Rep. Ilhan Omar, right, (D-Minn)
and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
Jim Mone / AP
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent
about things that matter.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King
Today, the term social justice is freely bandied about by
far left Democrats to court identity groups. They preach this ostentatiously
pious gospel to our youth and the under classes; “if you don’t like a law you
can break it in the name of social justice. If you don’t want to work, pay for
your education, buy health insurance or food, support your family, enter
America legally, or do anything responsible people do in a democratic society,
it is OK. The government will provide it for you.” These heretics are clueless
about what true "social justice" means. And much worse, they are
insulting those of us that do.
For generations, concerned citizens became organizers and
activists to improve American society for everyone. They joined with writers,
thinkers, artists, musicians, judges and politicians who saw flaws in our laws
and social mores and led reform movements to instigate changes in our legal and
social system. They brought meaningful improvements to the lives of every
American.
The radical ideas of one generation became common sense of the next
because they were not orchestrated in the name of identity politics for
political gain. They postulated naturally to address social evolution.
America was founded to obtain social justice. We’d not be
a nation today if political activist, author and enlightenment thinker Thomas
Paine had not engaged the colonies to revolt with his inspiring pamphlets,
"The American Crisis" and "Common Sense." He read passages
to the patriots during the Revolution to encourage disenchanted soldiers to
keep fighting. John Locke was a physician and a thinker who cultivated our
political philosophy. Jefferson used Locke’s Treatises on Government when he
fashioned our own Declaration of Independence: “life liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.”
On Election Day in 1920, millions of U.S. women voted for
the first time, thanks to the endeavors of Susan B. Anthony. She believed all
men and women had the right to vote. After the Civil War, she refused to
support any Constitution suffrage amendments that did not grant full voting
rights to all Americans. The Civil War might not have taken place if Frederick
Douglass had a national forum to educate our nation about every man’s natural
right to unbiased social and legal justice. A brilliant orator, writer and
constitutional academic, he blazed the legal and moral path for abolition.
“The life of the nation is secure only while the nation
is honest, truthful, and virtuous.”
– Frederick Douglass
Harper Lee's 1960 novel "To Kill a Mockingbird"
about an innocent black man convicted unjustly shed light on injustice in the
cloistered and subjugated parts of America. Historians claim her epic classic
fanned the flames for Americans to engage in national social reform campaigns.
It opened doors for Civil Rights leaders Rosa Parks, Dr. Marin Luther King,
Leslie Dunbar, the 13 Freedom Riders, and countless others who helped pass of
the Civil and Voting Rights Acts. Lee brought awareness to America that led to
the ADA, the EOA and countless other modern legal and social reformations.
A hundred years ago, any soapbox orator who called for
women’s suffrage, an end to segregation, equal opportunity in the workplace,
outlawing discrimination against the aged and disabled, more government
transparency, sunshine laws, voting rights protections, a citizens’ ballot
initiative and other social and judicial reforms was considered a threat to
republicanism. Now these are part of our legal system and vital protections for
us because of the arduous efforts of our past dedicated social justice seekers.
“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
– Thomas Paine
Unlike past heroes who stepped forward in the name
of social justice, new age socialists working to force their brand of social
justice on us are hypocrites! They disgrace the words "social
justice" and dishonor the real American heroes and reformers who
confronted unjust sociopolitical issues that needed correcting for all
Americans in our nation. As nations age, so does the need to address new
challenges that develop with its growing pains.
Contrarily, today’s socialists
rely on identity politics to survive. They must continually invent non-problems
to solve under the banner of “social justice.”
Plato wrote, “The humble are confident and productive;
braggarts insecure and lacking.” Our past activists and reformers did not have
a label. Society recognized them for the work they did. Today’s self-anointed
leftist justice seekers claim every traditional American institution has failed
and they have concocted an apocryphal way to remake America into a
neo-socialist Promised Land. This will be a place where nobody has to plant
anything to reap the harvest of this land’s many benefits.
“Yes, a lot of people when they hear the word
'socialist,' get very, very nervous.”
– Bernie Sanders
The greatest tragedy of the left’s social justice group
is, none have any knowledge of constitutional law, politics, economic theory,
capitalism or American history. They have concocted hybrid Marxist-Leninist
revisionist theories to justify their bogus dogmas. They’re convinced they’ve
been elected to deliver us from the countless evils of America's republican
institutions, constitutional order of law, and concepts of our founding. They
condemn America as an imperfect union that is not the envy of any country in
the world. To the new left, capitalism is oppressive and socialism is complete
freedom.
This motley crew of would-be lawmakers focuses on
engineering oppressive reversals of fortune to define social justice. In an ABC
TV interview, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan, who had vowed to take her
oath on Thomas Jefferson’s translation of the Qur’an, used her own instead. She
retorted, “Why uplift Thomas Jefferson in our era of social justice.” She
claimed, “My main goal is to stigmatize all talks to legitimize the state of
Israel.”
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, shares her same proclivities:
“I’ll work on white Jewish supremacy issues and international human-rights
violations. I’ve always had a social justice bent approach to everything in my
life.” (Is this real social justice?)
Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, claims eliminating
the use of fossil fuels will establish “economic, social and racial justice.”
She insists her plan will create jobs and equalize our wealth. But economists
say her proposal would cause massive unemployment.
Since President Donald Trump
took office, the number of Americans living below the poverty line declined to
50 percent fewer than a decade ago. The greatest economic improvement came in
black and Hispanic communities.
Yet Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, contends we
need an economic policy that delivers “economic social-justice”?
President Barack Obama proved, “Elections have
consequences.” Political scientist Larry Bartels said, “People make political
decisions based on social identities and partisan loyalties, not honest
reality.” Since voters lack knowledge about candidates and issues, they vote
for people who make them feel good.
That is how we got a house full of Leninist
”wanna-bes” whose heroes are Marx, Lenin and Fidel Castro. Social change does
not start in Congress; it starts in the homes, streets and schools of America.
If people desire help with a social or a political enigma, they’ll contact
Congress if they can’t resolve it.
Today's "social justice" seekers are not a
solution; they’re a problem and a threat to our freedom. Their socialist
motives are dividing and conquering in the name of justice. We were asleep at
the wheel last election and look what we got. It’s our republic; if we choose
to keep it.
“Nothing is more wonderful than the art of being free,
but nothing is harder to learn how to use than freedom.”
– Alexis de Tocqueville
Contributing
Columnist William Haupt III is a retired professional journalist, author, and
citizen legislator in California for over 40 years. He got his start working to
approve California Proposition 13.
