Political commentator and Daily Wire editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro spoke this week to 11,000 students at Liberty University about the profound biblical values that created America, and why they’re worth defending today.
“America was built on a fundamental idea—an idea that was the product of nearly 3,000 years of philosophical evolution … That human beings are made in the image of God,” Shapiro said.
“Judeo-Christian philosophy expects us to struggle, to strive,” he added. “Judeo-Christian philosophy demands that we do our best and that we act virtuously on the individual level so that we can feel secure without invading each other’s rights. The Judeo-Christian tradition says that with freedom comes responsibility.”
Shapiro argued that those values are under attack because Americans now value collectivism over virtue.
“Collectivist philosophy, however, thinks differently—they expect us to give our individual striving up,” he said. “All we have to do is trade our individual responsibility for the comfort of collective power. … We can avoid that (individual) struggle by handing over all power to a nanny state.”
Shapiro believes collectivism breeds death and pointed to the case of Alfie Evans, a toddler with an undiagnosed brain condition in the United Kingdom.
The British government has forbidden his parents from seeking medical care outside of the country even though an Italian hospital has offered to treat him. The British courts have ruled it is in Alfie’s best interest to die.
“Collectivists see the state as the source of our morals, and our families as obstacles standing between individuals and their master. That’s exactly what’s happening with Alfie Evans, where bureaucrats are standing between parents and their child, saying that they know best that a child has to die because they know better than the parents do.”
Shapiro, a vocal pro-life advocate, explained that collectivism doesn’t just murder babies outside of the womb, it murders baby within the womb through abortion.
Ultimately, collectivism brings the death of family, community, and society, Shapiro argued.
“So, the question becomes how exactly do we go about restoring the Judeo-Christian tradition upon which the nation was built? How exactly do we bring back the philosophy of the Founders and restore their promise?” he continued.
“To do that, we have to go back to basics. We actually have to talk about morality in politics,” he explained. “It is our job to learn, as you are doing here at Liberty, about what made our civilization great—and what can make our civilization great still.”
Shapiro received a standing ovation for his remarks.
He has also authored seven books further outlining these ideas including: Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth and Porn Generation: How Social Liberalism Is Corrupting Our Future. {eoa}
Reprinted with permission from CBN.com. Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, all rights reserved.
See an error in this article?
To contact us or to submit an article
