The war on American values meme

In a discussion that started in the comments of this post at Orcinus about how "the Left" was said by Lou Rosetto to be a "fellow traveler" of "Islamic fascism" even though in America it is Republican party which has for a influential chunk of its constituency the ideological equivalents of Islamic theocrats I remarked that:

"The left" is defined as whoever America's enemy is.

My theory is that liberal hate replaced Jew hate in the right-wing mind after the horrors of WWII made it politically incorrect to blame Jews for everything wrong.

No one wants to act like a Nazi afterall.

That's the motivating factor for Holocaust deniers - they want to make it acceptable to hate Jews again.

A commenter replied that "the mainstream punditocracy comes about as close to 'Jew hate' as you can get when they start talking about 'decadent coastal elites', 'Hollywood elites' and 'international financiers'... the only things missing are, well, the word 'Jew' and grotesque caricatures of obese, unshaven, hook-nosed men in tophats and tails," and another added that, "much of today's anti-Semitism is hidden behind codewords. Funny how these words also conflate "Jew" with "Liberal (that is, Communist)."

I then answered that I agree that there is hidden anti-semitism in the culture war punditry, but that it is hidden from the right-winger himself. The horrors of WWII demonstrated the wrongness of anti-semitism, so the meme evolved to scapegoat a group that was acceptable to blame: liberal secular progressives. People like Bill O'Reilly who warn about the secular elites in Hollywood and the evil anti American ACLU are not conscious of how such rhetoric seems to be the same rhetoric that was employed previously, minus the overt anti-Semetism.

As an example of the development of the meme I referenced the war on Christmas, outlining that:

• In the 20's - Jews were accused of attacking Christmas
• In the 60's - Communists were accused of attacking Christmas
• Now - Liberals are accused of attacking Christmas

Now, this "theory" of mine is just a hunch, and I have not really investigated it all that much to see if it hold true. But it is consistent with Dave Neiwert's research into how extremist ideas have been making their way into the mainstream political discourse via transmitters who present sanitized palatable versions of these views.

Consider, for example, this forum entry I found from someone who is most likely a Stormfront member as the unevolved form of the meme.

Primarily due to the fact they control and own all of the most radical leftists groups such as the ACLU, NAACP, ADL, etc and attack everything I believe in. They have a monopoly on the press and use it to attack everything I and America stands for along with hollywood which promotes absolute filth. They vote overwhelmingly democrat and are responsible for neoconservatism. They try to impose their communist beliefs on the general public regardless of what public opinion is. A good example of this is: Howard Stern, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Muary Povich etc. If you see something indecent there is a 99 percent change its a Jew behind it. I am serious and it's true. Not all Jews are like this you always have your acceptions but the majority of them do have radical political beliefs. They are always the biggest obstacle to decency and passing a measure which is in the best interest of America. Their continual bigotry and intolerance towards Christians and people who disagree with them can no longer be ignored.

I believe that Asians have a tendency to be liberal but they keep to themselves and do not impose their viewpoints on everyone else unlike Jews. I respect that. They are entiteled to their beliefs and as long as they do not try to shove it down my throat I dont have a problem with them.

I feel that it is absolutely imperative to notify the public of the dangers of having our motion picture industry dominated by Jewish Marxists. When liberal radicals own networks which have a tremendous amount of influence they are going to chose programming which reflect their personal views; views which are contrary to the principles of our democracy. These viewpoints are being filtered down to the unsuspecting general public which therefore influence: public policy, opinion, culture, and redefine our society and lower cultural and religious standards. Promoting communist propaganda is not in our best interest. Our movies are broadcast to the world and it reflects on America. Jewish control of America needs to be broken or we cant expect this country to maintain it's prosperity.

If we were to excise the racism what would be left? You'd be left with something that could easily pass for something written or said by any mainstream culture war pundit. Let's take a look.

Bill O'Reilly:

It's hard to be optimistic when fundamental creeds like America's Judeo-Christian philosophy, like competitive capitalism, like responsibility for one's actions are all under fire by the likes of George Soros and other "open society people."

Even the optimism of President Reagan would be challenged by organizations like the ACLU, the NAACP, and some large urban newspapers who want to tear down traditional America and replace it with a secular entitlement-driven system.

Jerome Corsi

This year's fare of little watched movies insisted on jamming America once again with Hollywood's "in your face" extreme leftist agenda. If "Brokeback Mountain" had won, we would have been besieged with an emboldened gay lobby even more determined to advance their crusade in our movie theaters and public schools.

Don Feder

Abetted by activists in the federal judiciary, the Anti-Defamation League and American Civil Liberties Union are intent on removing all prayers, all religious symbols and all references to God from our public life.

Appeals to inclusiveness are a cover.

Ultimately, they seek to purge Judeo-Christian morality from our legal system and government. They understand what many Christians and Jews miss--without God, there is no basis for traditional morality.

Once the vestiges of faith have been swept aside, they can fashion the America they long for--one that will make San Francisco on a Saturday night seem like a Baptist revival meeting on Sunday morning.

Bill O'Reilly

Anyway, Fox News has risen up to become a major force -- factor, if you will -- in America. And it is a counter to the secular progressive, left-wing media, which dominates the newspaper industry and is very sympathetic in the television industry. And everybody knows that. That, that's provable. The studies have shown it. Newspaper, after newspaper, after newspaper where you live.

Traditional Values Coalition

The list goes on, but it is important to see the coalition that has formed: Islamists, Marxists, Hollywood Liberals, and Homosexual activist groups – all aligned with the Revolutionary Communist Party to vilify President Bush, Christians, and the war against Islamic terrorism.

...

A dangerous Marxist/Leftist/Homosexual/Islamic coalition has formed – and we’d better be willing to fight it with everything in our power. These people are playing for keeps. Their hero, Mao Tse Tung is estimated to have murdered upwards of 60 million people during his reign of terror in China. Do we think we can escape such persecution if we refuse to fight for what is right?

And then, of course, there's Ann Coulter, who believes there is a liberal Communist plot against America. In Treason she writes

The portrayal of Senator Joe McCarthy as a wild-eyed demagogue destroying innocent lives is sheer liberal hobgoblinism. Liberals weren't cowering in fear during the McCarthy era. They were systematically undermining the nation's ability to defend itself while waging a bellicose campaign of lies to blacken McCarthy's name. Everything you think you know about McCarthy is a hegemonic lie. Liberals denounced McCarthy because they were afraid of getting caught, so they fought back like animals to hide their own collaboration with a regime as evil as the Nazis.

Later, Coulter states

Americans cannot comprehend how their fellow countrymen could not love their country. But the left's anti-Americanism is intrinsic to their entire worldview. Liberals promote the right of Islamic fanatics for the same reason they promote the rights of adulterers, pornographers, abortionists, criminals, and Communists. They instinctively root for anarchy against civilization. The inevitable logic of the liberal position is to be for treason.

Those are just a few examples. But one need only turn on the tv or read the latest Limbaugh, Malkin, Bozell, etc. column to hear about how far left liberal radicals in Hollywood and the media are attacking Christianity and American values. Perhaps these people might rethink their views if they noticed how similar it sounds to the anti-Semitic rhetoric of the past.