David Letterman and the Culture War

[Torog]

David Letterman and the Culture War

By: Bill O'Reilly for BillOReilly.com
Thursday, Jan 05, 2006


Even though the war on terror dominates the headlines, the culture war in America is almost as intense. On one side you have traditionalists, people who believe the country was well founded, does mostly good things, and has become the most powerful nation on earth by adhering to Judeo-Christian principles like generosity, justice, and self-sacrifice.
On the other side of the culture war are the secular-progressives who believe that the USA is fundamentally a flawed country, which has caused considerable misery both within and outside our borders. The S-P's want drastic change and a new direction for America.

The two most intense issues in the culture war right now are how to deal with terrorism, and what role spirituality should play in the public arena.

The S-P's want little or no public displays of God or religion. That's what drove the attacks on Christmas images and traditions--knock down the big Christian holiday, and the secularists achieve a big victory.

On the terror front, traditionalists largely want aggressive action to wipe out the "evildoers," and if lraq is the battlefield, then so be it.

Secular-progressives are appalled by the Iraq war and generally believe the USA has no right to act unilaterally to hunt down terrorists or their enablers.

So the stage was set for my recent appearance on the David Letterman show. I am a traditionalist; Mr. Letterman tends to mock traditionalists. And he often does it very well.

Our discussion began with the Christmas controversy. Dave did not see it as a big deal. When I pointed out the absurdity of a library in Memphis, Tennessee okaying a manger scene but then telling the woman donating it that she had to remove Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the three Wise Men, Dave said he did not believe the story. And, generally, that was the opinion of the liberal media: There was no Christmas controversy - the whole thing was fabricated by religious zealots bent on establishing a theocracy.

Dave's skepticism must have come as a surprise to Memphis resident Brandi Chambless, the woman ordered to remove statues of the Holy Family and their visitors from the east. But, hey, the shepherds could stay, staring into an empty stable.

The subject quickly shifted to Iraq, a conflict both Letterman and I believe has been poorly managed. We also found common ground on the terrific performance of the U.S. military.

But then Cindy Sheehan came up. Uh-oh.

Dave, as well as many in the entertainment community, feels that Ms. Sheehan should not be criticized. He believes she is above reproach because her son Casey was killed in Iraq.

I do not see it that way, so sparks flew. My contention is that Ms. Sheehan is entitled to grieve and dissent in any way she wants, but her grief is being exploited by far-left elements.

And when Ms. Sheehan told Mark Knoller, a correspondent for CBS radio, that the terrorists in Iraq were "freedom fighters," she insulted thousands of other Americans who lost loved ones in Iraq.

Simply put, terrorists who blow up civilians, women and children are not freedom fighters in any sense. They are murderers and I called Mr. Letterman on Sheehan's support of them.

I hope you saw the program. It was a rare display of the culture war on television. I told Dave I respected his views and he should respect mine. I enjoyed the joust.

By far more important is the wake up call many late night viewers got. We in America are becoming a deeply divided country along cultural lines. The more we all understand what the issues are, the better. The culture war is real, and now everybody that watched Letterman that evening knows it.

Torog Reviewed by Torog on 01-06-2006. David Letterman and the Culture War David Letterman and the Culture War By: Bill O'Reilly for BillOReilly.com Thursday, Jan 05, 2006 Even though the war on terror dominates the headlines, the culture war in America is almost as intense. On one side you have traditionalists, people who believe the country was well founded, does mostly good things, and has become the most powerful nation on earth by adhering to Judeo-Christian principles like generosity, justice, and self-sacrifice. On the other side of the culture war Rating: 5

[VoidLivesOn]

I wish I could have saw that.

[nicholasstanko]

I wish I could have saw that.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200601040009


and the band played on...

[Euphoric]

Simply put, terrorists who blow up civilians, women and children are not freedom fighters in any sense. They are murderers

I believe there have been incidents like this commited by American troops as well recently. Remember that bomb that blew up that entire wedding ceremony? We're terrorists with F-22's!

[VoidLivesOn]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200601040009


and the band played on...

Awesome thanks man!

[pisshead]

I believe there have been incidents like this commited by American troops as well recently. Remember that bomb that blew up that entire wedding ceremony? We're terrorists with F-22's!

our planes and bombs LIBERATE people...that's the difference...THEIR bombs kill people because they hate freedom and are evil terrorists...

can't you doublethink?

[bhallg2k]

Aww, poor baby O'Reilly's mad because he got spanked on national television...in front of a far larger audience than he's used to, I might add.

[beachguy in thongs]

Yeah, I saw that episode. I love David Letterman, Bill O'Reilly was far too ugly, Cannabis.com was more appealing so I only caught Dave as he jiggled about in his chair.

[Torog]

Aww, poor baby O'Reilly's mad because he got spanked on national television...in front of a far larger audience than he's used to, I might add.

Howdy bhall,

I didn't see the actual show myself,but I'm sure that O'Reilly knew that he was gonna git bushwacked(no pun intended..lol).

Part of the reason that I'm here,is to wage the Culture war,to show that there's room for us traditionalist stoners in the stoner community,that not every stoner or cannabinaut,has to be amoral and a God-less heathern,in order to fit into the marijuana tokin community. Note-I said 'part' of the reason is the above explanation,I'm also waging a general Culture war with America at large.

Do you feel that there's a Culture war in yer area ? Do y'all have left-wingers and liberals there,trying to tear down the fabric of society too ? Where you live,does being a good,moral person of traditional values,make you un-cool ?

What say you ?

Have a good one ....

[Polymirize]

Part of the reason that I'm here,is to wage the Culture war,to show that there's room for us traditionalist stoners in the stoner community,that not every stoner or cannabinaut,has to be amoral and a God-less heathern,in order to fit into the marijuana tokin community. Note-I said 'part' of the reason is the above explanation,I'm also waging a general Culture war with America at large.

Do you feel that there's a Culture war in yer area ? Do y'all have left-wingers and liberals there,trying to tear down the fabric of society too ? Where you live,does being a good,moral person of traditional values,make you un-cool ?

What say you ?

Have a good one ....

Dude, you should watch the clip. I'm not even a big fan of Letterman but he definately conducted himself in a much more respectful manner than OReilly did. OReilly brought notes and very deliberately attacked the man.

You may be at war but understand this, the otherside doesn't see it as such a strong division. We're not at war with you, just at odds with you. Please chill out. Where I'm from, part of being a good moral person is to respect other persons and take them into consideration. And I guess the reason I'm liberal is that I just apply that ethic to the international scale.
Sure there's differences between people. But we're all human enough to solve these problems without resorting to violent means (see also; wars).