Prager University Has First Class
Posted Under: Constitution, Culture, Education, Founding Fathers, Patriotism, Political, Prager University, Religion, Series
I highly recommend sending this to your friends.
Conservative talk show host Dennis Prager has been talking about creating what he calls Prager University for some time. His thesis, which I share, is we are on the cusp of going socialist because we don’t teach American values to our kids. Two generations of mostly public education run by educators that lean to the liberal side using politically correct text books written by liberal college professors has dumbed us down about what values America was built on. College usually makes it worse. Good solid minded kids go off to college and return so filled with marxist, socialist, anti-American clap-trap that their parents don’t recognize them.
If we are to save America we must re-teach Americans our values. Why was America founded? What did the Framers stand for? What values have built and sustained us and allowed us to prosper over the 233 years since the Declaration of Independence?
I will be imbedding his five minute lectures as they come out. Here is the first.
I suggest you send it to every high school or college student you know. Send it to your friends, especially the liberals ones, I dare them to find something in it to disagree with. Let us spread the idea of America anew.
Joe Howell
Reader Comments
Rusty, you make good points. It is interesting that Dave is “so tired of listening to his “moral clarity” crap that he constantly spews on his show.” That implies he keeps listening.
It is sad to see John and Dave attack Dennis for stating clearly what millions of silent Americans know but do not express often enough. His “American Trinity” is a clear and thoughtful basis for beginning the task of correcting the propaganda of the Far Left that has become so pervasive on our college campuses and has unfortunately spread through our society in general. For John to call the lecture “biased garbage” and cite “facts” he learned in college indicates his lack of honest scholarship and that he is probably a product of “Indoctrinate U.” I urge all Americans that are concerned about the Far Left seizure of our Universities to read One Party Classroom” and “Liberal Facism”. Rusty
Dave, thanks for the feedback. I also listen to a good deal of talk conservative talk radio. I am quite conservative but don’t agree with all of them. I will not listen to Savage. I find Prager’s interviews fascinating as well as those of Medved and Hugh Hewitt. I think they are all missing the undercurrent that I am seeing of a growing demand to return to the original intent of the Founding Fathers. That may seem odd given the recent election results, but I think that has intensified it. That seems to be the unspoken theme of the tea parties. Only time will tell. Of all the hosts both of us have mentioned, only Glenn Beck seems to be picking that up. Keep listening, keep reading and remember, if we are all patriots of good will, we will find the answers.
Joe Howell
Joe:
I completely agree with you. Way too many people isolate themselves from the “other”. I (although very liberal socially and economically) listen to conservative talk radio every day. Some irritate me more than others and for different reasons.
Dennis Prager is way to smug about everything.
Glenn Beck whines and cries too much. Oh yeah, he is not even close to as funny as he thinks he is.
Sean Hannity spends 3 hours trying to make Obama and the administration look bad. All day, every day.
Jason Lewis tries to sound way to smart. Yes, he knows economic theory, but he doesn’t have to tout it all day long.
Michael Savage is an complete bigot who is more dangerous than helpful
Michael Medved is tolerable, but for some reason he obsesses over tattoos and homeless people.
Mark Levin is like nails on a chalkboard.
Mike Gallagher is quite possibly the biggest idiot to ever call himself a radio talk show host.
I could go on, but I have work to do.
I am happy to see that someone appreciates open-minded people who are willing to listen to both sides of an argument.
Dave
Dave, you at least are open minded enough to read this site and watch the video. Far too many Americans of both the left and the right have closed themselves off entirely to listening to other other side.
Joe Howell
Thanks John for beating me to the punch. I watched the video a couple of days ago and can’t get over how arrogant Dennis really is. He thinks he has everything figured out and that he is the only one that could possibly be right.
I am so tired of listening to his “moral clarity” crap that he constantly spews on his show. I, believe it or not, make up my own mind and don’t ever want to rely on a book (error filled as it is) to tell me what my values should be.
Does he really think that little of humans that he doesn’t think it is possible to come up with values on our own without a book?
Just a side note. Does anyone who listens to Dennis think it a bit odd that even though he constantly complains about the educational system (and its harm) he makes sure to mention his own education, as well as the education of all of his guests? If it is so harmful why must we parade it around to make us look legitimate?
First, John, I want to thank you for your comments and hope you check back at my site so you get a chance to read this response. I welcome all viewpoints as they are all necessary to the free market of ideas. I will take your points one at a time.
First, this is not a Fox News attempt at the Daily Show. This was the product of Dennis Prager. Mr. Prager is a conservative radio talk show host and a true scholar in every sense of the word. Dennis Prager is an accomplished and widely honored Jewish religious scholar, a world traveler, lecturer and author of four books. He attended Brooklyn College majoring in anthropology and history and did graduate studies at Colombia University School of International Affairs. The motto of his radio show is “I prefer clarity to agreement.” You can learn more about him on the web and I urge everyone that is seriously interested in ideas to give his show a try.
Second, it was the clear idea that the founding fathers believed we are all born equal. You need look no farther that this from the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” That is pretty clear. While it is true that the men who signed the Declaration of Independence were not all the same as the Framers of the Constitution, it also true that the Constitution was intended primarily as document to limit the power of the federal government not a declaration of the rights of the citizens.
Third, we are born equal because each of us is possesed of the same rights. The founding fathers did not always live up to the ideal they set, slavery for instance, but that doesn’t in any way tarnish the ideal. It would take America many generations of perfecting the union to get to some of the ideals that were established by the Framers, but they deserve the credit for establishing those ideals.
Fourth, the beauty of the idea of the American ideal that the rights of man derive from God is that God is then the only one that can take them away. The dominant view of the time was that kings, queens, and princes derived their right to rule by “devine right”. A right granted by government can be taken by government, a right granted by a king can be taken by the king, a right granted by a parliament can be taken by the same. Whether you believe in a God or not, the idea that a right extends from God means only he can nullify it.
Fifth, all Americans, of course, have the liberty to go to college and learn facts and make up their own mind. They then have the right to teach others what they have come to believe and those they teach have the right also to make up their own minds. You may call Mr. Prager, who is a religious Jew, “some evangelical blowhard” but that does not make it true. It also does not change the fact that he enjoys the liberty to teach what he believes and you enjoy the liberty to make up your own mind. I am concerned, however, that your comment seems to betray the prevailing mindset of most of higher education today. It is the idea that academic freedom and freedom of speech only applies to the speech we agree with. That will never be The Right Viewpoint.
Joe Howell
Editor
Is this like Fox News’ attempt at the Daily Show? A Joke that falls flat? Nearly Point for point this is biased garbage… Lets just take “Liberty” as it is the last point he throws up on. There is no basis at all for the statement that the framers had ANY intention to imply that we are BORN equal but don’t necessarily END UP equal. How exactly are we born equal? Genetically? (im not sure if we believe in genetics in this made up world) Socio-economically? I enjoy the liberty to be Atheist. Liberty is not being told ALL VALUES ARE DERIVED FROM GOD.. ooHHooooHH.. Or how about the liberty to go to College where you learn facts, and make up your own mind about values without having some evangelical blowhard teaching HIS values?
Seriously. You Fail.