Some opposing definitions in the American political lexicon
Source of Human Rights
Left: Government
Right: The Creator
Human Nature
Left: Basically good (therefore society primarily responsible for evil)
Right: Not basically good (therefore the individual primarily responsible for evil)
Economic Goal
Left: Equality
Right: Prosperity
Primary Role of the State
Left: Increase and protect equality
Right: Increase and protect liberty
Government
Left: As large as possible
Right: As small as possible
Family Ideal
Left: Any loving unit of people
Right: Married father and mother and children
Guiding Trinity
Left: Race, Gender, Class
Right: Liberty, In God We Trust, E Pluribus Unum
Good and Evil
Left: Relative to individual and/or society
Right: Based on universal absolutes
Humanity’s Primary Division(s)
Left: Rich and poor. Strong and weak
Right: Good and evil
Ideal Primary Identity of an American
Left: World citizen
Right: American citizen
How to Make a Good Society
Left: Abolish inequality
Right: Develop each citizen’s moral character
View of America
Left: Profoundly morally flawed, inferior to any number of European countries
Right: Greatest force for good among nations in world history
Gender
Left: A social construct
Right: Male and female
Most Important Trait to Cultivate in a Child
Left: Self-esteem
Right: Self-control
Worth of the Human Fetus
Left: Determined by the mother
Right: Determined by society rooted in Judeo-Christian values
Primary Source of Crime
Left: Poverty, racism, and other societal flaws
Right: The criminal’s malfunctioning conscience
Place of God and Religion in America
Left: Secular government and secular society
Right: Secular government and religious society
American Exceptionalism
Left: Chauvinistic doctrine
Right: Historical reality
Greatest Threat to the World
Left: Environmental catastrophe; currently global warming
Right: Evil; currently Islamist violence
International Ideal
Left: World governed by the United Nations, and no single country is dominant
Right: World in which America is the single strongest entity
Primary Reason for Lack of Peace in Middle East
Left: Israeli settlements in the West Bank
Right: Palestinian, Arab, Muslim denial of Jewish state’s right to exist
Purpose of Art
Left: Challenge status quo and bourgeois sensibilities
Right: Produce works of beauty and profundity to elevate the individual and society
Guns
Left: Ideally universally abolished except for police, armed forces, and registered sportsmen
Right: Ideally widely owned by responsible individuals for self-protection and protection of others
Race
Left: Intrinsically significant
Right: Intrinsically insignificant
Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Diversity at Universities
Left: Nothing more important
Right: Far less important than ideological diversity
Black America’s Primary Problem
Left: Racism
Right: Lack of fathers
Greatest Playwright
Left: Entirely subjective. There is no greatest playwright
Right: Shakespeare
War
Left: “War is not the answer.”
Right: Sometimes the only answer to evil
Hate
Left: Wrong except when directed at the political Right
Right: Wrong except when directed at evil
Cultures
Left: All equal
Right: Some are better than others.
America’s Founders
Left: Rich, white, male slave-owners
Right: Great men who founded the greatest society
Purpose of Judges
Left: Pursue social justice
Right: Pursue justice
National Borders
Left: A relic of the past
Right: Indispensable to national survival
View of Illegal Immigrants
Left: Welcomed guests
Right: Illegal immigrants
Nature
Left: Nature intrinsically valuable
Right: Nature is made for man.
— Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. His latest book, The Ten Commandments: Still the Best Moral Code, was published by Regnery. He is the founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com. © 2017 Creators.com