Passover, about to be celebrated by Jews around the world, has connotations far beyond a religious holiday celebrated by adherents of one religion. The theme of freedom, marked during this commemoration of the release from bondage of a people, has been a central tenet of western civilization.
At the beginning of next week, Christians will celebrate their most important holiday, Easter, marking the ascendancy of Christ and his message. That theme, in addition to its very vital religious one, was unique for the tumultuous period when Christ lived. Unlike other creeds of the time, the worth of each individual human being, perhaps best represented by the biblical exhortation to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto to you,” was an extraordinarily innovative concept for that era.
Bonded together, the themes of freedom, and the great value of each individual human life, became the twin pillars underlying all of western civilization.
When that civilization was transplanted to and took root in America, those two basic philosophical tenets became the foundation of a new nation.
But increasingly, that foundation is being questioned. Marxism and Progressivism constitute a return to a more ancient concept where individuals are defined not by their own rights but by their place in a community. As noted in the Encyclopedia of Marxism:
“Only in community [has each] individual the means of cultivating his gifts in all directions; only in the community, therefore, is personal freedom possible.”
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In practice, this idea has always led to an increasingly powerful state. The rights of individuals are essentially no different in a Communist state then in any other centrally-governed entity, whether they are called absolute monarchies, fascist regimes, or other even theocracies like Iran.
This, in turn, leads to an explanation of why Marxists governments abroad and Progressive proponents in the United States generally have antagonist views of Christianity and Judaism: both religions are based on concepts of freedom and the rights of the individual that are untenable in a centrally governed state.
Another wrinkle has been added to the debate between modern Western views of the concepts of freedom and individual rights based on a Judeo-Christian ethic and those of different traditions. The increasing influence of militant Islam has spread the belief that “The irresponsible concept of freedom expounded by existentialism, democracy and modern theories of freedom of expression lead only to corruption and immorality since they are not tied to any concept of higher moral values or self-control…”
Internationally, the increasing spread of militant Islam openly challenges foundational concepts of individual rights taken for granted. In the U.S., an educational environment where mention of the Judeo-Christian underpinnings of Western civilization is harshly discouraged, combined with the political and cultural rise of Progressivism, is proving surprisingly effective in sharply reversing the nation’s fundamental adherence to Constitutional guarantees of individual rights.