Thursday morning Claire and I joined Pat Osborne, John Malek, Quint & Carol Coppi, Jim & Jeanne Lawson (and another 150 or so conservatives) for a breakfast talk by columnist and radio broadcaster, Dennis Prager. Sponsored by The Answer Omaha Radio and held at the Hotel RL, the event seemed to be a success on several levels. Kudos to 1420 AM.Dennis Prager was certainly in fine form Thursday morning and his observations and exhortations regarding the culture wars were enthusiastically received by the audience. Want a few highlights of his talk? Well, I transcribe below some of the notes I took on the back of a bank envelope.
* Prager reminded us that he opposed Donald Trump’s nomination throughout the primaries. However, he supported Trump enthusiastically in the general election although frequently he presented the choice between Clinton and Trump to something like the choice of two doors. Behind one of them, you were guaranteed, was a man-eating lion while, behind the other, there only might be a man-eating lion. People of moral values thus had a clear choice for Donald Trump. That being said, Prager told the audience that he “is amazed at the great job Trump has done” so far.
* "The modern university is a wisdom-free institution."
* The left does not represent liberalism. Indeed, the modern left is decidedly anti-liberal. Examples? Think of the ideals of Harry Truman, John Kennedy, or Henry Jackson (patriotism, optimism, strong national defense, freedom of speech, opposition to big government and government handouts, traditional moral values, etc.) vs. the whining, value-free authoritarianism of Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders and Nancy Pelosi.
* The left is actively, purposefully undermining the ideals of Western civilization.
* America’s historic trinity of ideals? Liberty. In God We Trust. E pluribus unum.
* The left represents the legacy of the French Revolution – godless, intolerant, and violent. It demands equality by denying liberty and justice.
* The Democrats are now all the same. Republican candidates (at every level) must run against the Democrat Party and its positions and tactics.
* “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Proverbs 9:10)
* The question, not merely to ponder, but to excite action on our part should be, “How American is America going to be?”
* The left is, by valuing everything according to race and class, is proving itself racist and elitist.
* “Hysteria is to the left what oxygen is to biological life.”
* Canada is already lost. So is Europe. Are we next to fall, the last great hope on earth for freedom?
* The left does not hate evil. They hate carbon emissions and pro-life advocates and Israel and conservative speakers on college campuses…but they don’t hate evil.
* “The university, at least for students in the humanities and social sciences, is a fraud.”
* A key problem in America? The grandchildren of Jews and Christians do not know Judaism or Christianity.
* The problem with Congress is democracy -- for voters today are addicted to government handouts. Today’s Democrats do not, as did JFK, put the interests of the nation before the wants of the individual. No, they literally pay for votes by promising more and more free benefits to voters.
