Two Significant Essays by Paul Gottfried

Since I began this series of short commentaries (in early 2017) one of the authors I have quoted most frequently has been my friend and mentor, Dr. Paul Gottfried. Along with Pat Buchanan, Ilana Mercer, “The Dissident Mama,” Clyde Wilson, Jack Kerwick, and a few others, Professor Gottfried’s occasional pieces (and his always on-target commentary at Chronicles magazine where he is editor-in-chief) make him one of the most—if not the most—perceptive of writers currently defending the heritage of Western civilization against the cultural barbarians now inside the gates and now on the verge of ending our two millennia-old inheritance once and for all.

What is fascinating is that the observations he has made in early 2021 would have been generally considered unexceptional, completely within the standard canon of scholarship and discussion as late as thirty years ago. But how the times have changed! What was considered normative and reasonable back then is now dogmatically denounced by “woke” academia and the media—including much of “conservative” media—as “right wing extremist” or “white supremacist” or “racist.”  Increasingly we cannot, even with the utmost detachment and care, challenge the shibboleths of the Progressivists who now run rampant like crazed Banshees  in our culture, totally dominate our educational system, operate the media as a private fiefdom, and cajole practically all politicians to do their will, without bringing down upon ourselves the ire and severe punishment of the Establishment. And that “punishment” includes routinely banning from all social media, job firing, destruction of a person’s reputation, harassment at work and at home, and increasingly demands that anyone who dissents, anyone who openly supported Donald Trump, be considered a potential “domestic terrorist.” Tofern Waterproof Trou... Check Amazon for Pricing.

Gottfried stands stoutly and fearlessly against that mindless “woke” hysteria and continues to write and publish commentaries that draw from the wellsprings of our Western culture.

I pass on today two recent essays which he published. The first one is a piece written immediately after the January 6 events at the Capitol in Washington DC. Unlike so many of our “conservative” leaders, Professor Gottfried does not wring his hands, do a “Jimmy Swaggart,” and get down on his knees and beg the DC Elites for forgiveness and apologize abjectly for everything that we “Deplorables” supposedly have done. Instead, he pinpoints the utter hypocrisy of not only the Left but also of establishment conservatives and the GOP, who in effect serve essentially as enablers for the always-advancing Left.

The words of the post-War Between the States Southern author Robert Lewis Dabney on the “conservatism” of his day, penned 140 years ago, are entirely apposite here:

“American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward towards perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader…. It is worthless because it is the conservatism of expediency only, and not of sturdy principle. It intends to risk nothing serious for the sake of the truth, and has no idea of being guilty of the folly of martyrdom.” Weatherproof Womens Be... Best Price: $38.86 Buy New $56.32 (as of 10:43 UTC - Details)

Professor Gottfried will have none of it.

The second essay examines the broadened use of the accusations of “racism” and “white supremacy” to explain how some non-whites (shall we call them “Uncle Toms?”) share in the guilt that the rest of us share. Some on the Left have begun to employ the concept of “multiracial whiteness” to explain this, indeed that “whiteness” as a societal evil goes beyond skin color. It signifies a supremacist attitude which “dehumanizes” and discriminates against others—the “oppressed”—in society. And is essentially a political tactic which uses race to its advantage.

Ashamed of What? – By Paul Gottfried

Multiracial Whiteness’ Is the Latest Leftist Branding Iron – By Paul Gottfried