Unaware of what he did, Dennis Prager wrote an article that
condemns the idea of erecting a culture on a foundation of ambiguities while
pretending that it leads to clarity. He wrote “Why the Left Loathes Western Civilization,”
and had it published on April 26, 2016 in National Review Online.
The intended point of his presentation is to say that
Western Civilization is superior to everything else, especially Islam, but he
employed ambiguous approaches to articulate his point of view. He used the
incident of students at a major American university rejecting a course on
Western Civilization, to say that the Left hates that civilization because it
stands for excellence whereas the students, who like to protect Islam, prefer
shoddiness.
Prager made that colossal mistake because he neglected to
inform himself on realities he should have been aware of before trying to
explain that “after decades considering the question, I have concluded: The
Left hates standards – moral standards, artistic standards, cultural standards.
The West is built on all three, and has excelled in all three”.
Dennis Prager would not have been that categorical – making
an ass of himself – were he aware of two massive works on Civilization that contributed
to the demise of Western Civilization in the eyes of the well informed, the
educated and the impartial. They are the 1969 series 'Civilization' produced by
Kenneth Clark, and the 1973 series 'The Ascent of Man' produced by Jacob
Bronowski.
There is no doubt that many of the students who rejected the
university's proposal were aware of these works or at least aware of their
content when they said that Western Civilization stands for “White supremacy,
capitalism, colonialism and all oppressive systems.” Prager could have argued –
as would any sane person – that it is preferable to study that Civilization and
compare it with others than reject it totally. But he didn't do that,
preferring instead to spin the little that he knows and produce yet another
“anti-Left” diatribe that adds no value to the ongoing debates on this subject
and the related ones.
In fact, a related subject is Israel which happens to be Prager's
passion. He brings it into the discussion by making the following connections,
as absurd as they sound: The Muslims loathe the West therefore the Left must
protect them, and that is why the Left loathes Israel .
At this point Dennis Prager starts getting specific. He says
that the Left hates standards because they force judgment, and “the Leftists
don't want to be judged.” To clarify, he gives several examples: Michelangelo
and Rembrandt are no better in the eyes of the Leftists than non-Western
artists, contemporary artists or street graffiti, he says. Also, “melody-free,
harmony-free, atonal sounds are just as good as Beethoven's music. And Western
classical music is no better than the music of any non-Western civilization.
Guatemalan poets are every bit as worthy of study as Shakespeare,” he goes on
to rant sarcastically.
And that's where the foundation of Jewish ambiguities upon
which he has erected his thesis gives way, letting the edifice he just built
come crashing. Fact number one is that … were it not for the art of Ancient
Egypt, there would not have been a Michelangelo or a Rembrandt. Fact number two
is that the vast majority of what he calls Westerners prefer Jazz and Blues
over classical music. As to the common element connecting all this, is that
Egyptian art and contemporary American music have their roots in Africa . Does Prager consider that continent to be a part
of Western Civilization? Or is he ambiguous about that?
Furthermore, ignoring the reality that Christianity arose to
stand on the principles of love and peace, thus serve as an antidote to the
Jewish principles of hate and bloodshed, Prager speaks of the Judeo-Christian
Civilization as a reality rather than the oxymoron it really is.
He stands on that fallacy to argue that something inherent
to Judeo-Christianity renders it superior to Islam, the proof being that it
allows women to vote. The poor man … he is ignorant of the fact that women
always had the right to vote in predominantly Muslim Egypt whereas women did
not win that right till recently in America and other “Western”
Christian nations.