Rasmussen poll numbers suggest prestige universities are indoctrinating the young people they’re supposed to be educating.
Commentary
Many writers decry the American political scene as “too divisive.” But I don’t think this goes to the root of our political problems. A much more serious concern is that a very powerful minority of Americans reject the core principles upon which our Constitution and our society rest: principles of Western Civilization, republican government, and the Judeo-Christian heritage.
In the view of this minority, the American Founding was a crime, people should be judged largely on race and gender, elections should be manipulated (to protect “our democracy”), the traditional family structure should be abandoned, sexual mores should be perverted, and government should be nearly omnipotent.
These ideas resemble a variant of fascism in which everyone serves the state and individual rights—economic and political—are exercised only by the elite’s permission. This minority not only believe these things themselves, but they want to force you to accept them also. They’re authoritarian, even totalitarian.
When the rest of us push back against their agenda, it isn’t “divisiveness.” It’s self-defense.
The Power of the Elite
Despite our efforts of self-defense, this group has been remarkably successful in setting the national agenda. One example: From 1998 to 2014, there were 30 state referenda on the definition of civil marriage. The advocates of traditional marriage—that is, between a man and a woman—won all these referenda, and most of them by decisive supermajorities.
But the agenda-setters wanted same-sex civil marriage; therefore, now it’s imposed on every state, no matter what the voters might think. So much for “our democracy.”
Once same-sex civil marriage was secured, the agenda-setters proceeded to implement even more outré policies: critical race theory, “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” and, at least in some states, infanticide and the mutilation of children.
And despite the fact that most Americans think we have too much government and not enough freedom, under the guidance of the agenda-setters, government continues to grow.
Who Are They?
Scott Rasmussen, the national pollster, set out to learn who these agenda-setters are. His polling results—some of which were publicized in The Epoch Times by Newt Gingrich—provide some answers. Mr. Rasmussen’s results also point toward the culprits who created this dangerous class of people.
When conducting general surveys, Mr. Rasmussen noticed that most people expressing extreme leftist views share three characteristics: (1) they are very urban; (2) they hold postgraduate university degrees; and (3) they are relatively wealthy. People meeting all these criteria make up about 1 percent of the general population.
By Rob Natelson
