If you blink, it almost seems like teleportation has commenced. The movement has accelerated so gradually, the transition from not moving to speeding furiously seems almost instanteous.
In politics, the Bandwagon Effect - that shift in opinion that signals a drastic change in progress - is shown in action today. Initially, it was sufficient for a few people - really, a core group of perhaps a few thousand - to hold firm to their positions for a LONG period of time. Don't forget, this has been going on since the days of the Robber Barons, when radicals immigrated, and played hell with our economic and political systems.
Initially, the most radical ideas and persons were not successful - at THAT time. If they operated openly, their views would be rejected. Instead, they use stealth tactics - popping up to take out one person or organization at a time. We, who have always acted under the belief that people were reasonable and could be negotiated with, have found ourselves surrounded by kamikazes - people who have no greater cause in their lives but death in the pursuit of their group's victory.
We're seeing the results of the Longtime Push of the Left today, in the 'Un-Personing" of anyone who disagrees with them. It's a tactic long used by tyrants of the Left. The difference in how it is used in America is that the repression is not being imposed by a single dictator from the top; it is being put into place by the carefully-seeded Leftists in Business, in Academia, and in the many NGOs (Non-Government Organizations - foundations, charities, churches, etc.) that are Cancelling NLDs (Non-Leftist Dissidents), and leaving them without jobs, friends, or reputations.
I'm starting to feel as though this was a Flash-Repeat of the 1970s. Although the 1960s is often considered the "Decade of Revolution", in fact, the 70s was more violent. The 60s still had the relatively peaceful protests that we remember, and have seen lovingly re-created in movies like Forest Gump. When the activism of the Civil Rights and Black Power era are taught in school, those are the events that the curriculum focuses on.
But, that's not the whole story - not by half.
I remember pieces of it. To my embarrassment, whole chunks of the more violent parts of the Left have been nearly completely forgotten. In part, this was because my husband and I were moving around a lot during this time. By 1976, we had welcomed our first child. TV reception sucked where we lived, no newspapers were delivered to our section of town, and, other than the evening news (which, at that time, was around 1/2 hour), we missed much of the news of other cities.
What was shown on TV was minimal. They generally gave at least equal time to the Left, so we can be excused for not having a full picture of the extent of the bombings, armed robberies, and general chaos taking place in the rest of the USA.
Between the moves, the isolation, and three children in 4 years, it's perhaps not surprising that I had other concerns that loomed larger. Since then, I've read several accounts of the many violent acts of the Left, and I wonder at my blindness.
Most of the Left was either not caught, not prosecuted, or pardoned by subsequent Leftist politicians (Thank you, Jimmy Carter and Billy Clinton!). Most of us were eager to get on with our lives, and dropped serious consideration of the future of the Left.
They didn't. They burrowed into schools, NGOs, and government (at all levels). They took over HR departments, regulatory agencies, and those schools producing teachers and clergy. They got elected to governing boards and licensing agencies.
They spent that time preparing for this day. And, they worked to bring in their successors, grooming them for leadership positions that the Old Left's past activities had disqualified them for.
This is their moment. They have, in the words of the catcher from Major League, reached "The moment you've been waiting for your whole life. Don't blow it!"
(God, I love that movie!)
Arson. Burglary. Attack on a police station. And CNN's outrage is because Federal officers stepped in to protect those facilities that the municipal government, nor the state, would.
Oh, and they came in camo - and, took away those "peaceful protesters". Not to a gulag without a trial, but for further questioning, away from their friends who might give them courage.
I'm guessing that the Feds knew exactly who to grab - those weasels who could be pressured to save thei own hides by spilling all the beans.
It's Showdown Time! We cannot watch everyone who sticks their head up, chopped down and buried. We need to vocalize our support, hit the Paypal button, and - if in that organization, openly stand beside them in support. We cannot wait until the Person Without Blemish is picked. Some of these guys are sketchy - so what? The only perfect guy ever got killed - and HIS friends did the same as people are doing now. Hell, if the cowards won't stand up for their friend, who was blameless, when WILL they do so?
It's on us. We need to stand up in protest. Loud, persistent, and in their face. We need to contact the TV stations to urge more honest reporting. We need to support the local police who are overwhelmed, whether at the station, or in our neighborhoods. We need to go to those school board meetings where NLDs are being railroaded by Leftists. We need to stop donating to those churches who cooperate with the shafting of their more orthodox staff and members.
File charges and squeeeeeeeeeze.
ReplyDeleteYep - see my response to today's post by Fran.
ReplyDeletehttp://bastionofliberty.blogspot.com/2020/07/defining-and-defeating-morally-different.html