrance into Ivy League schools would represent a merit-based situation – there is no equality in the skills of the candidates, yet they end up being fairly distributed among schools of various levels of prestige.

Q: And which is overriding when both fairness and equality can not be achieved at the same time?

A: If we continue to believe in our founding principals, those which have served our nation for over 230 years, creating heretofore unprecedented prosperity for its citizens, the answer is remarkably clear. When our overriding objective is equality, the best outcome we can expect is uniformity and complacency. When our goal is fairness, we unleash great human potential that desires to distinguish itself from the equality of the masses and to soar high above mediocrity. Societal equality is an unbalanced state for the human mind to exist in. Fairness is a state of mind which reflects a peaceful and motivating coexistence among people.

Conclusion

What values do we want to espouse on our children? Do we want them to accept equality as a universal truth? Is the goal that we set upon them to strive to blend into the mass of equality? Should they be taught to await the improbable lottery event as the only means of possibly distinguishing themselves while staying within the dogma of fairness and equality?

The President’s message is teaching our children the worst possible lesson at a time when they are most vulnerable to misguidance and most susceptible to false promises How disenchanting is for our new generation of leaders to be taught that their aspiration in building their adult lives should be limited to becoming equal with others; that the results of their efforts will be no richer than everyone else’s.

We welcome your comments and suggestions, either directly inline, or via email to editor@nakedliberty.com.

Next week: “The Split Personality of the Common Man” addresses the inherent struggles between a desire for independence and acquiescing to become dependent.

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