“Liberalism” today, or what used to be called progressivism, is not so much a political stance as a cult, a semi-secular creed that blends the worst aspects of 60s “radical” theology, Marxism, and post-modern deconstructionism into one soul shattering, thought obliterating package. Like any emergent religion, it is in direct competition with other cults and creeds for adherents and influence in the popular culture, and due to the essentially anti-Republican nature of today’s liberals the cult of progressivism is a creed that believes in what I call Monodominance. And yes, I’m stealing the term from a popular dystopian science fiction setting.
For our purpose here, I’m defining the Monodominant philosophy as promoting the view that only one set of morals and values should have the right to public exposure. In other words, progressives and modern “liberals” believe that opinions and beliefs contrary to leftist dogma should be expunged from all aspects of public life and given no public venue for expression. Thus, the left wants to shut down conservative talk radio and Fox News, even though they are really the only outlet for non-Marxist opinion and commentary left in the old media. Education, entertainment, literature, and the arts are all being transformed into propagators of dogma by the left and contrary views in those fields are now too rare to even be considered a minority. At this point, a movie with a conservative message or a work of art that promotes rightist beliefs would be an anomaly, a curiosity that would lead to the personal ruin of the artist.
But it is in the “liberal” attacks on religion that we see the leftist cult most clearly, and at its most vicious. Christians are often the targets of these attacks, but Jews are just as frequently assailed by leftists as we saw recently in the case of anti-Semitic comments made by ousted Honduran dictator Manuel Zelaya. Zelaya’s claims (which included accusations that Jews were secretly torturing him with radiation and toxic gas) that Jews were plotting against him were reiterated by leftist radio hosts at Radio Globo, a station which the Hondurans had shut down, but our own state department went to bat for to have it re-opened. One Radio Globo host added in this nugget to the anti-Jewish hit parade:
“There are times when I ask myself if Hitler was or not correct in finishing with that race with the famous Holocaust. If there are people that do damage in this country, they are Jewish, the Israelis. I want to name, this afternoon here in Radio Globo, by name and last name, who are the two officers of the Jewish army who are working with the Armed Forces of our country and who are in charge of carrying out all these conspiracy activities and undercover actions and everything else that is happening to the President of the Republic.
“After what I have learned, I ask myself why, why didn’t we let Hitler carry out his historic mission. Forgive me for the grotesque expression. But I ask myself after I have realized this and many other things. I believe it should have been fair and valid to let Hitler finish his historic vision…”
The American “liberal” reaction to Nationalists who describe themselves as Socialists praising the Holocaust and claiming Jews are destabilizing their countries are predictably approving as the comments in this Huffington Post piece show. Armed with links to pro-drug, anti-American Socialist propaganda site NarcoNews, the commenters claim there is no anti-Jewish sentiment here. Often while throwing out some blood libels themselves:
Look up the name Kay Griggs and watch her interview. She reveals that the United States does use mercenaries, many of them Isreali to do their d i r t y work. That technology is American and has been used against detective and conspiracy theorist Michael Ruppert and forced him to leave the country. It seems that the criminal right wing is trying to turn Honduras into a safe haven. American corporate business interests have a long history of working with rogue elements of the CIA to suppress workers’ rights and to keep what they feel is a favorable business environment.
Kay Griggs is a con artist who makes a living claiming her husband was a mind controlled assassin trainer for the Illuminati (he was a Marine) who worked for a secret program run by fiends who trained Jeffery Dahmer, Tim McVeigh, and Lee Harvey Oswald to be the perfect assassins. You know, because they so stealthily achieved their objectives? Anyway Griggs ultimately claims “Zionists” run the world. Are you surprised to see HuffPo commenters promoting this? How about Democratic Underground members?
That all this has a whiff of Mein Kampf to it is obvious, but where exactly are the “progressives” speaking out about it? What could be the reason for them to minimize and in some cases defend attacks on Jews? I too used to think the answer was simply anti-Semitism, but that is only part of the picture.
Christians have, as they will sometimes too readily tell you while you’re simply trying to enjoy a steak dinner, been the frequent targets of attacks by left leaning groups that are frankly bewildering in their motivations. The most recent and obvious example is this story where Belmont Abby College is being sued for gender discrimination by eight workers (only two of whom are women) because they won’t offer contraception and abortion coverage on insurance policies:
On September 10, the college retained the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty to appeal an August 5 ruling by the EEOC, charging the school with discrimination. In a letter to Thierfelder, the EEOC stated the college “is discriminating based on gender because only females take oral prescription contraceptives. By denying coverage, men are not affected, only women.†Thierfelder objected with a letter posted on the school’s website, saying: “Belmont Abbey College rejects the notion that by following the moral teachings of the Catholic Church we are discriminating against anyone.… We are simply and honestly exercising the freedom of religion that is protected by the Constitution.â€
Ed Morrissey of Hot Air sums up this partisan lawsuit quite well:
The case started when BEC mistakenly bought insurance coverage that paid for contraception, which violates the doctrine of the Catholic Church. After realizing their mistake, they had that coverage removed. Eight employees filed suit with the EEOC as a result, claiming that the motivation for the change was gender discrimination.
How could anyone working at a Catholic college possibly come to that conclusion? Whether or not one agrees with the church on contraception and abortion, their position on those two issues is both well-known and fundamental to doctrine on the sanctity of human life, reaffirmed constantly and publicly. Anyone who goes to work for a Catholic institution and expects to get insurance coverage for either is acting out of intellectual dishonesty. If the church position on contraception and abortion offends them that much, they shouldn’t agree to work for a private Catholic institution.
Which may not be the point. The president of the school has said that should the E.E.O.C. rule against them he’ll shut down the school rather than go against Catholic teachings, which the complainants and whoever is funding them certainly know is the case. Understand that what the college is being asked to do is take an action they believe will imperil their very souls, risk their salvation and ascension into heaven. And in return they get the “pleasure” of helping gainfully employed staff members defer the costs for elective medical services that the Catholic Church explicitly says are despised by God himself.
Unless you believe the eight complainants, only two of whom are actually women, are so hard up they can’t afford to pay for their own contraception or suffer from a sexual compulsion that keeps makes them have unprotected sex, this entire case makes no sense. It makes no sense unless you see the motive here as political, the removal of Catholic doctrine from public life, starting with Catholic universities.
I just recently wrote about several “human rights” groups who are working to get states to allow registered sex offenders to have access to churches and other places of worship that also house day care facilities and teen programs. The Southern Center for Human Rights, the A.C.L.U. and Human Rights Watch are all cooperating with sex offender advocates to allow pedophiles and rapists access to places where they can more easily victimize people. Why? What would happen to a church in which children were found to have been molested? What is the motive for these groups to force churches to take in dangerous repeat sex offenders?
A few days ago I spoke with a reporter who was interested in Republican candidate Dan Halloran’s run for the New York City council. Halloran is the “First Aethling of Normand” which for the Theodish means he’s roughly the equivalent to the Archbishop of New York, though that really isn’t a perfect example. The reporter was quite shocked to hear that I, a Biracial Republican Pagan, had never had any run ins with racist Theods, Heathens, Asatruar or Odinists. Though I must admit that I’m hardly the type to keep company with racists anyway.
He was actually quite interested and I’m sure his article will be very good, but after the conversation I kept thinking about how ubiquitous it is for people to assume all these “Northern” style pagan groups are racist. When I was getting my Bachelor of Arts in Religion, there was a book I don’t remember the title of (and I wouldn’t promote anyway) which falsely claimed a connection between militias, heathenism, and Christian Identity. The head of the Religion department swore by it even as I pointed out that much of this was bogus. More than a decade later and people still believe that any Pagan who’s not a Wiccan is a secret Nazi. Why?
Because Wicca, which I’ve pointed out before is not a real religion but simply a liberal subculture, has worked hard for almost three decades now to create the perception that non-Wiccan pagan traditions are full of racists and other undesirables by dominating the Web and publishing. In essence, Wicca is practicing a kind of Monodominace of neo-paganism by creating animosity toward non-Wiccan traditions in people entering the movement. This has meant that other traditions have grown at much slower rates than Wicca, whose promoters were able to get their smears of Northern paganism mainstreamed, which makes the entire neo-pagan movement a Wiccan, and thus de facto leftist, movement.
It has admittedly also meant that scum of various sorts, including anti-American racists, have slithered into Paganism and publicly shamed us much the same way Satanic criminals use fundamentalist Christian descriptions of Satanism as patterns for their criminality. In other words, Wicca successfully destroyed any hope of a non-Wiccan pagan movement being taken seriously and challenging their hegemony.
When leftists mainstream the myth of the sinister Jew, force Catholics to withdraw from public intellectual life, and make it unsafe for parents with children to attend church services, they too will reap the benefits of their perfidy in the form of more adherents, more progressive cultists for whom spiritual salvation and metaphysical contentment are achieved through adherence to social dogma and political ideology. But as long as there are competing belief systems in America and the world, the progressive Utopia cannot be achieved because it requires the complete submergence of our differences and total obedience to the god-like state. So then we see modern “liberalism” is inherently hostile toward all other faiths, just as any totalitarian philosophy.
Christians, Jews, and Pagans, all being attacked and driven from public life by a radical and aggressive form of Socialism. Where in have we seen that before?
Rob, more great analysis. You are absolutely right in that their “monodominant” philosophy is anti-everything that doesn’t fit into their progressive mindview, and christians, jews and republicans are enemies 1,2, and 3. This so-called “progressive” movement itself is full of many differing philosophies about dogma and religion. It isn’t sure which way to go yet, but it certainly knows what it doesn’t want. I reckon purges of ideology from within, as you mentioned, paganism versus wicca, will further distill just what kind of religious philosophy this monoculture will become.
Have you noticed any other types of internal purges? Pro-life democrats come to mind.
Pro-life Dems are a good example. As are “cold war” Democrats like Joe Lieberman who are otherwise mainstream but strong on national security. The whole JFK style anti-Communist wing is pretty much gone.
But the Code Pink wing is also out now that the Democrats are finished with them. Progressives aren’t anti-war and I fully expect to see more lobbying for American military intervention n behalf of Islamists and Communists in the future.
Rob Taylor,
Its interesting how leftists can be so intolerant of anyone who doesn’t agree with them, yet they usually the ones who harp on people not being tolerant enough.
Rob,
Which form of Paganism do you adhere to, if you don’t mind me asking? You seem tp believe that many of the old Paganistic religions are tribalistic in nature, and yet you also believe that Wicca, which seems to be a pantheistic form of Paganism is also an evil conception (though I don’t know if you would use the word “evil”).
So, what is it that you practice? And could you explain how it is that this form has come to be non-tribal, and is not blood-oriented?
By the way, I posted part of your article at IBA, with a link back to you suggesting that everyone read the rest, because it’s good stuff.
However, I still don’t understand your point of view, and would love to know more.
Well Pastorius I am a literal polytheist, perhaps following the most ancient form where I happen to simply believe in the literal existence of multiple beings we call gods who desire to be worshiped. I am not an official member of any organized religion and don’t believe in the idea that one must be of certain “blood” to worship anyone. There were Greek gods worshipped in Egypt for example, and prior to the Islamic occupation the Kaba was itself a shrine to over three hundred individual gods from many traditions. People can and should seek out the gods that speak to them.
I don’t believe Wicca is evil, but that modern Wicca is a fraud. Gerald Gardner cobbled together Wicca from Ceremonial magic sources and C.G. Leland’s ethnographic work of Italian Witchcraft practitioners. Wiccan ritual is actually quite well put together, but its theological base, as you said Pantheism but it also has a decidedly post-modern twist nowadays, is built on a house of cards. It has become more of a political movement than a real religious tradition.
Thanks for linking. I enjoy your site and your questions.
Well, I’m glad you enjoy our site. It is not consistently as intellectual as yours, though we do have our moments.
🙂
Thanks for your answer.
By the way, where do you think these gods came from?
I should add to that question that I studied Religion in college (though it was not my major, I took multiple course on Hinduism, Buddhism, and Catholicism), and Hinduism is my favorite religion other than what I call Judeo-Christianity.
I am not absolutely opposed to the idea of multiple gods, or even Pantheism. As a Christian, I believe that God spoke the Universe into existence. And because I believe that God can not speak anything that is not absolutely true and perfect, I believe there is a sense in which everything is absolutely true and perfect.
However, as a follower of Judeo-Christianity, I draw a distinct line between the Creator and the created.
So, I’d love to hear where you believe the gods originated from.
Hi Rob, I usually post on Pastorius’ blog IBA and read your article there. I’m impressed by your analysis.
I’m Objectivist-base atheist but I like the polytheist approach even though I don’t believe in them literally. My favorites tend to be in the Greek pantheon.
You mention Kay Grist whom I do not know, but I’m familiar with a number of similar people as well as some of the “conspirators”. The craziness on both sides there leaks poison into into the fight against collectivism and Islamism. You mention satanic criminals and I wonder if we might be familiar with some of the same people, including some who may be responsible for some of the suspicion aimed at non-Wiccan pagan movements. As Pastorius knows, I used to do a lot of investigation of cults but have been outside that loop for several years.
revereridesagain- I’m familiar with the whole “Pagan” Black Metal movement and their criminality in Europe, as well as some incidents here. Satanism and vampirism play a role in quite a few crimes I’ve covered here. And the Matomoras killings are of interest though I’ve written little about it.
I did some investigation of the “Saint Death” cult and now I’m more interested in the re-emerging Aztec style cults in America. I usually recommend the book Lords of Chaos to people who are interested in Satanism and Pagan convergence. The Kries faction of the Ayaran nations is responsible for American Odinist racial cults in my opinion, as they have been recruiting for them for some years.
Rob,
Will you email me at [Edit], please?