Coercing Virtue

Judge Robert H. Bork will deliver the Barbara Frum Historical Lecture at the University of Toronto in March 2002. This annual lecture “on a subject of contemporary history in historical perspective” was established in memory of Barbara Frum and will be broadcast on the CBC Radio program Ideas. In Coercing Virtue, former US solicitor general Robert H. Bork examines judicial activism and the practice of many courts as they consider and decide matters that are not committed to their authority. In his opinion, this practice infringes on the legitimate domains of the executive and legislative branches of government and constitutes a judicialization of politics and morals. Should courts be used as a vehicle of social change even if the majority view weighs against the court’s ruling? And if we allow courts to make law, especially in a country like Canada where our Supreme Court judges aren’t even elected, then what does this mean for democratic government? “The nations of the West have long been afraid of catching the “American disease” — the seizure by judges of authority properly belonging to the people and their elected representatives. Those nations are learning, perhaps too late, that this imperialism is not an American disease; it is a judicial disease, one that knows no boundaries.” — Robert H. Bork, from Coercing Virtue

American culture is on life-support. Beginning in the 1960s a generation of activists twisted and bent long-held American beliefs into an ideology of blame and political correctness-weakening and disrupting the nation. As John Harmon McElroy powerfully demonstrates, the counter-culture has become pervasive, with devastating results. He shows how we neglect to educate our children and call it "teaching self esteem;" how we assail the worth of America and call it respecting "diversity;" and how we refuse to take responsibility for our lives and call it "social justice." In tracing the roots and impact of the counter-culture's rejection of historical American beliefs, McElroy powerfully defends the bedrock principles of responsible individualism, practical improvement, and equal freedom under God.

Sounding the Alarm The authors sound an Amber Alert for the souls of America's youth. They expose how the liberal Left seeks to brainwash our kids for their political gain. Movies, TV, music, court decisions, news reports and the education system are all corrupted by the Left to control the nation's youth. Parents, who seek to protect their children from the devious deception of a liberal agenda, will find this book to be a practical guide to push back against the Liberal efforts designed to reshape our kids' worldview and destroy their moral compass. Steve Feazel and Dr. Carol Swain ring a warning bell for all parents to heed who want their children to embrace and cherish traditional values and moral living that will allow them to live happy and productive lives. The book reveals the dangers of a relative morality while providing practical action steps that parents can take to prevent their children from becoming conformed to the secular pattern of the world. -Tim Wildmon, President of American Family Association I thank God for Carol Swain. Very few people are willing to see, much less say what she and Steve Feazel say in this tremendously important book. It is disturbing, but it is true, so it is up to us to see it for ourselves and help others to do the same. Please spread the word. - Eric Metaxas, New York Times Bestselling author of Bonhoeffer and If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty Everywhere we turn, from our schools, to Hollywood, to the media to the courts, children's minds and souls are being usurped by the radical secular Left. Carol Swain and Steve Feazel tackle the immoral architects of the "New Morality" in this trenchant and timely book--and show parents how to fight back. - Michelle Malkin, author of Culture of Corruption and Who Built That A national wakeup call sounding the alarm on how sinful forces are undermining timeless spiritual values which are so important to maintain to nurture the success of future generations. This unique book provides positive insight that if applied can push back against a culture that places too little value on morality. -Dr. Alveda King, Civil Rights and Pro-Life Activist, Author, Christian Minister Dr. Carol Swain on Huckabee Live!

This book uses the concept of universal human rights to explore the relationship between the individual, society, and truth. To answer the question of how we say something universally true about human beings while lacking the philosophical means to do so, the author explores the changing relationship between truth and politics from Plato to Locke.

Society's drug problem will persist, and debates over how to solve it will continue, getting nowhere, until we define our terms. This book is an effort to do just that—to parse the legal, moral, and philosophical underpinnings for any discussion of drug policy. Does liberal political theory, with its commitment to individual freedom, offer any guidance in the matter of drugs, particularly regarding their legal status? Do the commitments that citizens of liberal democracies make—commitments to ideals such as rationality, equality, justice, and democratic forms of decision-making—have implications for drug policy? These are the questions addressed in this volume, which explores the possibilities and limitations of philosophical reflection on this pressing, practical social issue.The authors, distinguished political and legal philosophers, search out the justification of policies that manage problems of drug consumption and social disintegration, but do so in keeping with the moral and political commitments of a liberal democratic society. Their subjects range from the rationality or irrationality of drug consumption to the scope of liberty; from the proper aims of legislation to the rhetoric of the war on drugs, particularly as deployed by former "Drug Czar" William Bennett.

This book argues that, given the political power the Supreme Court enjoys today, the answer to preserving the separation of powers, democracy, and the American commitment to unalienable human rights is to encourage the Court to intentionally serve as the nation’s collective conscience, just as it did in Brown v. Board of Education.