Soft Savior

A social critic says “Hard” America competes, “Soft” America coddles. Hard America competes and is accountable. Soft America loves government regulation and social safety nets. So when the apostle looks at the Corinthian church, what does he see: Hard Corinth, or Soft Corinth?

You’ve heard our country described as rich and poor, urban and rural, conservative and liberal, Democrat and Republican, gay and straight, red and blue.

How about Hard and Soft?

A political analyst named Michael Barone has written a book called Hard America, Soft America, and in it he describes a division in our country between those who are Hard and those who are Soft. Barone believes that Hard America is marked by competition and accountability, while Soft America is defined by government regulation and social safety nets.

An example of Soft America? Our public school system. It’s filled with progressive values, including a desire to promote the self-esteem of its students. Playground games that seem to be too competitive and cruel, such as dodge ball, are banned in Soft America. You remember how dodge ball was defined in the Ben Stiller movie last summer? It’s the sport of “violence, exclusion and degradation.”

Hard America, on the other hand, is not...