What's going on in America right now? We are in the midst of a Revolution. A cultural war is raging in our country between those who believe that America is good and believe that the Constitution of the United States is an inspired document, and those who believe America is bad and that the Constitution is the embodiment of that evil. The future of the United States won’t be determined by the 2020 Presidential election. Our country will be saved by the American people, if we’re worthy of it.
I know you’re tired of hearing about this stuff. You don't like politics and you think history is boring. You'd rather not get involved. I know you're hoping that the unrest in our country is just a side effect of being locked down and cooped up and that it’s going to go away. You're hoping that this will all just blow over. I'm here to tell you in no uncertain terms that it will not. There are deliberate attacks on the heart of our nation and the time to take a stand is now. We must put our foot down. Because it appears that too many people are just hoping that they can be left alone. They think that what's going on is some distant problem. They're hoping that the mob won't find them and come after them for whatever imagined offense that they might be accused of committing next. Martin Niemoller wrote a poem about the cowardice of intellectuals and clergy in standing up for the rights of others:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
It has been said that “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” So I apologize for my word vomit, but I have to speak. More good people must speak out. If we all spoke out against the inequalities, evils, or injustices we saw in the world it would be a better place. We can't wait until problems directly affect us before we're willing to say something. I've been silent in the past because I thought I didn't have anything to say. I thought there wasn't anything I could do and I thought it was fine if others had differing opinions and stances than mine. And it is. However, the thread of common values that used to bind America together is fraying.
Americans used to have common values. We used to believe in Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (this is literally a controversial statement to some now). I thought we lived in a country where we were judged on the content of our character and not the color of our skin. I thought that "all men are created equal" in America because the very foundation of our nation said that was the case. What part of this is bigoted? What part of this is systemically racist? Where is the institutional racism and bias against blacks? Show me the laws that need to be changed and I will be a social justice warrior alongside you to make the America that I've lived in be a reality for other Americans too.
Our country has embraced an Anti-Religion culture. We have removed God and prayer from schools. We’ve removed the ten commandments from courthouses. We’ve removed Christ from Christmas. We’ve altered our historical date notations so they no longer reference Christ. People today are being taught in terms of BCE and CE (Before the Common Era and the Common Era) instead of the notation of B.C., or Before Christ. And these are just the examples from Christianity. There are groups that are trying to change the Constitution to read that we should have freedom from religion, not freedom of religion. These things may seem miniscule. In fact, you might even agree with some of them, and that’s okay. However innocuous they might seem, this is insidious.
These few examples represent an attempt to undermine the clauses within the Constitution of the United States that are meant to ensure your ability to live your life according to your own conscience without regards to whoever may be in charge or what the dominant cultural force may be. The clause of freedom of religion allows you to disagree with the government and others without fear of repercussions. Freedom of Religion represents the right to disagree, to have different belief systems, and different opinions. Freedom of religion, speech, and expression are all intricately entwined. And all are under attack. Without Freedom of Religion, whoever is in power can arbitrarily determine who enemies of the state are and what hate speech is. Without the first Amendment you could be jailed or killed for having the wrong opinion. This should chill you, regardless of whether you belong to any organized religion or not.
American society has embraced a culture of Tribalism. How are those identity politics working out for you? Is it working out well to have warring factions within our society who think that everyone else is out to get them and obliterate their rights? Is it helpful to see enemies everywhere? Is it helpful to deny the voices and ideas of the most powerful in your society instead of seeking to partner with them and getting them to champion your cause? We’ve created a culture that appears intent upon banding together to defend one another’s rights, but only if you fall within a narrow category of sameness. We have divided ourselves into tiny tribes, been encouraged to select ever narrowing labels and descriptions so that people know exactly what tiny pigeonhole of intersectionality we fit into. We have sliced up our own society to our detriment and been narcissistic enough to believe that we must only defend the rights of our own group. Hitler understood the necessity of Tribalism to create serial enemies and the power of fear. Do we?
Identity Politics has pitted our society against each other in almost every way possible. There is always a pervasive sense of “us vs. them.” Millennial vs. Boomer. Men vs. Women. Conservatives vs. Liberals. Republicans vs. Democrats. Rich vs. Poor. Black vs. Whites. People vs. Cops. Proletariat vs. Bourgeoisie. I can hardly think of ways in that wedges haven't been driven between groups of people. Why? This isn’t logical. Logic dictates that cooperation, unity, and teamwork bring greater advances and advantages to humans. Why is division being encouraged? Identity Politics claims to want to celebrate differences, but this is a lie. Try to celebrate something from another culture and I can guarantee someone will come after you shouting appropriation.
Keeping people in a heightened emotional or trauma state guarantees they won’t feel safe and that they’ll keep making emotional rather than rational decisions. Do your own research on trauma. I recommend the book Healing the Shattered Selves of Trauma Survivors or The Body Keeps the Score. If we can be kept afraid, we will continue to use emotion and not logic. We'll continue to react instead of plan. Historian and psychologist Jay Y. Gonen said, “In a world that is seen through a narcissistic tunnel vision, only oneself or one’s group has any rights.” Is this attempt to divide us deliberate? I believe that it is. Our enemies know that if we are united we’re safe, but if we’re divided they can conquer us individually.
Our society has begun to value Emotion over Logic, and considering how we’ve been pushed to believe that we’re surrounded by enemies, this makes sense. Scared and traumatized people literally lack the ability to access their higher order brain functioning. People who are constantly under attack, scared, worried, or stressed are kept in a hyper-vigilant state, always on the lookout for the next threat. They respond to life with an instinctive “Fight or Flight” response. Much of the attempted discourse today is centered in the emotion of the argument and appealing to one’s feelings. If we really valued logic we wouldn’t discount possible solutions and contributions just because they came from someone who wasn’t a member of a victim group.
We have embraced a culture of Censorship. Many Americans try to silence people whose words they don’t like. Why are we supposed to keep our religious values to ourselves? Why, if you aren’t a member of a group who has been wronged, are you not allowed to speak on the topic? Why are only those who can prove their oppression given the right to speak freely? This is the opposite of what would happen if we were behaving logically and it's the opposite of what would happen if we were a truly free society. The free market of ideas has been smothered.
The powerful in society have the most influence and ability to change things. Why are they being forced out of these conversations? Why are they being muzzled? Are we really saying that cisgender white males are the root of all of our problems? Actually, according to some they are. Why is there a war on men disguised as the empowerment of women? The very thing that many profess to be fighting for--a seat at the table--appears to mean taking the seat away from someone who was already there. If we want more seats at the table, instead of taking someone's seat away, get a bigger freaking table. Why are we stifling freedom of speech? Why do we try to cancel anyone whose words we don’t like?
We’ve embraced an either or culture. You’re either a friend or an enemy. Right or wrong. Good or bad. There is no nuance. Because one cop was bad, they are all bad. We’ve redefined words and made synonyms of words that aren’t the same, muddying language to the point that it's no wonder we can't communicate. We’ve rejected independent thought and gotten angry at people for questioning things. We’ve torn down statues and monuments of our history, attempting to eradicate a perceived evil and sought to erase parts of the past instead of adding to them.
We’ve seen the use of repetition to reinforce a narrative. We all know the buzzwords and phrases. These words are meant to permeate our subconscious and lead us to believe that they are truth. Americans are racist. Women, blacks and minorities are oppressed. There is rampant systemic racism. Institutionalized racism is built into our very core. Because most Americans believe that racism is evil, we are essentially hearing a different message than the one that is being said. The message, to our subconscious, is loud and clear. Americans are evil. America is oppressive. The American System is evil. This evil is ingrained in the very fiber of our country. “Repetition is the precursor to success and simplicity is the key to the emotional and mental world of the masses.” The repetition of these key words and phrases, especially institutional racism and systemic racism is problematic.
When I try to ask where this systemic racism is, what laws need to be changed, the answer seems to vaguely be that it’s everywhere. Systemic and institutionalized racism are specific laws targeted against specific races and we don’t have that. Our core laws are not racist. I don’t think it even matters if the people who drafted our laws were racist. The original problems with the Constitution were resolved with additional amendments. Why can’t anyone tell me where this systemic racism is built in so that I can help dismantle it? No one can tell me if it’s the laws that need changed, or the attitudes and behaviors of the people (which if that's the case this is ironically a morality and values problem). I am told the problem is “the institution.” The “system.” Because I can't see it despite them telling me it's there, I am inherently racist. I am complicit because I am white and have benefited from this “system” that people are infuriatingly unable to define.
People are being told, and told repeatedly that they are oppressed, that vile racism is blatant and omnipresent, and the source of this evil is intertwined into the very core of our country. The system, they insist, is the problem, the system. This evil is institutionalized. It is built in. When I tell you the inevitable conclusion of this line of thinking is the dismantling of the Constitution, will you believe me? The people pushing this narrative want more people to believe, and argue with others that America is racist, she is evil to her core, her very foundations. So you tell me what the next step of eradicating this structural racism rooted in the core of our country will be.
What I see is an evil attempt to undermine one of the freest nations that ever existed. I've tried to warn people about what I see by showing them the pieces of the puzzle. I've tried to calmly point out the parallels to history, to point out the tactics defining our culture right now which I highlighted above. Taken individually none of these things present in our cultural seems nefarious, but considered together you've got to understand that these are literally the propaganda tactics used by authoritarian regimes in the past to control people's perceptions. These are psychological mind tactics. Someone is manipulating us. Are they grooming us for a Totalitarian Government? It seems like it. These propaganda tactics create dual realities among citizens. Don't believe me? Please, I beg you, study up on some books or articles on the propaganda tactics and group psychology. There are even more that I haven’t included that we're also doing.
I've tried to point out the alarming things that are happening across the country, that people are being taught that post-modernism and Marxism are superior philosophies than the so-called backwards notions of capitalism and Judeo-Christian values. People seem to think that I'm overreacting. That the things I'm worried about couldn't happen here. I have tried to lead people to reach the same conclusion I have about the very imminent threat facing our nation in a calm and rational way. And people either don't understand what I'm trying to say, or they refuse to believe it. So I'm going to tell you in no uncertain terms what I see happening, and if you feel alarmed after reading this then I've done my job. I'm going to sound the alarm. I'm going to use my pitiful little platform to shout out as loudly as I can. And I hope you are alarmed.
Your laws don’t matter if your government doesn’t follow them. What we see happening in the United States isn't about Covid 19, and it isn't about racism no matter how much they, whoever they are, want you to believe it. Many of us have eaten the propaganda of systemic racism to the point that we're trying to convince one another about how pervasive this racism is. While we squabble amongst ourselves about issues that aren't what they appear to be, people whose motto is to “Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste” are roaring up for the finish line with the taste of victory on their lips. They are deliberately trying to dismantle our country from its very foundations and they're doing it right in front of us, in broad daylight, and some of us are trying to help them under misguided belief that we are promoting a cause of love, equality, justice, and freedom.
Has no one read George Orwell’s 1984? Animal Farm? These are cautionary tales meant to teach us the warning signs of tyranny so that we don't fall for it again. But Orwell is a dead white guy, right? So he’s the problem and we should probably read something by someone black or brown. Nevermind his insights about the anti-utopian reality of totalitarian rule. Nevermind that these books taught us to recognize the tactics of these evil forms of government and showed us why we should fear them. He's part of the dominant culture therefore he's oppressive. He doesn't represent diversity or inclusiveness, so he's not worth listening to. He's a white man.
Why this animosity to white culture? Why this overt pressure for white people, especially white men, to stay silent? Why so much censorship? Why is there an attempt to castrate the most powerful among us? If these people intent on destroying America really wanted to address oppression or inclusivity in our culture they would seek to ally themselves with the powerful who were good. But they haven't. They've sought to cripple anyone with power and anyone with a voice. Why? Why are they alienating all groups from their strongest allies?
I can’t tell you who these people are. I can’t tell you who is ultimately responsible for the chaos we see around us, because I don’t know. They’ve done a masterful job of obscuring truth. However, I can tell you what I do know. Their ideological religion is post-modernism, post-structuralism, Marxism, political correctness, and identity politics. They are seeking to convert you to their religion, and if you don’t choose to convert they plan to convert you by force by implementing it as the state religion. The only thing standing in their way is the Constitution of the United States and that pesky Bill of Rights. These people believe that so called hateful words are a form of violence, and that physical violence is justified against verbal violence. They think that much of what you and I believe is hateful, and they wouldn’t hesitate to use violence against you or me to get us to comply with what they want.
What's going on is not about the systemic oppression of our black friends and neighbors. Look at the protests! Look at the support they have in the streets from black and white and brown people for crying out loud! People are risking their health and possibly their lives because they feel so strongly about the equal treatment, opportunity, and freedoms of Black Americans! This chaos around us is not about George Floyd. It’s not about the pandemic. It’s not about whether or not we should wear a mask. It is not about who has the right to gather, church goers or protesters. It’s not about whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden should be your next President.
The chaos and turmoil you’re seeing is a grand campaign of misdirection on a massive scale, and I for one, am not falling for it. This is my line in the sand, and I will not cross it. I will not be complicit in willfully dismantling the country that I love. I will not willfully dismantle the very protections that were put in place to defend us from the tyranny of government and the tyranny of the mob.
If you think for a minute that you're safe because you live in the heartlands of America and that they can just tear themselves apart on the coasts and in the cities while you peacefully continue your life, you're woefully mistaken. There is an ideological war raging for the hearts and minds of the American people, and the spoils of that war will be the nation. We, the American People, are the last line of defense against people or powers that are seeking to topple our Constitutional Republic.
People are being taught that America is evil, that capitalism and individualism are selfish concepts that are at the root of all of society's problems. They are being taught that freedom cannot be achieved as long as they stand. They are being taught that individual freedom, personal liberty, and pride in one's country are selfish concepts that must be dismantled for the greater good. There are many people in the United States who believe this. They believe that America was founded on white supremacy, racism, and oppression with no other redeeming qualities. They believe that white supremacy and racism continues blatantly today and that this country will never be worthy or able to overcome its past.
These people believe that America must be dismantled, fundamentally transformed, and reassembled if any of us are ever to experience true freedom. This is their religion and they are seeking to have the state impose it upon you. They're seeking to dismantle that pesky Constitution, which is the only thing standing between them and their goals. That single document is what stops them and protects you, and they are intent upon destroying it. They have planned and trained for this. And many are determined because they are convinced they’re in a battle of good and evil. America is evil, and anyone who prevents them from dismantling this country is complicit, a racist, a bigot who actively seeks to oppress others.
You are being manipulated. We are being manipulated. I don't care if you're black or white, LGBTQIA+, Christian, atheist, agnostic or any other ridiculous subgroup that people have come up with to try to divide us into neat little boxes so that they can conquer us separately. If you value your right to live life the way you want to regardless of your self-descriptors, I'm begging you to please, please defend the Constitution of the United States. We must defend our right to free speech, expression, and religion (or the right to believe what you want without interference from the government). We must defend our right to disagree.
Now, if you’re alarmed then I succeeded with my intentions. I want everyone to understand that the laws protecting you from tyranny are housed within the Constitution. We must vigorously defend our individual rights by defending the Constitution. We must contact our representatives and ask them to defend the Constitution, wherever they see its principles being violated. We must have individual conversations with our children, friends, siblings, parents, and neighbors about the importance of the Constitution, especially the first Amendment. I want you to convince your social circle of the importance of defending the Constitution and ask them to do the same. This shouldn’t be a radical proposal. We must present a united front, asking for the vigorous preservation of the values and rights in the Constitution. If I’m wrong, then a bunch of people will have some unnecessary conversations about the foundations of our government. If I’m right, then the American people are the last line of defense.
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