CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, October 29, 2001

The current collapse of the American Left

One of the consequences of the September 11th attacks and the subsequent Anthrax attacks is the virtual collapse of the American Left. This collapse is brought about because those at the Center and to the Right of Center, who have been predicting terrorists attacks on the United States and who have lamented the drastic reduction of the American military over the last eight years, have been proven correct.

Men and women of conscience at the Center-Left are absolutely dumbfounded by recent events. Most of them are patriotic Americans whose sorrow and grief are as profound and deep as that of more conservative Americans. They realize in their heart of hearts that their unquestioning support of the Clinton military cuts and restraints has and is playing a role in the situation we face today. Understandably, their response is silence.

But the reaction of the Far Left is what one would expect. Some of it is unpatriotic; some of it is merely non-patriotic. All of it is misguided and comes wrapped, as usual, in the rhetoric of the separation of church and state and references to journalistic ethics, journalistic objectivity, tolerance, diversity and political correctness.

At a time when our national morale and psyche can be uplifted and comforted by the symbols and mottoes that have sustained us in all our previous struggles to preserve and advance freedom, the Far Left wants them hidden from view. Bear in mind, we are not talking about mainstream American thought here. We are talking about the members of the Woodstock Generation who have infiltrated into positions of leadership in public school administrations, public school boards, town and city councils and into the faculties and administrations of many of our colleges and universities.

For example, school officials in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, ordered the removal of “God Bless America” signs. Channel 12 News on Long Island, NY ordered the removal of American Flags from its newsroom and ordered its reporters to remove American flags from their lapels. Berkeley, CA ordered American flags removed from city fire trucks. The Berkeley City Council voted five-to-four to condemn our war on terrorism. Florida Gulf Coast University ordered “Proud to be American” signs removed. All of these actions were taken under the guise of not wanting to offend others or journalistic objectivity.

When a patriotic memorial service was held at Williams College to honor an alumnus killed on September 11th, the faculty refused to attend. Harvard University accepts millions of dollars from the bin Laden family. But Harvard refuses to allow a R.O.T.C. program on the campus because Harvard says it objects to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy with regard to homosexuals. Ironically, the bin Laden family practices a religion that “cures” homosexuality by public execution. Go figure.

The point here is not to say that these un-patriotic and non-patriotic acts should be prohibited. The right of those on the Far Left to behave as they do must be defended and preserved. But that does not mean that their zany antics should be shielded from criticism.

Hopefully, the American public has come to a “teachable moment” in time when it is prepared to listen and understand what those at the Center-Right and Right have been trying to tell them about the Far Left since the 1960s. These “useful idiots” do not mean us well. Their editorial pages and commentaries tell us America is at fault and that the terrorists were merely responding to our “corrupt” way of life.

Alan Colmes, the duty liberal on the Fox News Channel’s “Hannity and Colmes,” appears shell-shocked from learning that what the conservative Sean Hannity has been telling him for years is true. Former President Reagan used to tell the story about the optimistic boy who, when confronted with a huge pile of manure, said: “There must be a pony in here, somewhere.” The exposure and collapse of the Left may be that pony.

William Hamilton, nationally syndicated columnist and featured commentator for USA Today, is the co-author of The Grand Conspiracy by William Penn – a novel about foreign terrorism directed against America.

©2001. William Hamilton.

Dr. Hamilton can be contacted at:

Email: william@central-view.com