The Politicisation of Society

In contrast to free democracies, totalist police states seek to politicise everything. In free societies the state is limited in what it does and what it impacts on. In dictatorships, everything is political and the state sticks its nose into everything.

One way democracies keep the ever-growing state in check is by means of mediating structures. Peter Berger and Richard John Neuhaus coined this term back in the 70s, referring to institutions such as the family, the church, and voluntary associations which stand between the individual and the state.

As long as these various groups stay free of politicisation, and remain independent, they can provide helpful restraints on the expansionist state. But sadly, many of these bodies and institutions are becoming politicised and unduly quite partisan.

Increasingly some of these bodies are simply becoming advocacy groups, pushing politically correct causes. Many professional bodies are moving in this direction. Plenty of examples can be cited here. Consider a classic case where politics and political correctness resulted in one professional body becoming a tool of lobbyists and advocacy groups.

The American Psychological Association (APA) underwent a clear case of allowing itself to be politicised. They basically caved in to the radical homosexual lobby, and reversed long-standing policies simply to placate and appease the homosexual activists.

Prior to 1973 the APA had included homosexuality in its list of mental disorders. An active and belligerent campaign was undertaken by homosexual militants to pressure and intimidate those within and without the APA to reverse this policy.

Sure enough, the activism succeeded, and the APA changed its policy. This politicisation of the APA has been thoroughly documented. For example, readers should consult the important 1981 volume by Ronald Bayer, Homosexuality and American Psychiatry: The Politics of Diagnosis (Basic Books).

This same APA did not stop there. In 2003 it debated whether other conditions and lifestyles should be removed from its list. Indeed, it looked at “all the paraphilias – which include pedophilia, exhibitionism, fetishism, transvestism, voyeurism, and sadomasochism”.

And in the APA’s journal, Psychological Bulletin, there have appeared articles stating that no real harm is experienced by children when they are victims of paedophile encounters. This is part of a much larger movement aiming at legitimising paedophilia and removing all age of consent laws. These are further examples of how various professional bodies and organisations are becoming politicised and have become activist change agents.

A much more recent example of this has just hit the press. According to a recent New York Times article, the American Academy of Pediatrics wants to see female genital mutilation allowed in the US. The AAP is obviously bowing to political pressure. And guess which group is behind this push?

Medicine has become politicised, along with groups which should be looking after the well-being of children. Just as AIDS has become the world’s first politically protected disease, we are now witnessing all sorts of other PC causes which are putting public health and safety at risk.

And catering to the Arab/Muslim communities in the US is not just confined to the professional bodies. The Miss USA pageant has just crowned its first Arab-American. Whether this was due to her sheer beauty alone, or due to the pressures of political correctness remains to be seen. But when more important bodies become enslaved to the PC agenda, then we are all in strife.

Recall that the AAP is the same group that has taken a PC stance on physical punishment: “Where We Stand: The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly opposes striking a child. If the spanking is spontaneous, parents should later explain calmly why they did it, the specific behavior that provoked it, and how angry they felt. They might apologize to their child for their loss of control, because that usually helps the youngster understand and accept the spanking.”

So according to the AAP, smacking a child is out, but female genital mutilation is in. If this is not political correctness gone mad, I don’t know what is. The slow but steady politicisation of society continues apace. Formerly independent and neutral bodies are being politically co-opted and used to push the agendas of various activist groups.

Social engineering is taking place at increasing levels as these various groups are being subverted or coerced into taking on activist causes and activist roles. As this continues, the lifeblood of freedom and democracy is slowly being drained out of most Western societies.

Unless steps are taken now to counter these moves, we soon may not have the luxury of speaking out and taking a stand. As always, whether our democracies endure or are gradually snuffed out is largely up to us. How we respond – or don’t respond – will largely determine our fate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/health/policy/07cuts.html?nl=health&emc=healthupdateema3

[787 words]

14 Replies to “The Politicisation of Society”

  1. “in the APA’s journal, Psychological Bulletin, there have appeared articles stating that no real harm is experienced by children when they are victims of paedophile encounters. This is part of a much larger movement aiming at legitimising paedophilia and removing all age of consent laws”

    You’ve got to be kidding. Would you mind providing a couple of citations to show that this is happening?

    Thanks
    Jereth Kok

  2. Thanks Jereth

    I am certainly not kidding here unfortunately. You can try this one for starters: “A Meta-Analytic Examination of Assumed Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Using College Samples”. Psychological Bulletin 124 (1): 22–53.

    Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

  3. Thank you Bill. This is very disturbing indeed, though perhaps not all that surprising when one considers your most recent post about the sexualisation of toddlers.
    Jereth Kok

  4. Thanks Jereth

    Yes it all ties in. There is a war against children, a war against marriage, a war against family, a war against morality, a war against truth, and a war, ultimately, against God.

    Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

  5. This is just far to upsetting. Honestly Bill, from where i stand which is a tradesman, i cant see what i can do about any of these things. Im glad i know about these things that are happening in our world, but feel useless. One thing im doing now is getting cloths together for the homeless. Its on the street at night and it feels good to help in a small way. This is a bit of track i know, i guess my point is most people who comment on this site are not tradespeople. Please dont get me wrong well done anyone who has the brains not to work with thier hands, but the body of christ. It has many parts, how can my part work together with your part to make us more powerful.
    Hang on i think i may have an idea.
    Daniel Kempton

  6. Thanks Daniel

    As I so often tell my students, the most important thing is this: find out what God wants you to do then do it with all your heart. So rejoice in where God has put you and what he has graced you with.

    Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

  7. Dear Bill,
    Miss USA also made the ‘helpful’ remark that contraception should be government funded, according to the Herald Sun today. I don’t think you are going to be crowned Mr. USA anytime soon….
    Babette Francis

  8. For some while, now, political people have said things like “Everything is political. Even which soap powder you buy is a political decision/statement” (I used to hear this kind of thing said a lot in the late-’60s/’70s) – and the people who were saying it were the ultra-political people who were often a (minor) part of the political machine (eg. they were party members) – which are the gate-keepers of all things political; and so they were claiming, in effect, to have power, or a right to power, over their hearers, and they were the arbiters of what was the politically “correct” choice/action, etc., or otherwise. Yes, it’s all about gaining power for themselves, over us.
    John Thomas, UK

  9. To the good tradie Daniel Kempton I say – this business of “what can I do, I am only one person” is just such a lie. The enemy has used this on me for years. Think about it. Winston Churchill was just one man, so was Hiltler, but look at the impact they both made. The key is, there are always like-minded people out there who will link-up with you to accomplish an outcome, good or bad. This website helps motivate and mobilise people of good heart and link them together somewhat. Let us not fall into the group who were asked “what did you do about this” when The Holocaust was screened in Germany in the 90s. God bless you good tradie.
    Ian Brearley

  10. Bill

    Where you aware of the APA’s new position on homosexual reparative therapy? Far from denouncing therapy to change homosexual orientation the resolution basically states that the patient’s will should be respected whether they want to change or not.

    “Thus, the appropriate application of affirmative therapeutic interventions for those who seek SOCE involves therapist acceptance, support, and understanding of clients and the facilitation of clients’ active coping, social support, and identity exploration and development, without imposing a specific sexual orientation identity outcome.”

    http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/sexual-orientation.aspx

    I thought this was significant for its openness to therapeutic change interventions (essentially leaving it up to the patient) which one would have predicted the APA to denounce outright.

    Damien Spillane

  11. Thanks Bill and Ian
    words of encouragement like water to a thirsty man. Yep its all it takes most the time, a few kind words and our spirit lifts, and on we march.

    All praise to Jesus.
    Daniel Kempton

  12. In Canada, mental health and wellness is becoming politicized especially by activists from the consumer/survivor and anti-psychiatric movements. Our federal government belatedly established a national Mental Health Commission in 2007. Strangely, aside from the Mennonites, our churches have shown little interest in hearing the voices of Christians with mental illnesses. Outreach to those suffering has often been left to parachurch agencies. I have spoken and written about the importance of sharing our stories. As individuals surely we can learn from each other how to coordinate our efforts to educate our local and our virtual communities about the spiritual and political freedom that is available in Christ.
    Richard Bunn, Canada

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