ADMITTEDLY OFF TOPIC

But in the process of researching items for CPT Patti's site I sometimes get detoured by things that interest me.

Two excerpts from two columns by Dennis Prager. Instructive and enlightening.

First column excerpt:

The second major source of modern liberalism is narcissism, the unhealthy preoccupation with oneself and one's feelings. We live in the Age of Narcissism.

As a result of unprecedented affluence and luxury, preoccupation with one's psychological state, and a hedonistic culture, much of the West, America included, has become almost entirely feelings-directed.

That is one reason "feelings" and "compassion" are two of the most often used liberal terms. "Character" is no longer a liberal word because it implies self-restraint. "Good and evil" are not liberal words either as they imply a moral standard beyond one's feelings.

In assessing what position to take on moral or social questions, the liberal asks him or herself, "How do I feel about it?" or "How do I show the most compassion?" not "What is right?" or "What is wrong?" For the liberal, right and wrong are dismissed as unknowable, and every person chooses his or her own morality.

And the second column excerpt, in which he points out that "left" and "liberal" have not always been synonymous:

As the Left has taken over liberalism, God and religion have been rejected as the source of America's moral values. In his inaugural address, President Kennedy said,

" . . . the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God."

Such words today come from George W. Bush and conservatives, not from a single prominent liberal.