The fourteen-year-old girl and the sixteen-year-old boy who humiliated themselves and corrupted other children most likely got their oral s.e.x education from the entertainment media (or President Clinton). We have an obligation to scrutinize show business and so-called "celebrities" who behave disgracefully. We have an obligation to hold the corrupters personally accountable.

But we are not doing it. And because of this cowardice and apathy, the forces of darkness are allowed to go to the bank unchallenged and, at times, even glorified. Worse still, when some of us in the press do object to the corporate a.s.sault on our culture, we come under attack ourselves because the elite media never, ever want to be shown up.

I"m not exaggerating; if you follow The Factor, you know that I am reviled in many media quarters and also in Hollywood. You will rarely see an article written about me that does not describe me as "contentious," "bombastic," "a blowhard," or "bullying." While that a.s.sessment may be accurate, couldn"t they throw in an "incisive" or "courageous" or something like that once in a while?

Anyway, those adjectives are used only after the writer confers the label "conservative" on me. Why? Because in the world of the elite media, a conservative is someone who can be airily dismissed as a narrow-minded, predictable thinker. There are certain code words in the elite media"s lexicon, and "conservative" leads the list.

Dealing with fear should be considered a traditional value, but few people actually do the work required.

I believe that overcoming fear is an essential key to living a useful and honorable life. Taming fear also trains a person to stand up to injustice. This is very important. When it is all over, when you are dead in the ground or in an urn, your legacy will be defined by two simple questions: How many wrongs did you right, and how many people did you help when they needed it?

That"s it. Nothing more. No one will care how much money you made or what kind of car you drove. Those things don"t inspire memorable eulogies.

So you can go ahead and hose people all day long, ama.s.sing great wealth and power, but what, exactly, does that mean? Nada, that"s what. Note to the greed-heads and evildoers: You may be remembered for your misdeeds, but only as objects of ridicule or revulsion. On the other hand, the person who makes things better in this world will not be easily forgotten; his or her legacy will likely carry on. The good that you do in your life remains in the world.

But make no mistake: To attempt to right wrongs means conflict, and you will suffer. Most people are afraid of that suffering, so most people sit it out. My father was a role model in this regard, a good man afraid to stand up.

My core belief, as stated in my book Culture Warrior, is that life is a constant struggle between good and evil. That each person has free will and must choose a side. Refusing to choose puts one in the evil category by default, because bad things will then go unchallenged. The German people during the n.a.z.i era demonstrated this better than anyone else. Most Germans were not n.a.z.is, but most stood by and allowed incredible atrocities because they were either afraid or apathetic. Then they were forced to defend those atrocities by fighting World War II. Germany is still branded by that disgrace to this day.

But most evil is not as obvious as the work of Hitler and his pals, who flat out told the folks they were murderous racists. No, most bad people, out of cowardice or self-interest, attempt to disguise their evil. Some get justice, but some do not. For me, that"s the most frustrating part of life: seeing evil individuals continue to harm people with impunity.

Keeping It Pithy

CHAPTER NINE

GETTING BACK TO TRADITIONAL VALUES

"The Code of the Traditional Warrior" and Other Top Hits

In my writings, TV talking points, and other bloviations over the years, I"ve often referred to traditional American values.

Just to be clear, I"ve broken my ideas on the subject down to ten pithy subjects. They define, I believe, a code for us to live by, if we choose.

1. Keep your promises.

2. Focus on other people, not yourself.

3. See the world the way it is, not the way you want it to be.

4. Understand and respect Judeo-Christian philosophy.

5. Respect the n.o.bility of America.

6. Allow yourself to make fact-based judgments.

7. Respect and defend private property.

8. Develop mental toughness.

9. Defend the weak and vulnerable.

10. Engage the secular-progressive opposition in a straightforward and honest manner.

Almost 230 years ago the American Const.i.tution enshrined these concepts-every one of them, if you look-in different words. (Thomas Jefferson might have had a paroxysm, a thing people used to do, over a term like "fact-based." But I think he"d get the point.)

I don"t expect you to tape these ten subjects to your bathroom mirror.

But you could certainly do worse.

Speaking of traditional values ...

s.e.x is supposed to be a private activity between consenting adults who are honest with each other, sharing pleasure and affection, and then shut up afterward.

Men, if a woman shares her body, take it as a gift of affection, not proof that you"re stud of the month.

Ladies, if you said yes without being forced, then don"t brag to your coworkers or your homegals.

By the way ...

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that straining too heavily during s.e.x can induce six to twelve hours of amnesia. This effect is called the Valsalva maneuver. So Clinton had a good medical excuse for his, uh, foggy grand jury testimony about his relations with Monica Lewinsky? And they weren"t trivial, anyway. No. Under oath, there are no trivialities. By the way, what was the name of that maneuver again?