It is very interesting to hear this perspective from current college undergrads. Although I cannot agree with everything you have written, I am heartened that there are some like you that, while certainly a minority, can recognize the left-wing, systematic attack on American culture for what it is.
When I was an undergrad, in the mid-80s, I was shocked by the extreme left's systematic attack on our way of life and what I had been brought up to believe were common American values. When I was in law school in the mid-90s, the influence of the far left was even more evident.
I am a Midwesterner, but as a grad student and now as a laywer, I have spent a fair amount of time in and around the Bay Area. I would be surprised if the average Iraqi hates America more than the average Berkeley student or professor. It is nauseating to see such hate for the very system that allows those folks to spew their anti-America vitriol.
Perhaps the two most effective prongs of the left's attack have been "multiculturalism" and "political correctness."
"Multiculturalism" is, almost by definition, anti-American. Let's do away with the melting pot. Instead, let's encourage everyone to celebrate the culture of their ancestors, to the exclusion of celebrating their American heritage.
A necessary component of multiculturalism is giving people reasons to reject American culture and heritage. How do we do that? Let's paint patriots like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson as racists and bigots, unworthy of respect, let along status as cultural icons. Let's teach kids in school in their "native" language, rather than insisting that they learn English. Let's entertain notions like reprations. Let's make Americans feel forever guilty about settling the continent. Let's invent holidays like Kwanza. There are many other examples, as I'm sure you're aware. Has American had a spotless history? Are its founders without blemish? Of course not, but neither are the histories and historical actors of whichever non-American culture the leftists would have you embrace. That inconvient fact is not surprisingly absent from the multiculturalist propaganda.
"Political correctness" is a pathetic mantra that has given rise to a culture of victimhood. People now feel entitled--no, obligated--to take offense at almost everything. We would much rather avoid possibly offending someone than to speak the obvious truth. A culture that avoids the truth is a culture that is in decay.
Of course, what is the truth? Another fundamental component of the leftist attack is moral relativism. It is easy to justify any position, no matter how extreme it may seem at first blush, if nothing is absolutely right or wrong. There are countless examples of prevailing social mores that have been wrought by moral relativism that should be repugnant to anyone with any attachment to reality. There may be no better and well-known example than that propagated by organizations like PETA. In a country where we routinely perform third-term abortions and are contemplating legalizing euthanasia (it is only a matter of time), the lives of animals are commonly considered as, if not more, valuable than the lives of humans.
Since I first became cognizant of the extreme left's attack in the mid-1980's, I have seen things get consistently worse. Indeed, those on the extreme left will not rest until everyone thinks, says, and acts exactly as they deem acceptable. I mourn the loss of the country, culture, and heritage that my six-month old son will not inherit.
- JNOV
