The Conservative Cat

This, of course, is because most of the opinion-makers these days are liberals.

The uniform leftward tilt in academia, journalism, and movie-making is not what it once was, but it is also the stomping ground of the biggest sacred cows in Western Civilization. If you're going to ridicule modern society with any seriousness, you're going to have to take a lot of pot shots at the left. Perhaps the most dramatic example of this is the TV show South Park. Most episodes of South Park completely freak Bruce out, but Peg-Eye Nate has the first 8 seasons memorized. Mention any tenet of the liberal religion, and Nate will describe in gory detail the South Park episode that makes fun of it.

It's worth noting that Nate likes South Park because he's an angry conservative. Five years at the mercy of liberal educators has left him desperate for revenge, and South Park gives it to him in spades.

But South Park is by no means the limit of this phenomenon. Terry Pratchett's wildly satirical Discworld novels have shown a creeping dislike of liberal policies. In his first book, The Colour of Magic, the Discworld's largest city-- the arch-capitalist Anhk-Morpork-- is portrayed as a cesspool of corruption and greed. But by the time he got to The Fifth Elephant, Ankh-Morpork had transformed itself to a land of opportunity and cultural liberty. A few books later, in Night Watch, Pratchett pulls the mask off gun control and the other well-intentioned leftist ideas on crime prevention. But the transformation is most stark in Interesting Times. In Colour of Magic, the naive traveler Twoflower appears to come from a culture vastly superior to Ankh-Morpork, but in Interesting Times we find he's living in a fascist state similar to Communist China, and his experiences in Ankh-Morpork have shown the people of his nation that there is a better way.

(It's worth noting that Nate has read all the Discworld books and tried to convince one of his English teachers that Fifth Elephant should be added to the curriculum.)

These are tough times for conservatives. The Democrats are back in control of Congress, and all the really articulate conservatives are on the radio instead of in contention for the Presidency. But we live in an age where comedy dominates drama, and slowly but surely, the comedy is swinging our way. It has no other choice.

The Democrats may be smiling now, but we own the last laugh. Count on it.

Respectfully submitted,

Ferdinand T. Cat