Seth Leibsohn: Reminding Ourselves on the Great American Experiment

Those of us of a certain age will remember America’s 200th birthday well. It was a year-long celebration with pageantry and even commercials celebrating our patriotism everywhere.  Now, months away from the date of our 250th birthday, all seems rather quiet on the Western civilizational front. Our Founders weren’t so sure we’d last anywhere near this long—and yet, here we are 250 years later.  What changed in the last 50 years?  The media and the academy, both of which have trained millions of pupils and teachers and citizens to view America as a down-market commodity.  History professors literally sneer at efforts to restore and remind about the very field they supposedly care about: teaching American history.  And a great socialist effort to undermine the exceptionalism of America, and pride in it, has taken over an entire political party. The great Czech writer Milan Kundera, put it that “The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory.”  And that’s been the progressive effort here.  We must know of it, we cannot let it prevail.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States has allies in this battle with Iran, though you’d be hard-pressed to prove it from coverage in mainstream media. Israel has fought valiantly beside us, absorbing the blows that the enemy wishes it could rain down on our country. We in America ought to at least bring their stories forward. Israel has been at war with Iran since its proxy Hamas launched the attack on October 7, 2023, and the massacre that followed. Right now: The American and Israeli militaries are methodically smashing the military that the Iranian radical regime has built up over 47 years. If it was a boxing match, the referee would stop the fight. But it’s a war, and the target list is long and it’s not done. This battle is the story of this decade, and its outcome one of those very few-and-far between hinge points of history that are obvious as they occur, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall. Our legacy outlets ought to be telling the story. The whole story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We learned in recent days that Leo Radvinsky, the owner of the vast website known as OnlyFans, had died at age 43 of cancer. OnlyFans is one of the most significant purveyors of pornography in all of human history. Through Radvinsky’s leadership, the site exploded to 377 million users, bringing in more than $7.2 billion in revenue in a single year. It’s not really possible to comment on this adequately without reference to theological terms: What we see here is the power of sin, the power of human depravity matched with human ingenuity. The OnlyFans platform was—and it is—a deeply diabolical plan and strategy. And—obviously—at least in financial terms, it works. But we know: It doesn’t work. It is sin and depravity and lust coupled with manipulation and oppression and enslavement. This week’s headlines give us the opportunity to state the truth and to say that what I hope are clear and unequivocal terms.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some four weeks into the war with Iran, a couple of things have become clear—and both worth highlighting. First, in undertaking this mission, President Trump fully restored the American deterrent that was forfeited by President Biden’s collapse in Afghanistan. President Trump demonstrated again the remarkable power of the American military and solidified the most important relationship with America’s most important and powerful ally — Israel. And second, with all that clarity comes one more impossible-to-deny truth: With America involved in a battle with a terrorist regime, Democrats have repeatedly chose in vote after vote to keep the Department of Homeland Security shuttered and unfunded. That is ridiculous and wildly irresponsible. The spectacle of the Democrats risking America to make talking points for MS-NOW audience should leave an enduring impression: The Republicans are the party of security at home and abroad. Democrats couldn't care less.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The essence of parenthood is the right—indeed, the duty—to raise children according to one’s deepest values. That includes teaching them religion. In Europe, that right is under attack. Since 2022, the Samson family has been fighting to regain custody of their daughters. The Swedish government took the girls, citing the family’s religious faith.  The saga began when the oldest daughter, upset about being denied makeup and a smartphone, made a false abuse claim she quickly retracted. The police found no evidence of abuse. But the state took both girls, claiming “religious extremism” because the family attended church three times a week and raised their daughters in a strict religious home. The girls want to go home but the government plans to put them up for adoption. It’s a sobering reminder: religious liberty should never be taken for granted. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

.Portland, Oregon has just made itself ground zero for polyamory. Polyamory is the word that Americans are going to have to recognize more frequently. It refers to different kinds of love, different kinds of relationships. It can refer to same sex or heterosexual relationships. It can be between three, four, five. Well, you count them people. Portland has just decided to include legal protection for polyamorous relationships and what they call polyamorous families. How's that for an oxymoron? Now, I don’t think there's going to be a mad dash to polyamorous situations in most of the country. I think what you’re seeing here is the deliberate destabilization of marriage itself. This is part of a bigger strategy of those on the left who want to subvert a biblical view of marriage as central to our own civilizational project. They want to destroy any commitment to marriage as the union of a man and a woman. They want to destabilize the family. They want to do all of this, period. What starts in Portland ... It doesn't stay in Portland.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suspects charged an alleged ISIS inspired attack near New York City's Gracie Mansion. Deadly Old Dominion University shooting probed as an act of terrorism. Suspect in Michigan synagogue attack had lost family and Israeli strike on Lebanon. These are just a few of the many headlines and recent stories that ought to have our attention. A clash of worldviews sometimes comes down to something just this horrifying. The Islamist agenda is so transparent in these stories, we're talking about the now undeniable links to Islamic terrorist organizations clear in these attacks. And if military intelligence is accurate, we can expect there may very well be more of these coming. This is not Iran. This is not the Middle East. We're talking about New York City, Virginia, Michigan. You wonder if Americans are even paying any attention to what's going on in our own country.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writing about our nation’s last greatest Republican president, Ronald Reagan, George Will wrote: “at a turbulent moment…Reagan became the great reassurer, the steadying captain of our clipper ship. He calmed the passengers, and the sea.”  At the rate things are going, President Trump may very well outdo Reagan. Yes, Reagan ended the “long twilight struggle” against Soviet communism.  The war Iran has waged against us for 47 years has gone on longer than that long struggle. Donald Trump has decided to end that war—decisively.  He’s already taken out the communist dictator of Venezuela, and there is every reason to believe “Cuba Libre” will be more than a chant or a drink but a reality by the end of the year. Killing off regnant communism in this hemisphere, and the head of the snake of Islamism the world-over, regardless of political considerations here at home, is the kind of thing we used to call heroic statesmanship.  These ambitions and accomplishments have no equal. Trump may well be ushering us to freedom’s finest hour.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the past two weeks, four terrorist attacks have struck the United States — in Texas, Michigan, Virginia, and New York.  With the war in Iran, Americans have been warned to be vigilant. So it’s astonishing that Democrats still refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Without funding, airport security is strained, and resources for thousands of federal law enforcement officers, including the U.S. Coast Guard, are cut. This weakens both border and maritime security. The shutdown is because Democrats want to block support for ICE. But refusing to fund Homeland Security sends a troubling message: that opposing immigration enforcement—and giving Trump a “loss”—matter more than protecting the American people. Political fights are inevitable, but they shouldn’t come at the expense of Americans’ safety. Our nation’s security demands seriousness, not partisan posturing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States and Israel are winning this battle with the Islamic Republic of Iran — decisively. Our Gulf allies are standing strong. The cost has already been high. With at least U.S. and IDF forces paying the ultimate price. But of course, some hard-left partisans hate the prospect of either President Donald Trump or the United States as a whole, winning an important, indeed crucial battle.  The left in America refuses to come to grips with how evil the Iranian regime is and for how long it has been so. The collapse of moral clarity among American elites on the left is complete. Democrats are defeated, appeasers, antisemitic in some cases or simply deranged by their hatred of President Trump: You keep speaking up too. We want to hear you say all these crazy things. History will record your positions. The Republican Party should boldly proclaim that, even after 250 years, our country still knows what’s right from wrong and will defend the right.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.