"Culture Warrior"

I just picked up this book by Bill O'Reilly. I've read his past works ("Those Who Trespass", "Who's Looking Out for You", "The No Spin Zone", and "The O'Reilly Factor") and this is probably his most assertive foray into American culture yet. Although I haven't finished yet, I can say he pulls no punches on who is on the two major sides of the culture war - Traditionalists & Secular-Progressives.

I make no bones about it, I'm a traditionalist through & through. To me, holding moral relativism as a major tenet is wrong. There are such things are "absolute truths" & while I do agree it's essential to the American spirit to allow difference of opinion and public discourse, I can't accede to the secular-progressive claim that evil is simply a "disease".

Bill O'Reilly is definitely a traditionalist. In this book, he discusses topics familiar to viewers of his cable television show on Fox News. I won't spoil it by including quotes. I will say that he communicates the imminent threat the Secular-Progressive movement poses to traditional America by way of mass-media & the judiciary - of which both are not directly affected by the election process. Essentially, the agenda presented by both forces out the concept of "government by the people", particularly in the judiciary. Where judges were charged with interpreting the laws of this country, some extremists on the bench seek to impose their ideological views on citizens.

My opinion on the judiciary is they have no place in lawmaking outside determining the constitutionality of existing law. Forcing the people to accept - for instance - gay marriage when even liberal states such as Oregon have rejected it at the polls is unacceptable. The government in the United States is beholden to the people, meaning those in government who are elected officials serve at our pleasure & are expected to represent us well. Sure, many times they do let us down, but that's for another post.

Back to the topic..."Culture Warrior" is an excellent book in which Mr. O'Reilly iterates the culture war in detail. Everything from names to milestones are included with references. Whether you agree with Bill O'Reilly is not the question this book puts to the reader. The question I take from the reading is, "How important is it to keep traditional America strong"?