Carl Wells Books

This week we conclude our discussion of contrasts between the left and the right on various issues.

16/Illegitimate children. Left/It is great to see the tyranny of the Christian morality be broken. The nuclear family is a way to keep women under the control of a vicious male patriarchy. The state has an obligation financially to support women having children out of wedlock.
Right/Most on the right believe the destruction of the nuclear family to be a great tragedy, and a very bad thing for the illegitimate children living without a father in the home. It is bad also for the men and women having the children. The welfare state’s subsidizing of illegitimacy is foolish and destructive of our entire civilization.

17/Free speech. Left/The left has lost faith in free speech as a concept. The left tries to believe that free speech is good, but hate speech is so horrible and so widespread that the left has begun to try to silence such hate speech by any means necessary, including by violence. The left-leaning media is in vast sympathy with the attempt to silence evil voices on the right, so that they find it difficult to criticize even those who use violence to shut down those speaking hate.
Right/Most on the right continue to believe that free speech is a good thing. They note with apprehension the left’s increasing willingness to silence any voices with which the left is in disagreement. “Hate speech” is usually just a self-indulgent term describing ideas with which the left is in disagreement; usually “hate speech” has nothing at all to do with hate, but a lot to do with trying to speak truths with which the left is uncomfortable. The media’s acquiescence in the violence of those trying to shut down speakers is an example of the media’s moral blindness and moral corruption.

18/The media. Left/The media has an obligation to manipulate people to think in the correct fashion. News should be slanted, because otherwise people may be tempted to believe wrong things, which would be especially dangerous in a democracy where people have the vote, and might be tempted to vote incorrectly.
Right/The media should tell the truth. The media assumes its own leftist leanings are obviously correct, with almost no understanding that other opinions might be closer to reality. The media is dishonest. A few on the right believe that the only way the leftist media can be defeated is to be replaced with a type of media which loves and speaks the truth. But very few on the right have the stomach for this type of battle. Much of the “respectable” right spouts cliches as readily as does the left.

Now for some sort of summary. This exercise has been, for me, more encouraging than I expected.

Leftism is powerful. But it is really powerful only because we on the right are so compromised. When we have high principles and stick to them, we on the right have great advantages over the left. The left’s view of how life is put together is so wildly out of touch with reality that it can offer no long-term competition to goodness and truth. We on the right shoot ourselves in the foot because we often act in ways that are leftist. The left are warmongers. Well, that’s nutty, but far too many on the right are warmongers. The left wants to steal the property of others via taxation. Well, we on the right don’t mind stealing the property of others in order to pay for our Social Security, our Medicare, our public education. And so forth. It is never the left that is strong morally, it is always the right that deserts our principles in order to act like practical leftists. So all we have to do is stop thinking and acting like leftists, and suddenly we have much more solid ground on which to stand. Of course, in practice it ain’t easy to live up to our principles. But it can be done, and when/if we do, leftism can’t compete. Leftism hates goodness, hates reality, hates children, hates kindness, hates God. It is a morality of hate, of envy, of theft, of self-righteous virtue signalling.

As a group, leftists cannot really be helped. They have chosen to live in a fantasy world, have chosen to close their minds to truth. However, they are people made in the image of God, and I am quite confident that many of them can be brought out of the darkness into the light. The Holy Spirit can change people. Many have already been changed, and have rejected leftism after having been part of it–not as many as we hope for, but still many.

Moreover, the Holy Spirit can use individuals on the right to reach individuals on the left. Especially Christians have a great opportunity to reach people. We can love people–we can love even people we hate and despise. I remember one Christian family where the young daughter prayed for Barack Obama. Barack Obama is one of the most despicable people the world has ever known. But that young lady was on the right track. Pray for people, even for vicious people. Leave the results in the hands of God.

We can love our enemies. In fact we are instructed to do so! (Matthew 5:44-45) This is actually logical. We were enemies of God until He regenerated and converted us. We in fairness ought to be willing to love our enemies. Often we can’t like them. But we can love them.

By love I don’t mean some sort of gooey “all you need is love” John Lennonish drivel. I mean love as the Bible defines love. That will mean learning what the Bible teaches about how to treat people. We need to learn to think the way the Bible teaches us to think. It will also mean, most emphatically, that we stop doing idiotic and evil things ourselves. Practical wisdom is hard. But there is no other way to preserve Christian civilization. Jesus Christ is not going to come out of the sky and rescue us. (Dispensationalism is horribly confused.) God is in control, and will work for us, but we also are expected to fight on His side rather than fight against Him. When Christians acquiesce in evil preemptive wars that kill and cripple foreigners (leaving aside our own thoughtless, poorly taught young people), we are fighting on the side of Satan rather than on the side of God. What kind of witness is that to leftists living in their fantasy world? It is a wretched witness, and can only confuse them and give them a plausible excuse to continue in their own warmongering.

One thing this five-part survey has shown me is that left and right are not as far apart as one might imagine. But the solution to our separation is not unity. Unity is only good if the unity is in good things. We need to move further to the right, toward God. Then we give the leftists something good to ponder about. We have let the left down, by our compromises with the truth. The more we become what we should be, the more chance that individuals on the left will have to come out of the darkness into the light. We on the right, Christian and otherwise, need to do a lot better job in the way we think and live. Leftism is widespread, but shallow. It is also obviously ridiculous. Look at the things they advocate. Look at the consequences of their policies. The welfare state destroys lives–but the left keeps calling for more of the welfare state. We have seen the nuttiness on the left, on many issues–as discussed in the contrasts above. The right may be numerically weak, right now, but the worldview of the right is closer to how reality is put together than the worldview of the left. But we on the right need to do a lot better. We are pretty rotten ourselves, as this brief five-part series makes clear.

We continue to show how the left and the right contrast in the U.S. right now. This is a multi-part series. We are ready for:

12/Guns. Left/Guns are very dangerous. Gun-control laws need to be beefed up considerably, so that we can keep guns out of the hands of potential mass-murderers. Gun-free zones are one sensible way to keep people from being shot in at least certain areas.
Right/Most on the right would agree that guns are dangerous. Guns need to be handled with care. But most on the right also are in favor of guns being widely available to ordinary citizens. Gun-control laws seem not to work very well at all. Places like Chicago have strong gun-control laws, but a high rate of gun violence. Gun-free zones are counter-productive; they advertise to prospective killers that such areas are of less danger to the prospective killers, than are other places where guns exist in greater numbers. There is a large variety of opinions, on the right, concerning how best to protect school children from gun violence. A tiny minority of people on the right believe getting our children out of public schools is a good first step to protecting them. Some few Christians would like to see churches take a pro-active step in teaching all our people, adults and young people, how to handle guns properly, how to shoot straight, and how to be ready to protect ourselves if necessary. The right in general considers the left to be living in a fantasy world in regard to guns and gun-control. The right points out that if guns become almost impossible to possess, for law-abiding citizens, that criminals (who by definition don’t care what the law says) will end up having all the guns and all the power. “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns,” as the saying goes. The right often points out the times that guns helped citizens protect themselves against evil people, and accuses the left of being blind to these facts. The right also believes that having legal guns only in the hands of the civil government is a tremendous danger to all of us. Guns are a potential and valuable threat to a civil government grown ever more arrogant and bullying.

13/The definition of good and evil. Left/The left will decide what is good, and what is evil, out of their own instinct. Because their instinct is wise, they will make wise choices. The right is clueless on what is good and what is evil.
Right/The right is split on this issue. Many on the right would also want to define good and evil according to their own instincts. But they thoroughly distrust the instinct of the left, and believe the left is clueless on what is good and what is evil. A few (very few) Christians believe that the definitions of good and evil can be found out only by searching the will and character of God as revealed in the Bible. For these few, God is good and is the only one who can help us discover what is good and what is evil.

14/The Federal Reserve. Left/The Federal Reserve is obviously needed, and is good. They are needed to set interests rates properly, and to stimulate the economy when capitalism proves to need a jab in the ribs because it has gone off the rails slightly or greatly.
Right/The right is split on this issue. Most on the right probably agree that the Federal Reserve is a needed institution. Its policies may often be foolish, but somebody needs to have their hand on the controls, and the Federal Reserve is the logical candidate. Others on the right, their numbers relatively few, believe the Federal Reserve is a complete disaster, and far from being needed, needs instead to cease to exist. The market will set interest rates properly, but only if there is no Federal Reserve to mess things up. We need honest money, silver and gold, not fiat money. An excellent book on the Federal Reserve is The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve, by G. Edward Griffin. It is currently available among the usual suspects on the Internet, for about $10.92 (shipping included). The book has 608 pages.

15/Abortion. Left/Abortion is a very good thing. Women have a right to do what they want with their own bodies. Anyone on the right who wants to end abortion is a cruel bully with fascist tendencies.
Right/The right is split on this issue. A few on the right are in broad agreement with the left, that the woman has a right to do what she wants with her own body. Many others on the right, however, believe that abortion is murder. A woman does not have a right to murder another human being, even if that human being is in her own body. Murder is murder. The 57,000,000 unborn babies who have been aborted since Roe v. Wade (1973) is a holocaust 9 and 1/2 times as great as killing 6,000,000 Jews in World War II. A nation which shrugs at the murder of children is a nation ripe for the wrath of God. The Christian trumpet on this issue has given off an uncertain sound. Many Christians have kept silent on the issue, and try not to think about it too much. A few Christians have spoken up, but not as many as one would have expected given the importance of a life/death issue.

Part V, next week, should conclude our discussion of the contrasts of left and right on various issues. There should be plenty of space to come up with a summary.

We continue our multi-part series on the contrasts between the left and the right, especially in regard to the current U.S. situation.

8/Generosity. Left/The left believes themselves to be the good and the generous people in the U.S. The right, by their attitudes and the way they vote, prove themselves to be selfish creeps who want to hold other people down rather than help them.
Right/The right believes the left is generous, all right–generous with Other People’s Money. When it comes to giving financially, of one’s own money rather than Other People’s Money, it turns out that the right is considerably more generous than the left. Arthur C. Brooks did plenty of research, and wrote a book with a couple sub-titles: Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism: America’s Charity Divide–Who Gives, Who Doesn’t, and Why it Matters. The book came out in 2006. Mr. Brooks began as a liberal, but his research findings, initially shocking to him, pushed him to the right. The left gives by thinking of themselves as generous, and by wanting you to pay more taxes; they don’t belly up to the bar with their own money the way people on the right do. A few weeks ago Mr. Brooks’ book was available for $4.98 (shipping included) at Alibris. I devoted a blog post to this book on Dec. 22, 2016. On the darker side of giving on the right, Christians give only 2.5% of their increase to the church–one quarter of the tithe God requires (info available at emptytomb.org). This hampers the church’s ability to reach out to others. So while the right is more generous than the left, it is probably only because the competition is so pitiful.

9/Multiculturalism. Left/Multiculturalism clearly is wonderful. No one culture is superior to another. People on the right are gutless bigots, afraid of The Other. Get over yourselves, rightists. It’s a big, wonderful world out there, and we need to welcome other cultures into our own uptight, buttoned down country.
Right/No, multiculturalism is dangerous. Western civilization is superior to all other cultures. Some on the right believe Christianity is a large part of the reason that our culture is superior. A culture can be overwhelmed by numbers of outsiders coming in and living by their own morality rather than the morality of the country they are coming to. Most on the right believe our current national culture is in a very fragile condition right now, and is in danger of being destroyed. Assimilation of outsiders seems problematic right now, since we no longer seem able to offer something powerfully attractive to which outsiders want to join. (Of course outsiders are powerfully attracted to job opportunities they don’t have in their own countries, and to welfare freebies.)

10/Public education. Left/Public education at every level is a wonderful thing; it is how we prepare thoughtful citizens for our democracy. Public school teachers are underpaid. We need to raise their pay. We need to see that humane values are communicated via public education.
Right/The right is split on this issue. Most on the right are in agreement that public education is a very wonderful thing. Such people might be frustrated that public education seems not to teach kids to read and write and add and subtract very well, but they have no problem with public education as a concept. Some on the right believe public education is one of the most destructive institutions in our country’s history. Such people are relatively few, but growing in numbers gradually. Most Christians side with the majority opinion that public education is a good thing, and would add that it simply needs to be reformed somewhat. Some on the right believe that capture of the public schools, and capture of the public (and private) universities, is how the left indoctrinates our young people in its leftish ideology. A few on the right (very few) believe it is the responsibility of parents to educate their children at their own expense.

11/Democracy. Left/Democracy is the only wise form of government. Democracy is so valuable that it is worth our treasure and the lives of our young people, to import democracy by force to countries which do not yet have this form of government. When, in our own country, the people prove foolish in the choices they make and in their desires, their foolishness can be overcome by court decisions, and by selective enforcement of laws. The more wise of the people on the left are thus not too hampered by the foolishness of the crowd. Democracy is clearly the only viable form of government.
Right/The right is split on this issue. Most on the right would agree that democracy is the only sensible form of government. But they would point out that when leftist ideas begin to hold sway, great problems arise. So democracy can prove dangerous if the wrong people are running the government. That is why we have to win the next election. However, there is a significant minority of people on the right, who are suspicious of democracy as even a theoretical concept. If the voice of the people is the voice of God, then what is the voice of the guy who the Bible claims to be God? A soothing background noise, to be ignored if inconvenient? In fact, the right as a whole has thought very little about which civil government might be legitimate, and why. Covenantal Christianity (that is, biblical Christianity) has potential answers, but almost nobody on the right is interested–yet. That probably won’t change until our democracy runs into such practical problems that we are almost forced to do some theoretical thinking.

We will plan on resuming with part IV next week.

Last week we began to look at the contrasts between left and right. Eventually, at the end of the multi-part series, we will try to come to some (tentative) conclusions. For now, we want to see how the left and the right differ on multiple issues. We are ready for issue number 4.

4/Christianity. Left/For much of the left, Christianity really is THE enemy. The more hardcore among the leftists understand, or at least sense, that biblical Christianity offers a worldview sharply different from leftist ideas. Every instinct tells them that Christianity offers a threat to leftism.
Right/The right is split on the issue of Christianity. Some on the right believe that Christianity is central to defending civilization. Others (many libertarians) believe we can get along without it, when it comes to thinking through issues of importance. Some people who make no claim to be Christian nevertheless think of themselves, to some greater or lesser extent, as “cultural Christians.” Such people have a respect for western civilization, and credit Christianity for being at least a large part of the reason western civilization exists and has some good aspects. Others on the right have no particular interest or respect for Christianity, but they seldom picture Christianity as THE enemy. Among Christians themselves, Christians like their own religion, of course. But only a handful seem to believe that Christianity, applied and theoretical, is central to maintaining western civilization. Go figure. Or maybe they are just on to something, and Christianity really is dispensable when it comes to having a viable civilization.

5/Government power. Left/For the left, more power to the central government is a key to making necessary reforms. The masses are ignorant, selfish, thoughtless, bigoted. They need to be directed by leaders formulating wise laws. The central government clearly is the way to exercise the needed authority to make the reforms which the left perceives as crucial. Top down control of a country is necessary.
Right/Almost all of the right is suspicious of the power of a central government. The masses may be ignorant, selfish, thoughtless, and bigoted–but so are the leaders. A virtuous, principled, just person is rare. Power is better when it is split up in many smaller pieces, rather than concentrated all in one place. The best way to run a country is not by top down control, but rather by bottom up control in which people have limited ability to tell others what to do. Local control makes common sense. Small government is better than big government. (Unless, of course, big government is sending us Social Security checks and other freebies.)

6/Theocracy. Left/Theocracy is a horror. Theocracy means Christians breaking down the wall of separation between church and state, and trying to boss everyone else around with their bigoted laws based on a wicked God who is a cruel bully. Theocracy is one of the biggest threats to the U.S.
Right/The right is split on this issue. Many on the right would be in substantial agreement with the left, that theocracy is a potential danger. Most people on the right (and most people on the left, as well) have thought very little on the issue of theocracy, however. A few on the right (very few) understand that theocracy is an inescapable concept. Every nation in the world, without exception, is a theocracy. The only question is, what type of theocracy. The leftists want a liberal humanist theocracy, in which the laws of their god (themselves) are established and obeyed. Are leftists really so blind as not to understand that they want a theocracy of their own? Yes, probably. Leftists are not really very good at thinking theoretically. Even obvious things escape them. In their defense, almost everyone on the right is as blind on this issue as are the leftists. Do some on the right want a Christian theocracy? Yes, of course. But such people (among whom I am one) usually would prefer to split the U.S. into many segments. That way there could be many different types of theocracy. The leftists could have many leftist theocracies. The Christians also could have many or at least a few theocracies. There would be, potentially, considerable variety in the types of theocracy in operation. The notion that theocracy is an inescapable concept is one which most on the left and the right have not considered. It is a theoretical blank spot for both sides. A superb book on the advantages of having small countries rather than big ones is The Breakdown of Nations by Leopold Kohr. I devoted a blog post to the book on October 13, 2016. Kohr’s book is readily available on the Internet. It is, however, a bit pricey, at $15.67 (shipping included) at abebooks (slightly higher elsewhere). Try inter-library loan first, then buy the book if you think it is worth the investment.

7/Immigration. Left/All immigration into the U.S. is a wonderful thing. People on the right are opposed to immigration because they are bigots and racists. Immigration strengthens and invigorates the U.S. We are a nation of immigrants. “Dreamers” are people who should be allowed to remain in this country. Immigration reform is necessary. Immigration provides voters for the Democratic Party, the party of the future, of generosity, of practical wisdom. (This last point is not made publicly by leftists, but we can be sure they are well aware that immigration creates countless new voters for the Democratic Party.)
Right/The right is split on this issue. Some on the right believe that there should be completely open borders. More on the right, however, are opposed to widespread immigration. Some on the right believe that each country has a right to be itself, and should not have its character changed by immigration forced upon it. Many on the right want to end Muslim immigration completely, and want to reverse the tide of Mexican/Latin American immigration. Some on the right want to build a wall on our southern border. Others on the right believe this will be just another make work project for favored companies, will be vastly expensive, and won’t keep out immigrants anyway. The will to end or reverse immigration is what is needed, and some on the right recognize that the country as a whole lacks the will–or at least our “elite” handlers lack the will–to take the steps necessary to end or reverse immigration.

Next week we will take up with topic #8.

As a nation we are greatly divided. So we hear lots of calls for unity. These calls are misguided. What we need is more division, not less. Who is going to find unity with those who are intellectual/moral/spiritual enemies? Ain’t gonna happen. Nor should it. Better to face the truth squarely, and try to figure out if anything reasonable can be done about it. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3, KJV; usually I use the NAS, but the KJV makes my point better here!)

This will be a multi-part series.

For months I have tried to see if I could come up with the most fundamental way in which the left differs from the right. I have continued to fail in this quest. I will give my tentative answer as to the fundamental difference between left and right near the end of the final part, but I stress that it is tentative.

Meanwhile, here I would simply like to contrast some of the notions of the left with those of people on the right.

Neoconservatives, despite the word conservative in their name, I consider part of the left. There may be issues on which they are less leftist than other leftists, but in my opinion they are basically leftists. Anyway, as far as I am concerned, the left can have them. Libertarians are part of both the right and the left. It is, as the saying goes, complicated. Christians are part of both the left and the right. Again, it is complicated.

I consider myself part of the right, but definitely part of the Christian right, rather than just sort of the mainstream right. So be warned. I will try to be fair, but if I get a little snarky here and there, you will at least understand where I’m coming from.

Here, in no particular order, are issues on which we will try to contrast the views of the left and the right. I will begin with the view of the left on a particular issue, then give the view from the right.

1/Foreign interventions. Left/For the left, foreign interventions are almost always good. The U.S. is “the indispensable nation.” We stand taller, we see further. Ask Madeleine Albright. We need to run world history, or at least guide world history by applying appropriate pressure at appropriate places. Complication: a few on the left (very few) are suspicious of foreign interventions.
Right/The right is quite split on this issue. Many on the right, both conservative and Christian, are in basic agreement with the left. In fact it is probably true that most of the right is in agreement with the left concerning foreign policy and foreign interventions. A few on the right, paleoconservatives rather than conservatives, are suspicious of interventions. Of course the more we delve into details, the more complicated it gets. For example, while some paleoconservatives would avoid foreign wars, those same people might support giving aid to authoritarian governments who are opposed to our enemies. A tiny handful of people on the right want to leave other countries strictly alone and mind our own business. But not many. (Christians wanting to leave other countries alone should hold their organizational meeting in a phone booth rather than in Madison Square Garden.) On the whole, there is more unity on foreign interventions, among the left and the right, than there is on any other issue.

2/The welfare state. Left/For the left, the welfare state is obviously good. It needs to be expanded. Refusal to expand it is a sign of selfishness. Poor people need food, shelter, and lots of other things. Rich people and even middle class people have too much; they should and must share with the poor.
Right/The welfare state is obviously destructive. By removing responsibility from people and giving them government handouts (extracted from taxpayers by force), you destroy people morally and spiritually. Moreover, the welfare state is more likely to keep poor people in poverty than it is really to help people climb into an excellent livelihood. When people no longer have the responsibility to take care of themselves, but get a tiny stipend large enough to keep them alive (sort of), most people are unable or unwilling to do what it takes to lift themselves out of moderately comfortable poverty. However, the right has a a very selective view of what is welfare. For most people on the right, Social Security, Medicare, and public education are not welfare. Except that they really are. But because we on the right are receiving the welfare, we don’t call it welfare. So while the left and the right disagree completely, in theory, on the value of the welfare state, in practice there is considerably more agreement than we might have expected. It becomes a matter of which form of welfare we support.

3/Sexual behavior. Left/For the left, almost any type of sexual behavior is legitimate.
Right/The right is split on this issue. Many on the right are in basic agreement with the left. Some on the Christian right continue to believe that homosexual behavior is sinful, that transgenderism is nonsense, that chaste behavior prior to marriage for both men and women is required by God and is really a great idea, and so on. But there has been tremendous slippage from these old timey beliefs, among Christians. Fornication is not all that frowned upon, in many Christian circles. So while there is still a vast difference between leftist views on sexual behavior, and views on the right on the same topic, the right is moving toward the left, at least in terms of numbers. There are of course numerous fuddy-duddy holdouts on the right, but they are increasingly outnumbered.

Next week we will continue with part II.