The c()ntroeri- hroke along predictable lines —religious eonserrnaties versus liberal defenders of artistie freedom —untilrnsomeone raised the telling question of vvliat would happen ifrnthe media offered a demeaning picture of someone who wasrnuni-ersallv agreed to be a holy person, beyond taint or crihcism.rn)csus, clearly, did not fiill into this category, nor did the arch-patriarchalrnnemesis John Paul II (and who cares about him anywrna, except for a billion or so poor people?). The example mostrncommonK offered for this role, the consensus choice for ultimaternsanctit, was Marhn Luther King, Jr., crucified for our sinsrnin Memphis.rnThough on nothing like the same messianic scale as King, arnliberal hagiograpln has also emerged around numerous lesserrnfigures. These arc often associated with the civil-rights movementrnof the I960’s, but as recollections of that era fade for evenrnthe graest of die bab- boomers, a new generation of niart)TS hasrnemerged. In 1998, we wihiessed the astonishingly potent crdtrnsurrounding Matthew Shepard, the xoung homosexual murderedrnin Wxoming. The crime was portrayed stricdy in tenns ofrnmarhrdom and Clahan,’, complete with the grotesque image ofrncrucifixion on barbed wire. The rhetorical implications werernhammered home repeatedly and unsubtly: We are all guilty forrnhis death, we must purge such sins from ourselves and our communihes,rnhow tlioroughly our whole culture is permeated byrnsin and ungodliness (sorn, I meant to say “by hate and homophobia”).rnThe language came close to the apoeaU’ptie warningsrnof national doom invoked by Abolitionists in the years beforernthe Civil War: Woe unto us, miserable bigots that we arc.rnAuonc who doubts that Americans retain a strong and even fanaticalrnnotion of blasphemy can be easily enlightened by makingrna slighting reference to the Shepard ease in any liberal gathering,rnor b questioning whether Shepard’s honio.sexualit}’ wasrna factor in provoking the crime: Expect to encounter physicalrnviolence, or at least ostracism.rnAmericans believe in saints, martyrs, and Christ figures (ifrnnot Christ). They accept the notion of original sin, albeit in thernperverse form of original abuse, and tiiey hope for redemptionrnthrough therapy: Recall the country Kric, “Looking for loe inrnall die wrong places.” In however uarped a form, traditionalrnChristian and particularly Protestant assumptions still have arnvery powerful resonance for Americans. This is importantrnenough in understanding our social ideologies, but the idea isrnalso crucial if we are to understand the kinds of political Hictoricrnwhich arc going to appeal to an audience which inistakenKrnthinks of itself as secular but is actualK imbued witii biblicalrnand apocalyptic assumptions. Only this can explain wli} secularrnliberals are so overwhelmed by King’s “I Have a Dream”rnspeech, which should properly be viewed as one of the greatrnmonuments of evangelical, and specificalK Baptist, preaching.rnAnd it also explains what so manv find an impenetrable msterv:rnwh)’ Bill Clinton has gotten awa’ with every blunder,rncrime, and mishap through both his seemingly unending termsrnas President. Has anyone ever succeeded so thoroughly in presentingrnsuch demagogic ideas, such improbable defenses, suchrncontorted ideolog)’, in tlie unctuous tones of secularized semionizing?rnWitiiess his speech after the Oklahoma Citv’ bombing, arnrhetorical masterpiece of its kind. Witiiess his language of crusadesrnagainst hate and victimization, his constant harping onrnthe idea of innocent children, his invocation of niarh’r figures.rnHis continued sur’ival shows that he knows his audience veryrnwell indeed.rnThe Time forrnHonesty AboutrnRace Is Nowrn”A century from now,rncultural historians will findrnDavid Horowitz’s spiritualrnand political odysseyrnparadigmatic for our time/’rn—Camille Pagliarn”This is a raw andrncourageous book that turnsrnover some rocks and showsrnwhat is crawling underneath.rnIt reveals the ugly realityrnbehind the pretty andrnpolitically correct words andrnvisions of our time.”rn—Thomas SowellrnDECEMBER 1999/15rnrnrn