Why the Whigs Drive Us Nuts

Dennis Prager, a Whig and Very Confident About It:

"The cultural civil war in which America is engaged is, in large measure, about American exceptionalism. Conservative America generally believes in the concept; liberal America generally finds it chauvinistic and dangerous.

What is American exceptionalism? The belief that America often knows better than the world what is right and wrong. This belief drives most of the world's opinion-makers crazy. And it particularly infuriates the American Left, that part of America that trusts what is called 'world opinion' more than it trusts the American people.

And from where does this belief in American exceptionalism derive? Mostly from the religious beliefs that underlie American values. That is a major reason the current culture war is about the place of Judeo-Christian values in American life.

Those who believe that America must remain a Judeo-Christian nation (in terms of values) are far less respectful of international institutions than those who wish to make America a secular nation... For the Left, i.e., the opponents of American exceptionalism, law is the highest good; for the Right, especially the Judeo-Christian Right, morality is higher than law."

From The Federalist Patriot, current edition.

Prager fails to mention the Puritans' "exceptionalism" belief and glosses over a number of major issues (current and not-so-current) which place clouds on the 'moral' basis he claims for the USA.

In general, he's right. In some specific areas, the US has a long way to go.

Reading Whig-apologists can be a lot of fun, because they leave large targets exposed...targets which are behind their own lines.