Posted: 08/15/06

The "Deconstruction" of the American Mind

Mayflower Institute

Dr. Marshall Foster

August 2006 Journal

Have you noticed that young people often come home from college with a changed view of the world? Have you observed that many Americans are extremely critical of traditional absolutes? Or have you noticed that debates on news broadcasts often deteriorate into shouting matches in which the combatants don't even speak the same language?

There is a fundamental reason for the outright hostility to traditional institutions and principles that we see today. It can be traced to a pervasive philosophy which has permeated films, rock videos, history textbooks, political campaigns, TV commercials, and Supreme Court decisions.

This philosophy is Deconstructionism, and is closely tied to its big brother, the better known philosophy of Postmodernism (the view that there are no universal truths valid for all people). Deconstructionism arose among the French intellectuals after WWII, with its most notable proponent Jacques Deridda. As its name implies, this ideology is out to destroy all universal truth, and especially the biblical "Logos," transcendent truths and laws given by our Creator.

Deconstructionists defy logic and in fact are at war with it, basing their conclusions on emotion rather than fact. They state absolutely that "nothing is truth" and yet hold their view as an absolute truth against truth. As Christians, we should have no problem defeating such illogical double-speak with our revealed truth, the Bible.

But we must remember that Americans are now biblically illiterate and share a degraded view of the Judeo-Christian history of Western Civilization. Our media age has not been taught to think classically, reasoning from cause to effect. They don't believe that the root determines the fruit, for they have been taught that there is no root or truth concerning anything. They are told to follow their own feelings and make up their own rules, based on what is best for their tribe or race or gender or "trans-gender." A fervently anti-Christian educational and media elite has ingrained in America's students that all attempts to universalize laws or morals are just the "power structure of the established order trying to enslave the less fortunate." Of course, the opposite is true. Our nation, the freest in history, was founded upon inalienable rights granted by our Creator, according to our founding documents. Without these protective, God-given rights, all that is left is government granting and taking away privileges to special interests. Liberal "statists" love deconstuctionist thinking because it leads, inevitably, to an all powerful national government that will force their ungodly will upon the people.

The only hope of success for indefensible philosophies like Marxism, Atheism, Post-modernism and Deconstructionism is for them to oppress dissent and propagandize the populace, as in Communism, or to confuse them with "semantic infiltration." "Semantic infiltration" is a linguistic weapon that re-defines key words and phrases of the English language to agree with the "politically correct" deconstructionist view of life.

For hundreds of years, at least since William Tyndale's translation of the Bible, the English language has derived the meaning of its words from a biblical foundation. Noah Webster, America's foremost lexicographer and the author of our greatest dictionary, used the Bible in interpreting the meanings of words. "Love" for example, had a universal meaning of self-sacrifice because Webster actually quotes Mathew 22, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," in his first definition of love in his 1828 dictionary.

Here are some examples of the "semantic infiltration" that permeates our culture. Fetus is used instead of "unborn child" or "baby" to soften the treachery of abortion. Happy Holidays is used instead of "Merry Christmas" to de-Christianize Christmas. Hate crimes is used to label all actions that would oppose immorality as bigotry worthy of prison. Homophobe is the negative label that stereotypes anyone who believes homosexual behavior is wrong as having a psychological disorder. Inclusive is the code word for acceptance of any behavior or culture without repentance. Pluralistic society is the term intended to bring down our Christian culture to create the false vision of a "secular melting pot." Pro-choice shifts the focus in abortion to the couple's rights rather than the baby's death (anti-life).

How can this insidious word game (worldview), that uses freedom for all as a cover, be defeated? First, we can recognize that God has destined the defeat of any "high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God." Its folly will be made known to all over time. Secondly, we should be wise and loving in our response to those captured by this philosophy. We, those of us released from the deception of being our own god, need to systematically, and lovingly, present the irrefutable truth of our overarching biblical meta-narrative (the big picture of the wave of history blessing those individuals and nations who trust God's unchanging Word.) Third, we can then continue to recapture our institutions and become the mainstream depositors of culture, instead of imbibing the enemy's deadly brew. Every Christian church with a facility should consider starting a Christian school or support one and be a part of a home school network. Christian entrepreneurs, with their finances and expertise, are the key to the creation of first class, biblically based universities, films, TV, think tanks, newspapers, websites etc. Fourth, we need to support godly believers to bring principled leadership back to government at all levels, beginning with the church and city councils. And lastly, we must be committed to exhibiting in our own lives and families an unquenchable optimism for a victorious future under God, based on the truth of God's Word.

Exactly 400 years from our first settlement of America and 230 years from our founding as a nation, we are locked in a battle to the death for the survival of our Constitutional Republic. Our greatest threat is not China or North Korea, but the mental "deconstruction" of our own nation by philosophic cowards who hide behind "academic tenure" and media conglomerates. They have homogenized their immoral and illogical spin into an alluring package. But we will not sit back and let them destroy our children and our nation's freedom. There is no option. We must join in this glorious struggle, with the same commitment our troops are giving on the battlefield, and "pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor" as our 56 founders did 230 years ago. Samuel Adams, the father of the Revolution, gave us our battle cry as he signed the Declaration of Independence. "We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting sun, let His kingdom come." Adams had the big picture. Because of God, we win!

By Marshall Foster Click here for bio and archived articles