By Lewis Loflin
Progressive disdain for Western traditions flows from elite universities, where oikophobia—disdain for one’s own culture and traditions, from Greek “oiko” (home)—emerges as a secular faith akin to evangelical Christianity. Degrees, however abstract, reveal hidden truths in a modern gnostic lens, the state acts as God, and Progressives are the anointed. Contrasting with xenophobia’s fear of the foreign, this mindset thrives among the top 10%—Progressive Democrats and Republicans—differing only in their visions for society.
Since the 1960s, elite universities have pivoted from education to cultural redefinition, skeptical of average people who rely on traditions—faith, family, work—to thrive. Importing European ideas like Marxism and postmodernism, they adopt a gnostic approach, anointing the top 10% with degrees that unveil truths unseen by the rest, casting the state as the ultimate authority.
Progressive Democrats favor identity reforms; Republicans prioritize corporate control. Both, shaped by this elite, view tradition as outdated, reflecting an oikophobic disconnect from the “common” life they deem unenlightened.
Diversity, a university ideal, often sidesteps mainstream traditions. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s 2010 board—one Asian, four Blacks, five Jews, one atheist—and the NAACP’s all-non-white board highlight this focus, sidelining traditional demographics despite historical ties.
Michael Filozof notes in “The Origins of Leftist Racial Orthodoxy”:
Liberals praise diversity but cluster in white enclaves like Vermont or Marin County… Their ideal mimics Scandinavian socialism—uniformly white. Diversity critiques traditional values more than it reflects them.
Efforts like gay marriage advocacy or tech gender parity challenge norms—Christianity, merit—more than they uplift individuals, suggesting a shift rooted in academic dogma.
Universities embrace European imports like Heidegger’s anti-reason stance, shaping Progressive “justice” with evangelical-like zeal. Conflicts once class-based now target race, sexuality, and culture, with grievance groups opposing mainstream norms. Sandra Y.L. Korn of Harvard’s The Crimson writes:
Academic freedom should yield to justice… Research reflects political priorities… Why allow studies countering our goals?
This mirrors religious intolerance, elevating ideology over inquiry, influencing state-driven policies like climate justice or equity, where tradition is cast aside.
UCLA’s Critical Race Studies defines CRT:
CRT sees racism as pervasive, not tied to individuals, critiquing power through white privilege… It rejects liberalism and meritocracy as privileged narratives.
CRT, a university product, embodies this gnostic lens, decoding hidden meanings—oppression in laws, systems—beyond the average person’s view. Drawing from Heidegger’s critique (New York Times, November 8, 2009):
Left-wing ideas stem from Heidegger’s rejection of Western tradition and reason.
See Deconstructing the West. It fuels oikophobia with a dogmatic frame akin to secret revelation.
Why this rejection? The Psychology of Leftism suggests:
Oversocialization aligns some with society’s code, masking motives with moral causes… This can breed guilt or shame.
Ref: Psychology of Leftism. (Dead link.) Like evangelicals shunning reason, Korn’s call to “enforce justice”—e.g., barring Subramanian Swamy—reflects a secular zeal, degrees as mandates for the anointed.
Post-Trump unrest underscored this. Korn defends Muslim actions in India but not Israel’s, ignoring facts—like Arab violence against Kurds—through a lens of oppressors and oppressed, a gnostic faith in hidden truths.
This disdain can sever ties to reality. How can LGBT activists march with fundamentalist Islam, as in “Trans people for Palestine,” when Hamas condemns their existence? University ideology—degrees as revelation, the state as God—casts the West as oppressor and such groups as allies, overlooking threats. Elite privilege shields the anointed 10% from consequences, unlike average people who see the contradiction.
This echoes evangelical faith—salvation trumps evidence. Progressives excuse Islamist threats as “resistance,” prioritizing their gnostic insight over survival. See The Left and Islam Apologetics.
Bristol Herald Courier, April 18, 2019:
Syria’s 206,603 deaths since 2011 draw little leftist attention, unlike Israel’s Gaza defense. Muslims kill 12 in France; the Left blames America—Obama skips the protest. He ties jihadists to Crusades, focusing on Western flaws. The Crusades followed Arab-Muslim attacks.
Obama’s critique of American values over others’ actions reflects this university-bred oikophobia, backed by Progressives who silence debate. We must question this trend.
Lewis Loflin, Bristol, VA. Ref: Bristol Herald Courier.
Elite universities, importing European critiques, foster oikophobia as a secular evangelicalism—dogmatic, zealous, dismissive of reason. Through a modern gnostic lens, degrees unveil hidden truths, the state is God, and the top 10%, whether Progressive Democrats or Republicans, are the anointed, rejecting traditions vital to average people. From Clinton’s “modern Progressivism” to CRT, this faith can blind them to real dangers, offering a lens to grasp their cultural stance.
Further reading:
Jude3 PCA observes:
Critical Theory drives social justice to transform culture via identity equality, pervasive in America.
Ref: Critical Theory & Social Justice, October 27, 2022.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.
