Another Example of What Reagan Knew

Thank goodness for YouTube. There is a lot of archived material there; like these comments from President Reagan…

Many of us have been talking about these very ideas. I think Reagan’s observations and suggestions are just as wise now as they were then.

However, have we held up our end of the bargain? Reagan speaks of “informed patriotism.” Have we worked at spreading that? I think yes, but only more recently have we begun in the volume needed to make any changes. I fear that we have not come even remotely close to achieving “informed patriotism” among the people.

Through the “Reagan Revolution” in the 80’s, and the “Republican Revolution” in the 90’s, Conservatives took political power, but did not engage the culture sufficiently to achieve a long lasting change. Conservatives could regain the White House again, as well as both houses of Congress. However, the left still owns the culture (as evidenced by it’s continued decline). They control most of the media, most of entertainment, and almost all of the public educational establishment. We can gain position, but without making inroads into the popular culture and institutions, we will still have powerful forces aligned against liberty, freedom, and the America we love.

While the situation seems grim, there are signs of change. Real change-the kind that results in a major switch in public opinion. We see Fox News drawing more viewers than every other cable news network combined. Talk radio ratings are also up. Print is dying, and in particular, the major liberal leaning newspapers. People are becoming disenchanted with the media (formerly known as mainstream), and they are turning to more right leaning source of information. And, when they do, they find out what the mainstream media has been refusing to report, or has been distorting. If these trends continue, we may be able to see real change.

I sometimes get the sense that Conservatives take the fact that the media, culture, and the educational establishment are against us, and always will be. I think that this is a mistaken concept. It is certainly true right now, but we are seeing the country move to the right. As the left continues to wreck the country, that trend will continue. Conservative voices in entertainment are speaking out, and Conservative groups like Campus Reform are trying to spread the word. If we support them, and others find their voices, we can start to see the actual retaking of these institutions. It might take a long time, even decades, but the end result will be well worth the wait.

What is to be done? I think many things need doing. For those of you that read my Cultural Marxism post, you know that the left began what they called the “long march through the institutions” decades ago. Their goal-to infiltrate and eventually take control of our major institutions. Then, turn those institutions against our cultural. They have been incredibly successful in that regard. Think back to Reagan’s words for confirmation. He discusses that children would learn about patriotism at home, in the community, in school, and in the popular culture. How many people get a sense of patriotism from the last two sources now?

I believe that Conservatives need to retake those institutions, by having interested people gaining access, opening the doors to others, and changing the system from within. The left will resist. But if we all help, their resistance will fail.

In the end, we can win all the elections we want, but as long as the left still controls much of the culture, all victories will be temporary. We have to stop thinking about delaying and impeding the left, and start working towards re-taking the country. We can’t think of doing big government in a “conservative way.” That is antithetical to our beliefs, and it will be just as illogical and dysfunctional as any government bureaucracy invariably becomes. We need to tear out the liberal power structure, as any concentration of power WILL eventually be corrupted and abused. The concentration should not just be about stopping the left from implementing more destructive policies, but undoing and abolishing earlier ones.

So, as usual, one of my posts touches on expansive issues. There is now way to cover all of this in one post. Please consider this an open thread.

© Matt Ross

Originally posted at Conservative Hideout 2.0

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