Why Jews Should Not Be Liberals Read online

  Recent history in all of those nations who have practiced communism, socialism, or any other similar "-ism" validates this statement. All over the world, countries are abandoning their previous systems of controlled economy and are opting for some form of free market capitalism. Only in America, and particularly on the campuses of our leading universities, is the cause of socialism and communism still preached with authority and respect. The result is the continuing struggle between the forces of freedom and those who believe, in their infinite wisdom, that they hold all the answers to society's problems.

  Thomas Jefferson wrote that there are two kinds of people. One type believes in the good judgment of people to make their own decisions. These decisions may not always be the wisest, but at least they will be good and honest decisions. The other is the kind that does not trust people to make their own decisions, but wants power centralized in Washington, so that those "enlightened" representatives can make the decisions that affect peoples' lives. Jefferson wrote this two hundred years ago. Yet his wisdom was recently verified by no less than President William Jefferson Clinton, who, when defending one of his proposals, was quoted as saying that he was against returning part of the budget surplus to the people, "because they would not make the right decisions as to how they spend those refunds." Is there anything that so demonstrates what Jefferson wrote'? Liberals have that arrogance today and American Jews, knowingly or not, follow along and seem to accept that same belief.

  But the Jewish tradition is to help people to help themselves; to train men and women to earn a living on their own instead of being on the public dole; to think for themselves; and to make their own decisions in life. All of history reveals that the only valid and lasting system for uplifting peoples' lives is the free market system, or as it is popularly known, capitalism. Whatever we can do to strengthen this blessed free market system, to make it easier for men and women to go into business for their own selfish purposes, and thus provide jobs for others, that is the theme that we American Jews should be advocating.

  Is it not somewhat ironic that the answer Jews seek for Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, at least as it relates to the economics involved, may be summarized in one sentence? STRENGTHEN AND EXPAND THE FREE MARKET SYSTEM, GIVE IT SUFFICIENT TIME, WITH THE APPROPRIATE RULES AND GUIDELINES, ENLIST THE GOVERNMENT AS THE REFEREE TO ENFORCE THOSE RULES, AND WONDERFUL RESULTS HAPPEN. This is not a hope, or a promise, or a projection. This is real! The greatest example is our own United States of America. In just over two hundred years as a nation, this free market system has galvanized this nation into becoming the greatest economic power the world has ever known. We are the envy of the entire world. We have to spend billions, erect strong fences, and use our border patrols and armed forces, to keep others from coming here because the promise of freedom of opportunity is a beacon to the world. America, with all of its warts and inequities, remains the lodestar for the world's oppressed peoples.

  Yet I hold out no real hope that American Jews are going to quickly shed their liberal philosophies, as they are currently understood. The primary reasons for the ongoing Jewish liberal doctrine is the belief that only by being liberal can one sympathize with and help the underdog, spread the wealth, and do good for as many people as can be reached.

  A secondary reason is a lingering distrust of Republicans and conservatives as being anti-Semitic, a notion that is easily disproved today. One would hope that Jews would use their common sense to abandon those views. Professor van den Haag addresses this point, "Although well endowed with it, Jews are no more dominated by their intelligence than other people; they often use it to rationalize their emotions." It seems the late professor has correctly identified the power of emotion in controlling Jewish political beliefs. In spite of the dismal record of the Democrats in promoting their New Deal, Fair Deal, and Great Society programs, too many American Jews still view the Democratic Party as the one that is closest to fulfilling Tikkun Olam, repairing the world.

  This doctrine is so emotionally ingrained within American Jews that change will be difficult. I do not propose that we Jews change our goals. Instead, what I hope to demonstrate is that the best way politically to accomplish these worthy goals is to change political affiliation from liberal Democrat to either conservative Republican or even Libertarian. Nationally syndicated talk-show host Larry Elder, who happens to be a conservative black American, describes himself as a "Republictarian." If there were such a group, this might be the most accurate designation for conservative Jews to choose. For now, though, we will have to work within the existing political parties.

  JUDAISM AND

  CONSERVATISM

  As I prepared the additional chapters and notes for this second edition of Whv Jews Should Not Be Liberals, I gave some thought to perhaps changing the title to Why Jews Should Be Political Conservatives! An argument can be made that this title is more on the positive side and may not alienate those potential readers who instinctively recoil when their liberalism is challenged. Certainly the other side of the position that Jews should not be liberals is that they should "convert" to becoming conservatives, libertarians, or, to use the term I learned from Larry Elder, nationally syndicated talk-show host, "Republictarians."

  However, when I reviewed the main theme of my book, that liberalism is a philosophy that is antithetical to Judaism, I realized it was not necessary to change the title. I thus decided not to. I still believed, though, that some additional writing was required to show the close relationship between being a Jew and being a political conservative. Therein lies the reason for this added chapter.

  In order to show the unity between Judaism and conservatism, let us begin by listing the basics of what it is to be a Jew, as detailed by Rabbi Wayne Dosick in his book Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief Tradition, and Practice. There are undoubtedly other definitions that could be used, but Rabbi Dosick's summary seems to be the most appropriate one to compare with what I believe are the basic tenets of political conservatism.

  As Rabbi Dosick describes, the basic beliefs of a Jew are:

  1. Belief in the One and only One God.

  2. Each person is given free will.

  3. Each person follows or disobeys God's Commandments through personal choice.

  4. Each person is responsible for his or her own actions, and there are consequences for moral or immoral behavior.

  5. Ethical law comes from God, who is both Author and Authority.

  Now follows the linkage between these basic concepts of Judaism and the principles of today's political conservatism.

  Belief in the One and only One God. Conservatism is also based on a belief in a higher power, which is critical in denying that role to the state. As our founders wrote in the Declaration of Independence, all men are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights ... and that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men." In that declaration, our founders proclaimed that the state, or government, does not have first hold on the minds and consciences of the people, but rather that our Creator (God) is preeminent. Today's conservatives are fighting on several fronts to retain the fundamental truths listed in the declaration, in the face of the assault on those principles from liberal judges and their supporters.

  This same concept is so basic to Judaism, it is doubtful that there can be any differences even among the various shades of modern Judaism. As to conservative thinking, it is fundamental to this philosophy that there is a Supreme Being of some type, and that no matter what it is called, it does reign supreme in our lives. Yes, there are conservatives who claim to be atheists. I have a long-time friend who considers himself one. But that same friend, in times of trouble and sadness, does ask for the sympathy and blessings of some higher power and certainly does not plead for the blessings of the state.

  In contrast, one of the real tragedies of modern liberalism is the liberals' apparent campaign to remove the devotion and allegiance that most Americans have to their own high
er power. The entire drive to eliminate any reference to God in the schools, the athletic fields, and even the Pledge of Allegiance may become the final nail in the coffin of liberalism. Most Americans, as distinguished from today's Europeans, are still God-fearing or, as I like to say, God-blessing people. The attempt to remove God from their lives is having a negative effect and will continue to influence the votes and sympathies of many Americans for years to come.

  However, American Jews remain reluctant to recognize that this "remove God" drive is another example that liberalism is no longer closely linked to Judaism, while conservatism is. If we Jews do nothing else but think deeply on this link between Judaism, belief in the One Supreme God, and which political philosophy most closely supports that belief, there would be meaningful changes in the political thinking of American Jews.

  Each person is given free will. This stresses that we are not born slaves of some dominant state, but each of us is given free will by our Creator. That free will, which is inbred, may be used to live a good life or a mostly negative one. This also means that we are all horn with certain natural abilities, and what we accomplish is due more to our individual exertions than some preordained conclusion. Modern liberals frequently focus on the poor among us, whom they assume will always stay poor. However, the record shows that, in this country, over 80% of the poor eventually climb the ladder to a fair state of prosperity. This is strong evidence that, with hard work and a little luck, we are all capable of determining our own fates in life.

  Neither Judaism nor conservatism presumes that there is, or should be, some governmental power that determines what one's fate will be or what type of life each of us should live. If we are not given the power to make our own choices in life, then there cannot be the triumphs or failures that provide the real "highs and lows" of our lives. Without those individual swings, our lives would be much less interesting and worthwhile.

  So many Americans have overcome the adversities of poverty and and risen to prominence and success in their chosen fields that one would think no further proof is needed to verify this point. Recent attempts by liberals to revive the discredited class-warfare theme are falling flat. In contrast, conservatives stress what can be accomplished through one's individual efforts, which is also an enduring principle of Judaism.

  Each person follows or disobeys God's Commandments through personal choice. This rule builds on the one above. Judaism and conservatism both believe that each of us is free to choose the "high road" or any other road. We are not controlled by some outside force, although many of us will have tougher and higher obstacles to overcome in order to attain our desired goals. The notion that we must await some magical law or sweeping manifesto to overcome the barriers to achieving our goals is alien to Judaism and conservatism. Both philosophies stress that we, individually, have been given the power and the ability to choose to either follow some or all of God's Commandments or to ignore any or all of them.

  Judaism believes that God gave us a good and sensible road map to follow in order to live a decent life. Most visible in that road map are the Ten Commandments. The relationship of conservatives to those basic Commandments is evident, in the emphasis they place on dealing honestly with your fellows and not stealing (as in cheating), murdering, or bearing false witness. These are all necessary components of our freemarket economy, which conservatives champion. Conservatives do not believe that it is morally permissible to do whatever it takes to close a deal, if those actions are contrary to the basic Commandments.

  The fundamental premise of conservatism is to limit the powers of government to the absolute minimum, thus leaving to our citizens the maximum amount of personal freedom to pursue their own goals in life. What must follow then is that each person has the freedom to choose which path to follow. The choice is his and no one should have the power to restrict the choices available to him. Just as freedom is the highest value prized by Jews, freedom was the guiding principle of our founders. Since conservatism looks to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution for its foundation, it follows that the freedom so highly valued by Jews in their bible is the same freedom that forms the foundation of conservatism.

  President Bush, in his January 2005 inaugural address, spoke eloquently in several passages about freedom: "There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant and that is the force of human freedom.... The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world. . . . America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights and dignity and matchless value because they bear the image of the maker of heaven and Earth. . . . Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our nation." Thus our president, although not considered to be an uncompromising conservative, still exalts the value of freedom, which is at the heart of what modern conservatism and Judaism each espouse.

  Each person is responsible for his or her own actions, and there are consequences for moral or immoral behavior. This principle perhaps marks the deepest difference between conservatism and modern liberalism. The tragedy of liberalism is that, somewhere along the way, its thinkers and leaders strayed from this basic concept and slipped into the false doctrine that we are not responsible for our own actions.

  Modern liberalism preaches that if life is difficult, or if one is unhappy or engaged in criminal behavior, then somehow it is the fault of society, which must be reformed in order to balance out the negative results. No longer is the individual to be held accountable for his illegal or immoral or just bad behavior. This refusal by liberalism to hold the individual responsible for his actions is so contrary to Judaism and to conservatism that the difference stands out with blinding illumination.

  Throughout the Torah and the Talmud, Judaism stresses the fact that each of us is responsible for our own actions, that we are to live moral and decent lives, and that we have been given the guidelines and rules for living a good life. Conservatism, with its emphasis on adhering to the rules as set down by our founders in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, is consistent with Judaism by proclaiming that the freedom given to us will hopefully be used in a positive manner to bring about a better life for all. At the same time, if the wrong choices are made, both Judaism and conservatism are not reluctant to use the force of government to punish those who break the law and who bring harm to their fellow citizens.

  The bottom line with both Judaism and conservatism is that eventually we reap what we sow. When we Jews stray and pursue false idols like money, power, status, or self, as Norman Podhoretz wrote in his exhaustive book The Prophets: Who They Were, What They Are, we are degrading what should be our overriding faith in the One and Holy God. If we make the right choices, we can live lives that are both pleasant and worthwhile, and in most cases the outcome is dependent upon our trust, faith, and reliance on some higher power.

  Ethical law comes from God, who is both Author and Authority. This statement forms the heart of Judaism. Our religion stresses that the laws by which we should live come from God. It is our eternal struggle to live by those rules. Every time we have ignored them, it has led to our dispersal and unhappiness. Conservatism is also based on God's rules. In order to have a functioning government and an economy that works for the benefit of all, certain rules must be followed. The Commandments that thou shall not steal (or cheat), or bear false witness (lie), or murder, or worship false gods are at the heart of our free-market system, which is one of the building blocks of conservatism.

  Conservatism places substantial importance on the spiritual side of man, that he will do what is right, because the entire system of free enterprise is based upon people living up to their word in their business dealings. Learned economists have cited the Commandment of "thou shall not steal" as perhaps the most important rule that has led to our successful system of fr
ee markets and free enterprise.

  Liberals' current actions to blur the distinction between right and wrong, moral and immoral, and to encourage relativism in our thinking only trivialize the doctrine that there is a set of Eternal Laws, given to us by God, which we are to follow. We need to remember that, as Jews, we are directed to follow God's laws as best as we can and that it is foolhardy for us to adopt a political philosophy that is alien to that thinking.

  The 2004 election seemed to bring into clearer focus that the majority of American voters are also rethinking the importance of morality and traditional values. Is it possible that the trend of recent years towards an increase in immorality, as displayed on our screens and television sets, may now be ripe for a reversal'? Can it be that our major religions will once again become aflame with righteousness? When the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville visited this country in the 1830s, he wrote that it was only when he visited the churches of America and found them aflame with preaching justice and morality that he discovered the principle thrusting this nation onto the path of greatness. He wrote that America is great because America is good. When it ceases to be good, it will cease to be great. History does at times repeat itself. Hopefully American Jews will be a leading force in bringing about that revival.