Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Progressives Becoming Disillusioned, Conservatives Becoming Emboldened

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Minds are changing. Hearts are changing.

I believe our cultural climate is approaching a threshold of change toward Truth.

Yesterday at Liberty University, the largest Christian university in the world, Senator Ted Cruz formally announced that he is running for President of the United States.

He told the packed auditorium, "God is not done with America yet."

A growing number of young Americans agree with him.

Others who share similar beliefs will also announce their candidacy for the presidency in the coming days.

While optimism is building among Christians and conservatives, there is a growing pessimism among those who have embraced secular progressivism.

Even those who have led the movement to establish relativistic values, political correctness and the so-called new "Tolerance" and diversity are now expressing regret over the oppressive political correctness regimes that liberals and progressives have implemented on college campuses and elsewhere in our culture.

One leader in the progressive movement recently expressed her disillusionment saying, "There is something dark and vaguely cultish about this particular brand of politics."

University professors are admitting, confidentially and out of fear, that they are fearful to have an honest discussion or to dissent from the secular progressive view of marriage, sexuality and family.

Some in academe are now saying the cultural "codes" sweeping America's campuses "are a striking abridgement of everyones freedom" and that the results of political correctness "are intellectually embarrassing."

Political correctness is suffocating our culture, even those who have advocated for it are now gasping for air.

Is the sun rising on America again?


Aurora Dagny is one of a number of progressives expressing regret over the way the liberal, secular progressive agenda has turned out.

She says the liberal activism of her college years was anti-intelligent, "vaguely cultish" and "the darkest chapter of my life."

Has she had a spiritual transformation? No, not that I know about, but she has concluded her old paths are not working and while she is not speaking to Christians and conservatives, but to her colleagues in the secular progressive movement, there is a message for the Christian and conservative:

Keep sharing the Truth. He will set people free.

Laura Kipnis, a professor in the department of radio, television and film at Northwestern University recently wrote in The Chronicle of Higher Education, "The new codes sweeping American campuses aren't just a striking abridgement of everyones freedom, they're intellectually embarrassing. Sexual paranoia reigns; students are trauma cases waiting to happen. If you want to produce a pacified, cowering citizenry, this would be the method. And in that sense, we're all the victims."

Some students called for her to be punished for saying such a thing. Point well made. This is why many professors are silenced by fear---they don't want to lose their job.

Camille Paglia, best selling author and well known leader in the secular progressive movement, told Reason TV last week, "The gender myopia, the gender monomania has become a disease, has become a substitute for religion...It is impossible that the feminist agenda could ever define the total explanation for human life. This is our problem now, this monomania, the identity politics of the 1970s, so people see everything through the lens of race, or gender, or social class. This is madness, absolute madness."

Aurora Dagny writes, "Almost by accident I took time off from being an activist. I spent time just trying to be happy and at peace... It had been a long while since I had the time and freedom just to think. At first, I pulled on a few threads, and then with that eventually the whole thing unraveled. Slowly, my political worldview collapsed on itself."

On February 24 a debate was held on George Washington University campus on the question of whether "Liberals are stifling intellectual diversity on campus."

Two dissenting voices were asked to participate. Greg Lukianoff, president of Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and Kirsten Powers, a USA Today columnist and Fox News contributor. Neither consider themselves "conservatives."

In her closing remarks, Powers said she used to live in a "liberal bubble" that made her unaware of her own prejudices. She only became aware of her prejudices after becoming a contributor to Fox News, and becoming a Christian. She says she recently accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior. I suspect her politics will follow the change in her heart.

Before the debate, only 33% of the students agreed with the idea that the secular progressive agenda is destroying our freedom. After hearing both sides, 59% agreed.

Napp Nazworth has written an article on this subject. In it he identifies 4 core features of secular progressivism: Dogmatism, Groupthink, A crusader mentality and Anti-intellectualism.

Senator Ted Cruz echoed the sense of optimism that is growing in our nation today among our kids. They've seen and heard it all. If they have been advocates, they are becoming disillusioned---if they have not bought in, they are seeking a different path.

This generation is discovering what the far left secular progressive leaders are admitting. It doesn't work. It's collapsing.

There is a better way.

Jesus explained it like this:

Matthew 7:24-27New International Version (NIV)

The Wise and Foolish Builders
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

A great opportunity lies ahead for those who know the Truth and are willing to share Him in the culture.

Be Wise. Be Encouraged. Be Prepared.