COMMENTARY: Columbia vs. Columbia

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Because now that the holiday is over, it’s time to tell the truth. And it’s not pretty. America is a badly divided nation.

I believe you can sum up the divide by studying Columbia vs. Columbia. That’s the bridge too far. That’s what is driving the strife, vitriol and hatred in American politics.

I attended Columbia University, class of 1983. But I will forever be a SOB (son of a butcher). I’m proud to say I don’t think like any of my classmates at Columbia. I was a witness to how Ivy Leaguers think about America. Not all, but the overwhelming majority.

The kids I met at Columbia were mostly rich. They were raised with everything handed to them on a silver platter. The result? Massive guilt and dysfunction. Almost all of my Columbia classmates proudly described themselves as either socialist, communist or Marxist. They all spoke nonstop about their hatred for America and capitalism. They did not believe in “American exceptionalism.” Rather, they wanted America to be punished for “colonial imperialism.”

They spoke all day long about their hatred for rich Americans and business owners — anyone with money and power. Not surprisingly, this described their own parents. Freud would have a field day with my Columbia classmates. Their goal was to create “fairness, equality and social justice” by bringing rich people (such as their parents) down and “redistributing the wealth.”

They called America a “racist” country. Many of them actually thought life was “fairer” in communist countries such as Cuba or the old Soviet Union. I am a witness.

And, yes, they spoke (even back then) about “white privilege.” They were 100 percent white intellectual liberals, but they appeared to be embarrassed, bitter and guilty about being born white. To me it was clearly self-hatred and dysfunction.

I’m not reinventing the wheel. Others have noticed what intellectual liberalism is about. Two of my original conservative heroes were Michael Savage and Dennis Prager. Like me, both are Jewish, conservative, national radio talk hosts. Savage wrote the book “Liberalism is a Mental Disorder.” Prager coined the phrase about “self-hating white liberals.” I just happened to be a firsthand witness to it.

My Columbia classmates may have had “white privilege.” But as a son of a butcher, I’ve never experienced it. No one ever gave me anything in my life because I’m white. Everything I achieved, I earned through hustling, scrapping and fighting like a cornered wolverine.

And if there is such a thing as “white privilege,” how come my father struggled his whole life as a blue-collar butcher wearing a white apron with blood stains? Where was his “white privilege”?

That’s why I’ll always think more like Columbia, Missouri — the heartland of America. The people of that Columbia think just like my father. The people of that Columbia have never experienced “white privilege.” They’re just trying to survive and raise their children to be good people. They’re patriotic — they would never kneel for the national anthem. They love God and country. They don’t question “American exceptionalism.” They know this nation is the greatest nation in world history, blessed by God.

President Trump and I both speak for Columbia, Missouri, not Columbia University. That’s the divide in America. It’s deep. And, sadly, there isn’t room for “compromise.” One side or the other will win this fight. I will never stop fighting against the scourge of liberalism. Because America and American exceptionalism aren’t compatible with the ideals of Columbia University.

Contact Wayne Allyn Root at Wayne@ROOTforAmerica.com. Hear or watch the nationally syndicated “WAR Now: The Wayne Allyn Root Show” from 3 to 6 p.m. daily at 790 Talk Now and at 5 p.m. on Newsmax TV.