Postmodernism— The Worldview That Will Destroy America

If nations have epitaphs, I believe ours will one day read something like this:

No armies prevailed, nor a single foe’s spies;

They died trying to believe there are just truths, no lies.

Postmodernism is the belief that truth is not discovered by man but created by man. Through surveying every situation and choosing a course of action that will result in the most beneficial outcome, people create their own truth. This concept derives from a humanist worldview that proclaims man as the measure of all things, and therefore, each person is free to do whatever he or she deems to be in his or her best interest. There is no ultimate truth on which our lives depend. This is exactly why you will often hear folks claim, “That may be true for you, but it is not true for me.”

A postmodern worldview allows that two opposing truth claims can be equal. While that is as stupid as saying black and white are the same colors, this is the absurdity—and the peril—of postmodernism.

The idea that always creates shockwaves with the “no absolute truth” crowd is the belief that real truth does exist and that it comes from a fixed moral standard set up by God. Christians believe God created truth for man to discover and that God’s truth is for all times, all places, and all people. In other words, Christians believe in the same Creator and truths that the Declaration of Independence holds to be “self-evident.” However, this view is not seen by postmodernists as another equal truth but as being unacceptable and intolerant.

To the postmodern humanist, Christianity is the enemy, the reason for all problems in our world, the worldview that slows progress, that prohibits equality, and sabotages world peace. Postmodern humanism allows no tolerance for Christianity. If you think I exaggerate this abhorrence of Christian thought, then tell a few humanist liberals about God’s fixed moral laws and their need to adhere to those laws, and watch how they respond. It will not be pretty. You have not seen intolerance until you have seen it first hand, in all its fury, from someone that swears allegiance to tolerance.

An article in U.S. News & World Report reflects the frightening depth to which postmodern tolerance thinking has penetrated our culture. Professor Robert Simon says he has never met a student who denied the Holocaust, but:

[quote] What he sees quite often, though, is worse: students who acknowledge the fact of the Holocaust but who can’t bring themselves to say that killing millions of people is wrong... “Of course, I dislike the Nazis,” one student told Simon, “but who is to say they are morally wrong?” …Two disturbing articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education say that some students are unwilling to oppose large moral horrors, including human sacrifice, ethnic cleansing and slavery, because they think that no one has the right to criticize the moral views of another group or culture. (footnote #1)

The liberal assault on truth is paramount to the proliferation of the humanistic worldview in law, science, economics, education, sociology, government, and religion. Yet our very existence as a society is built on the foundational belief that some things are better than other things because some are right and others are wrong. Freedom is right. Slavery and oppression are wrong. Productive living that benefits individuals and society is good. Indolence and license are not. Without these core beliefs in place, our civilization will come apart at the seams. And our enemies will be glad to help.

Today’s postmodern culture of adults and students, for instance, is so consumed by being tolerant and non-judgmental that there are those who say we should not even call wrong or evil the terrorists that attacked America on September 11, 2001. Roger Rosenblatt offered an essay in Time magazine entitled “God is Not on My Side. Or Yours” in which he states:

[quote] One would like to think that God is on our side against the terrorists, because the terrorists are wrong and we are in the right, and any deity worth his salt would be able to discern that objective truth. But this is simply good-hearted arrogance cloaked in morality—the same kind of thinking that makes people decide that God created humans in his own image. The God worth worshipping is the one who pays us the compliment of self-regulation, and we might return it by minding our own business. [end quote] (footnote #2)

Alison Hornstein is a student at Yale University who recognizes the danger of today’s overdose on postmodernism. In a December 17, 2001 Newsweek article, “The Question That We Should Be Asking—Is Terrorism Wrong?”, Alison notes:

[quote] Student reactions expressed in the daily newspaper and in class pointed to the differences between our life circumstances and those of the [9/11] perpetrators, suggesting that these differences had caused the previous day’s events. Noticeably absent was a general outcry of indignation at what had been the most successful terrorist attack of our lifetime. These reactions and similar ones on other campuses have made it apparent that my generation is uncomfortable assessing, or even asking whether a moral wrong has taken place. [end quote] [footnote #3]

Hornstein further describes how on September 12th—one day after Islamic extremists murdered more than 3,000 people on American soil—one of her professors:

[quote] did not see much difference between Hamas suicide bombers and American soldiers who died fighting in World War II. When I saw one or two students nodding in agreement, I raised my hand. …. American soldiers, in uniform, did not have a policy of specifically targeting civilians; suicide bombers, who wear plainclothes, do. The professor didn’t call on me. The people who did get a chance to speak cited various provocations for terrorism; not one of them questioned its morality. [end quote] [quote #4]

Postmodernism—and its rampaging offspring, moral relativism—leads us to believe morals and ethics are autonomous and can evolve and change to fit the needs and desires of an individual and society—whatever the collective whim of the epoch may be. But that’s a lie America’s postmodernists just wish was true. God is always the same, always good, and always opposed to evil, no matter what we call it. To think otherwise will be the death of us.

Footnote:

1U.S. News and World Report July 21st, 1997 article by John Leo: No Fault Holocaust

2Roger Rosenblatt, “Essay: God is Not on My Side. Or Your” Time, Dec. 17, 2001, p. 92.

3Alison Horstein, “The Question That We Should Be Asking” Newsweek, Dec. 17, 2001, p. 14.

4Ibid., p. 14.