In his book, “Blink,” pages 107 -108, Malcolm Gladwell discusses the modern approach to warfare. After Desert Storm [waged against Iraq in 1990], the Pentagon became convinced that conventional war would soon be an anachronism.
“Conflict in the future would be diffuse. It would take place in cities as often as on battlefields, be fueled by ideas as much as by weapons, and engage cultures and economies as much as armies. As one JFCOM [Joint Forces Command] analyst puts it: ‘The next war is not just going to be military on military. The deciding factor is not going to be how many tanks you kill, how many ships you sink, and how many planes you shoot down. The decisive factor is how you take apart your adversary’s system.’” (Emphasis added)
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Gladwell is describing a war fought from within.
And I wonder how many Americans will read the description above and recognize that this is precisely what is happening in America right now, as traditional values have been subverted and core institutions are undermined.
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Free speech, protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, is a thing of the past. If you are not in line with what is politically correct, you are shut down.
“Cancel culture” has become a frequent social phenomenon: individuals in companies, professional societies, social circles and educational institutions are ostracized or pushed out for opinions that are deemed to be “objectionable” or controversial.
The mechanism frequently used is public shaming via social media.
These practices, which are almost always associated with the left, polarize society and generate a fear of speaking out.
This problem is particularly unsettling in the university environment: students feel too intimidated to take unpopular positions or ask questions that challenge the accepted wisdom. There are numerous instances of doctoral candidates hesitant to submit a thesis subject that is controversial for fear of rejection.
But the university is supposed to offer a marketplace of ideas. The fact that this is no longer the case is a huge – a tragic – loss to American society.
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The major social media sites – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. – answer to no one and reject postings as they choose for political reasons.
These sites are controlling what people are exposed to. Here, too, there is no longer an open market place of ideas – an essential for a free, democratic society.
It was beyond outrageous that all of the major social media outlets banned President Trump. One does not have to agree with him, or like him, to understand that he had a right to his position.
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Yet another way of limiting the information that reaches the public is by controlling what platforms – mainstream cable, satellite, and streaming television – carry. There is currently an attempt to pressure these platforms to refuse to carry right wing information sources:
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Members of Congress, in the main Democrats, have also demonstrated an essential lack of respect for the Constitution.
Multiple attorneys, including Alan Dershowitz, professor emeritus of law and an expert on the Constitution, cautioned that the second attempt to impeach President Trump was not constitutional: this was both because Trump’s statements were protected free speech, and because that so-called impeachment did not conform to the process as specified in the Constitution.
That they proceeded anyway is vastly worrisome: When elected officials ignore the strictures of the Constitution for political purposes the entire system is undermined.
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Given the above, it should not surprise us that 65% of students informally queried at Yale University do not believe the Constitution has relevance today and are in favor of abolishing it in its entirety.
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/02/prager-u-video-yale-students-want-repeal-prager-university/
It is from institutions of higher learning such as Yale that the next generation of leaders will be drawn. But how will they lead if they have lost their understanding of the relevance of the Constitution?
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But wait, there is a great deal more that is undermining the nation. Right now the social fabric of America is being rent asunder by racial issues that were largely manufactured for political purposes:
This past summer Black Lives Matter latched on to the death of George Floyd from a drug overdose to charge that he had been killed by a police officer kneeing him (what the police officer was doing was in accordance with police protocol for restraining someone who was resisting arrest). You can see the facts of the incident here:
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/10/video-who-killed-george-floyd-frontpagemagcom/
Shockingly, George Floyd was made into a hero.
His entire story was inflated and distorted, and used as a fuse for igniting racially charged violence, with deaths and property destruction resulting in many places across the country.
The impression that was lent was that the riots that ensued were spontaneous – an expression of grief and outrage, but they were not. Here I share one report on an undercover investigation that exposes the way in which leftist radicalization was at play. In this case it happened in Minneapolis, but the same held elsewhere.
“The events that erupted in Minneapolis, Minnesota were not a spontaneous reaction to the murder of George Floyd. These were well planned events anticipating some perfect trigger point to bring about the ‘new normal…a world based on communist ideals…’”
Organizers radicalized “middle school and high school children, teaching them military tactics and preparation for high risk actions.” There were “top-down monolithic structures with private intelligence, military contractors, and foreign interests influencing children to carry out their subversive objectives.” (Emphasis added)
https://www.millennialmillie.com/post/undercover-investigation-minneapolis-riot-was-preplanned
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What must be understood here is that: “Black Lives Matter is a Marxist revolutionary movement aimed at transforming the United States into a communist dystopia.”
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16181/black-lives-matter
“In reality, this has nothing to do with black lives and everything to do with liberal Marxist anarchists having hijacked, as they always do, an important social issue with which they will undermine the very communities and people they claim to represent.” — Tammy Bruce, US commentator, The Washington Times, June 14, 2020.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16301/black-lives-matter-part-ii
We are not looking at an organization bent on achieving social justice for black citizens. We are looking at a war on America being waged from within. A war determined to take down America. Black Lives Matter has not totally taken America down. But it has done huge, possibly irreparable, damage to the fiber of the society:
A mood of utter disrespect for law and order was generated. But without law and order the nation disintegrates.
Riots were promoted as a legitimate means of expressing outrage at the racial injustices of society. Progressive mayors in cities where there was heavy violence refused to put it down. Liberal media represented violent gatherings as “peaceful.” There was a refusal to deal with the reality – either because of fear of the violence itself, or fear of looking repressive when “mistreated minorities” were expressing their grief.
Police were cast as the enemy, and thus the call was for “defunding” the police. This was utter insanity, especially at a time when violence in the cities was high. This was more about weakening America than anything else.
The push for less police protection does not reflect the interests of black families, especially those in high crime areas. “A majority of Black Americans have said they want police presence in their area to either remain the same or increase, despite recent protests over police brutality, according to new polls [from last June].” (Emphasis added)
What is more, studies show there is no systemic police brutality:
“Do individual cases of horrible police brutality happen? Occasionally, yes. Is there data to support the left’s narrative that police brutality is a rampant problem in America that disproportionately victimizes blacks? No.”
https://www.prageru.com/video/the-data-proves-that-police-are-not-racist/
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Star Parker is the founder of CURE, Center for Urban Renewal and Education.
She goes into poverty-stricken inner city neighborhoods to teach self-reliance. CURE had put up a number of billboards that said, “Tired of poverty? Finish school. Take any job. Get married. Save and invest. Give back to your neighborhood.”
This is a message for neighborhood stability and individual growth. Black Lives Matter pushed the company that owned the billboards to take down CURE’s message. They are opposed to the message. Neighborhood stability is definitely not on their agenda. Please, listen to Star describing how BLM operates. It is eye-opening.
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Along with disrespect for law and order, a racial schism of huge proportions was generated in the society. Everything is explained in racial terms, with “whiteness” seen as inherently bad. It has reached a level of absolute insanity. I provide one example of this thinking here:
At home because of unemployment engendered by Covid-19, a father had the opportunity to monitor his son’s 6th grade Zoom lesson.
All white students [his son among them] had been given an assignment to place their arms inside a brown paper bag.
“The teacher asked them if the color of the bag looked close to the color of some of the students identified as black in the class. His son peered at the zoom screen and raised the icon button identifying his acknowledgement. The teacher then announced with full moral rectitude and intransigence the following:
“If your skin color is different from the color of the paper bag, then you are part of a problem in America known as systemic racism that does irreparable harm to all black and brown people in America. Further, if your skin color is different from the brown paper bag and you are identified as white you enjoy something called white privilege which means you are practicing racism every day without knowing it.”
The author of the article from which the excerpt above is drawn is Jason D. Hill, PhD. Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University.
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The last problem I want to address here is the manner in which radical thinking has inculcated the government and Congress.
In some cases, it is truly radical thinking that is being embraced. Prime examples:
Joe Biden is tilting left and expected to go further in that direction over time. It has just made news that the White House wants to move ahead with reparations for African Americans. “We are going to start acting now,” without waiting for a Congressional study of the issue, said, Biden’s key advisor Cedric Richmond. “We have to start breaking down systemic racism and barriers that have held people of color back.” Biden has signed an Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation that will enable transgender women who have gone through male puberty to compete in women’s sports. It will destroy women’s sports.
Kamala Harris, vice president and president-in-waiting, is a Marxist, although she would not describe herself thus. She has promoted “equity” in place of “equality of opportunity.” That is Marxism. During a debate when she was vying to be the presidential candidate, she espoused the idea of ignoring Constitutional restrictions and simply issuing an executive order regarding limits on gun ownership. And, it should be noted, at the time of the riots, she raised money for bail for some of the rioters, and declared that they will not stop, nor should they.
I see her elevation to the White House as the scariest prospect.
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In the Senate, there is Bernie Sanders, progressive/socialist. He apparently has the ear of Joe Biden.
Within Congress there is the Squad, with primary members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York; Ilhan Omar, Minnesota; Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts; Rashida Tlaib, Michigan. All radical progressive, advocating programs such as the Green New Deal, which would bring America to a breaking point. They demonstrate an anti-Israel bias, and in some instances anti-Semitism.
In other cases, it is a question of taking care not to be “shamed” by being politically incorrect. Thus did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, among others, ludicrously kneel for George Floyd. Pelosi has been altogether too eager to place an undeserving Ilhan Omar in positions of importance, most recently appointing her to the Subcommittee of Africa House Foreign Affairs Committee.
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Can America find the way out of this horrendous situation? Truly, I am not at all certain, but I have not abandoned hope.
The first thing that is necessary is for Americans to be aware, truly aware of what is happening.
In that light, I ask that this be shared absolutely as broadly as possible. Perhaps some people will open their eyes.
For those who are aware, and frightened, speaking out at every possibility is important.
Vigorous support for stand-up Republicans is essential.
President Trump remains the force that can strengthen the Republican Party. At the CPAC (The Conservative Political Action Conference) on February 28, he declared that “the incredible journey we began together four years ago is far from being over…In the end we will win.” He spoke of a being “in the middle of an historical struggle for America’s future, America’s culture, America’s institutions, America’s most cherished principles…our very identity as Americans is at stake…
“We will be united and strong…we will fight the onslaught of radicalism, socialism, and, indeed, it all leads to communism.”
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© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
