Most Americans have not heard of Israeli politician, Naftali Bennett. Yet, a YouTube video of his that has gone viral in Israel holds lessons for conservative Americans.
In the video, Mr. Bennett is in disguise, portraying a hapless man who constantly apologizes. A waitress spills his coffee – he apologizes. Someone slams into his car – he apologizes. He reads a newspaper condemning Israel for responding to provocation –he says that Israel must apologize. He then whips off his disguise and encourages citizens to support his political party with the promise of no more apologies.
The video resonates with me because I am tired of the constant call for conservatives to apologize for being (racist) (sexist) (xenophobic) (homophobic) (greedy) (hateful)… While I supported George W. Bush’s candidacy when he ran for president, the phrase ‘compassionate conservative’ had the underlying theme that he was doing something new. The implication was that conservatives were not compassionate, buying into a liberal lie.
I felt similarly after Republican Mia Love’s recent election as a black female representative from Utah. I kept on reading that her congressional win proves that Republicans aren’t racist. Presenting her election as a proof makes exactly the opposite point. Imagine a small child telling you, “I’m not a bad boy; I cleaned my room.” From his words, we would rightly surmise that he thinks of himself as a bad boy. Someone has told him that often enough; now he believes it.
I am glad that Republicans did well in the recent election. Like manyconservatives, I have doubts as to how they will proceed. They should use their win as an opportunity to speak to the American people. Right now, the media, Hollywood and academia tell people about conservatives. Republicans are bigots, sexist, stupid and racist. They hate minorities, immigrants, successful women and poor people. These may be lies, but that is the only thing that many people hear. It is the Democrat playbook and it isn’t going to be changed by uncomfortable facts or the reality on the ground. President Obama used his State of the Union speech to reinforce these ideas. Higher Republican visibility however, provides an opportunity to present a different picture.
Republicans tend to speak to each other. They hold hearings, quote statistics and work the halls of Congress. Too many of them stay away from the American people unless they are running for election. Mitt Romney never learned to speak to Americans. For this reason, his identity – nasty millionaire – was forged by the Left. He played gentleman’s defense to a mud-slinging attack. Why were we surprised that people didn’t want to know him?
Every single time a Republican speaks, he or she should be aware of the opportunity to change hearts. We can do this with humor and good will, not with apologetics. Pointing to Mia Love’s election with an, “I told you so,” attitude, actually bolsters the Democrat argument that voting for a black and female candidate represents a new conservative ideology. Instead, say, “I understand that you see the world through the eyes of gender and race. Conservatives prefer to look at individuals and their character. Barack Obama won because he was African-American. Mia Love won because she was the best candidate.” Laugh at them – “I know you want to follow the Democrat playbook. Can we talk real issues here?”
Mia Love’s election win does not prove anything that actually needs proving. Any Republican elected official who thinks it does needs to get out and meet conservative Americans. They have been bullied so much that suffer from battered-Conservative-syndrome. They actually believe the Left’s propaganda. Congresswoman Love’s position no more proves that Republicans aren’t racist than it proves that Republicans are not green Martians. Arguing against either suggestion only serves to bolster the opposing claim. If I were Israeli, I would need to judge Naftali Bennett on more than his ad. As an American, I can only hope that conservatives and their elected leaders take a lesson from him.
Don’t wait for politicians to help your finances.
Help yourself.
Get started with our Income Abundance Set
(on sale right now).
That is an awesome story, Lora. You are so right that there is an attempt by government and bureaucracies to establish rule over is and we have to push back.
This is a lesson I have been actively teaching my children as well as anyone else who will listen: define yourself by your standards(in accordance with God, I mean,) and not according to anyone else. I used this example to teach with: a doctor recently became upset with his daughter’s school when they sent home a note reprimanding him and his wife for what they at the school considered inappropriate food choices in the little girl’s lunch (and, I add, they had their facts wrong as well). The note had another little notice at the bottom of it requesting a parent’s signature. The parents sent the note back with this added below everything else in the note: “request declined”. The parents declined to accept the authority of the school over their lunches, they refused to apologize, or change, or redefine their behavior according to the school’s mandates. This is a good example for us to stop apologizing, to think for ourselves, and to stick to our own standards, to speak with authority and confidence. As I tell my kids, we don’t have to apologize for breathing, we don’t have to ask permission, and we certainly don’t have to answer every question put to us or every demand made on us. Your post brought all this back to me on political levels, personal levels, and cultural levels.
Jan, I usually do not publish links that people send me, but, it is my blog, so I can break my own rules. I appreciated reading this and thought others might as well. Thanks.
Peter, My husband talks of the disaster of replacing history in elementary schools with social studies. Too many Americans know far too little.
Hi Susan,
We can and should all thank God for Israel’s vigilance for Europe’s defense:
http://humanevents.com/2015/01/21/what-happened-on-the-syrian-golan/
Hi Susan:
Democrat propaganda is a smokescreen to obscure the truth of the matter which is that it is in fact the Democrats who are the racist party of slavery, segregation, secularism, and sedition.
As Ronald Reagan said, “Facts are stubborn things”. We conservatives need to arm ourselves with the facts. For instance, how about these:
It was Democrat Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus who ordered the AR National Guard to stop black students from entering Little Rock Central High School on September 4, 1957. In response, it was Republican President Dwight Eisenhower who sent Army troops to Little Rock in order to enforce the SCOTUS’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision.
It was Democrat Alabama Governor George Wallace who stood blocking the doorway to the Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on June 11, 1963 in a symbolic attempt to block two black students from enrolling.
After recounting these truths, ask the Democrat to tell us which political party is it that’s racist?
Professional boxer Mike Tyson sometimes has a way with words. He once said that “Everybody has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth”. The Democrats plan only works as long as their conservative opponent stays on defense like a boxer covering up on the ropes. When, on the other hand, we come out swinging and hit them with the facts, their plan loses, just as it did on November 4, 2014.
I agree, James. And once again, in the right-to-life issue yesterday, the Republicans managed to disrespect social conservatives while still getting hammered for not being liberal enough. When you don’t know what you stand for, no one will respect you.
Mia Love is an excellent example of what you speak. So was black former CEO Herman Cain, who has been called ‘Uncle Tom’ and every demeaning name in the book by his brothers and sisters of color for leaving the Democrat plantation. Neither the GOP nor the Tea Party are vicious racist organizations, or sexist, etc. This hardly matters to the lemming generation who belong to the Other Party. These folks are content to sling mud and ugly emotional epithets instead of plugging in their brains to analyze and identify what is really going on.
But when the accused adhere to some ‘gentlemanly’ code of behavior and simply fall silent, it does not help their cause, because a lie repeated often enough becomes accepted as truth. The GOP and the Tea Party must defend themselves against inaccurate and unjust accusations. Wouldn’t such counterattack better serve their cause? Their accusers are bullies. Because bullies are also cowards, counterattack might prove easier than they suppose. The real question becomes: can these counterattacks survive the media’s malicious policy to ignore them and instead to fuel the lies?