Ideologues Attacking Antiquity

Abstract:  As we sift through the media coverage of the Charlottesville event and the news cycles stemming from it, it is amazing to see the propaganda at play.  If you are not yet afraid of manufactured developments, then you may not be sufficiently prepared for the consequences to follow.  Hayek warned about these developments in his chapter, “The End of Truth,” in his Nobel prize winning book, The Road to Serfdom.  At the time of its publication, Hayek received a brutal wave of criticism from the then liberal academic establishment.  These liberals turned out to be “modern liberals” and today’s progressives (socialists in sheep’s clothing).

The media completely misses the essence of what is going on in Charlottesville, which is a symbol of the competition of visions in America—those who want to transform the idea of America and those who want to preserve it.  This Gadfly Corner article touches upon this theme.  

            IM:  I’m trying to understand why the left is so insistent upon destroying Confederate statues.

Old Gadfly:  Try to think through the motivation.

IM:  The statues represent individuals who played a critical role in advancing the goals of the Confederacy.

Old Gadfly:  Do we really understand the goals of the Confederacy?  What motivated the push for secession from the union?  The reasons are fairly complex.  To keep it simple, let’s talk about Charlottesville, Virginia and the decision to take down Lee's statue.

IM:  A white supremacist group had applied for a permit and received approval to assemble for the purpose of protesting the removal of a General Robert E. Lee statue.

Old Gadfly:  It seems as though the focus has been on the nature of the group and not on the reason for the request to assemble.

 IM:  That’s because the nature of the group, as a white supremacy group, represents a perceived assault on nonwhites.   The manufactured debacle at Charlottesville is an extension of the belief that Lee is perceived to have fought for the preservation of slavery—a human injustice—yet by today’s standards of justice.  This is the impugned motivation.  There is no movement to protest other forms of slavery in the past.  The debacle ignores an entire movement to demonize whites for the institution of slavery, even though blacks in Africa were a major part of the slave trade.  The debacle completely ignores Lee’s loyalty to the State of Virginian during a time when States exercised sovereignty consistent with the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution.

Old Gadfly:  So, you are indicating the complexity of conditions related to the American Civil War, such as the issues involved in preserving the union, State sovereignty, and the morality of slavery.

IM:  Exactly.

AM:  These arguments point to the real crime taking place.  The left wants to eliminate perceived injustices in history by eliminating statues as if this will correct the perceived injustices.  We have a completely different generation, living by different standards, judging previous generations based on today’s ideology.  How is this different from the destruction of antiquities by the members of ISIS?

Old Gadfly:  Excellent point, AM.  The world is outraged by ISIS’s destruction of antiquities.  Why is there no similar outrage over the left’s attempt to do similar things in America?

IM:  One of the groups that contributed to the violence at Charlottesville was Black Lives Matter.  A great deal of its motivation was based on the “hands up, don’t shoot” myth from the event at Ferguson, Missouri, which turned out to be a fabrication.   Yet, they are a member of the left’s ideologues that represent the left’s army bent on destroying Trump and all that he stands for.  Because Trump understands what happened and made it known in his comment about more than one party being at fault for the violence at Charlottesville, he continues to be demonized by the left.  The left, which is more consistent with ISIS in its attempt to shape history and truth, but most importantly to engage in a campaign of conquest, dominates the news cycles.  Unfortunately, Rich Higgins attempted to reveal this strategy, but was fired by Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster (a brilliant warrior, but what is his political agenda?).  Higgins’ explanation of the different levels of narratives by the media is playing out as we speak.  Check out today’s New York Times, if not all the news reports whether local or national.

Old Gadfly:  Based on my own analysis of cultural developments in our society, I could have written the exact memo that Rich Higgins wrote.  Higgins is a patriot.  His analysis is on target.  Do we have others to take his place?

AM:  They can only operate informally.  The media and deep state (Obama holdovers) are not on our side.

Old Gadfly:   We are in a political war.  As difficult as it may seem, Americans will need to pick a side.  The challenge is that many, too many, Americans will have no idea why they should pick a side.   Too many have had the luxury of living in comfort zones and have long ago lost interest in what America is all about.   Too many refer to America as a democracy without any understanding of the founders’ intent on America being a republic.  Thus, they know not the difference between a republic and a democracy.  Too many know nothing of socialism and its cause of tyranny in recent history.   Too many are at the complete mercy of a leftist media that will influence the side they take.  In the end, we are all held accountable for the side we choose.  So, Americans, choose wisely.  Democrats are the party of 19^th century slavery and 20th and 21^st century institutionalized slavery in the form of inner cities and the welfare state.   Republicans believe in the dignity of the human being (i.e., prolife) and the importance of the rule of law in a constitutional republic.  We are mortal.  God will judge for eternity.