National Review’s John Derbyshire is, how should I say it, “smokin!” in his latest NRO column:
We have not, in fact, gone “beyond tolerance” at all, we have merely invented new kinds of intolerance. We have not swept away caste-feudalism and replaced it with a shining meritocratic egalitarianism; we have just traded in one style of caste-feudalism for another style. This is not a society “in which people feel free to hold whatever private views on all human groups and behaviors.” People are ashamed of their private beliefs and fearful to disclose them. They are baffled by the fact that sincere opinions held by their parents and grandparents, rooted in custom, good sense, scripture, and everyday observation, are now shouted down as “bigoted” and “intolerant.” What use are private beliefs anyway, if they are excluded from the public square by a suffocating conformity, imposed by an ever-vigilant Thought Police backed by armies of predatory lawyers? Under this relentless pressure, private beliefs fade from all but the bravest hearts, to be replaced with the state-approved formulas: diversity, inclusiveness, equality, compassion, respect.
This one is another must-read. While he obviously sounds fired-up, most of Derbyshire’s arguments here are not exaggerated. The new tolerance is really intolerance in disguise:
Beyond tolerance? I don’t see it. What I do see is a trend towards a European-style society dominated by an arrogant overclass of credentialed intellectuals, who are deeply contemptuous of those less articulate than themselves, and profoundly in-tolerant of traditional customs and morals, of Christianity, of normal sexuality, of manual work, of motherhood, of the military virtues, of any expression of ethnic pride or loyalty by anyone not a certified member of a Designated Victim Group. They don’t actually like America much, don’t believe there is much good to be said about this country, and would like to change us into something quite different.
I’d like to quote the whole article, but it would be easier if you just read it yourself.
Drebyshire pulls no punches here, but sometimes we need our “bell rung” just to wake us from our slumber.