Tag Archives: Dennis Prager

Commentary

Dennis Prager investigates why men are in decline and how to fix it

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Another great column by Jewish scholar Dennis Prager.

Excerpt:

What is a man (as opposed to a boy)? The traditional understanding was that a man is he who takes responsibility for others — for his family, his community and his country — and, of course, for himself. A man stood for ideals and values higher than himself. He conducted himself with dignity. And he was strong.

[…]Boys today have fewer adult men in their lives than ever before. Many boys are not raised by any father. More are not raised by a father who lives in the home full time. Nearly every teacher and principal American boys have in elementary and high school is a female. The boy’s clergy person and physician may well be women. And few male figures in contemporary film radiate manhood as defined above.

[…]America has become a rights-centered rather than a responsibility-centered society. Aside from helping to produce a pandemic of narcissism, the rights-centered mindset is the opposite of the obligation/responsibility-centered mindset that makes a boy into a man. It is not good for either sex to be rights-preoccupied; but it is particularly devastating to developing men, as men are supposed to be obligation-directed.

[…]Males no longer have distinctive roles. Men do best when they are relied upon, when needed; and they feel most needed when they do something distinct from women.

[…]Many churches and synagogues have been feminized. This has occurred in at least three important ways: Clergy are increasingly female (and touchy-feely males) — for the first time in Christian and Jewish history; God is often depicted as androgynous and no longer either demanding or judging (He just loves all the time); and religion has been changed from morally and theologically demanding to a therapeutic model.

I think one of the big problems today is that men have abandoned their responsibilities to protect and provide because they are no longer appreciated. Instead, people have shifted the traditional male responsibilities to the government. Men have been replaced with a police force, welfare checks, social workers, and single-payer health care. If there is no recognition for doing hard things, having good character, and filling an important role, then men won’t even try.

Commentary

Dennis Prager explains the conflict between liberty and equality

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A classic column by well-known Jewish scholar Dennis Prager.

Excerpt:

Right and the left do not want the same America.

The left wants America to look as much like Western European countries as possible. The left wants Europe’s quasi-pacifism, cradle-to-grave socialism, egalitarianism and secularism in America. The right wants none of those values to dominate America.

The left wants America not only to have a secular government, but to have a secular society. The left feels that if people want to be religious, they should do so at home and in their houses of prayer, but never try to inject their religious values into society. The right wants America to continue to be what it has always been — a Judeo-Christian society with a largely secular government (that is not indifferent to religion). These opposing visions explain, for example, their opposit views concerning nondenominational prayer in school.

[…]The left envisions an egalitarian society. The right does not. The left values equality above other values because it yearns for an America in which all people have similar amounts of material possessions. This is what propels the left to advocate laws that would force employers to pay women the same wages they pay men not only for the same job but for “comparable” jobs (as if that is objectively ascertainable). The right values equality in opportunity and strongly believes that all people are created equal, but the right values liberty, a man-woman based family and other values above equality.

And the same thing goes for education, health care, etc. If a man chooses to work hard so that he can afford to send his children to Christian schools to help them to form a Christian worldview, the left steps in and confiscates his earnings and uses them to operate secular public schools to undermine his children’s worldview. If a man chooses to work hard so that he can buy the best health care for his beloved wife if she gets sick, the left steps in and confiscates his earnings and uses them to pay for breast implants (NHS). They call it equality. But where is a man’s liberty to pursue his life the way he wants to?

By the way, I noticed that Dennis had the chance to speak to the Republicans in Congress.

Here’s a part of his remarks that is relevant:

I have a motto that I offer to you because this is the ultimate moral case for us: “The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.”

We have to learn to make our complex beliefs simple — though never simplistic. And this is our powerful response to government doing more and more for people: “The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.”

And here’s how we explain it: The bigger the government, the less I do for myself, for my family and for my community. That is why we Americans give more charity and devote more time to volunteering than Europeans do. The European knows: The government, the state, will take care of me, my children, my parents, my neighbors and my community. I don’t have to do anything. The bigger question in many Europeans’ lives is, “How much vacation time will I have and where will I spend that vacation?”

That is what happens when the state gets bigger — you become smaller. The dream of America was that the individual was to be a giant. The state stays small so as to enable each of us to be as big as we can be. We are each created in God’s image. The state is not in God’s image, but it is vying to be that. This is the battle you’re fighting. You are fighting a cosmic battle because this is the most important society ever devised, the United States of America.

This conflict between equality and liberty used to be a pretty well understood back when people understood politics and government, but not anymore. Now everyone votes based on their emotions. Compassion, not knowledge.

UPDATE: Andrew comments:

Let me just clarify something regarding EQUALITY: The right believes in both liberty and equality . The difference is that the right believes in “equality of opportunity” while the left believes in “equality of outcomes”. Equality of opportunity is where everyone gets the opportunity to better their lot in life, whether they do so or not. Equality of outcomes refers to the re-distribution of wealth (if you work too hard and do well for yourself your money will be forcibly taken and given to those who don’t work very hard).

Commentary

Dennis Prager explains why big government means small citizens

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I noticed this article by Dennis Prager that I highly recommend to all my readers. (H/T Muddling Towards Maturity, The Pugnacious Irishman)

The title is “The Bigger the Government, the Smaller the Citizen”.

Excerpt:

Here are five reasons why bigger government makes less impressive people.

1. People who are able to take care of themselves and do so are generally better than people who are able to take care of themselves but rely on others.

[…]2. The more people come to rely on government, the more they develop a sense of entitlement — an attitude characterized by the belief that one is owed (whatever the state provides and more).

[…]3. People develop disdain for work.

[…]4. People become preoccupied with vacation time.

[…]5. People are rendered more selfish.

What does it say about us, that were are willing to give up our own freedom in order to live off our neighbor’s hard work?

Here’s more stuff from Muddling: