Operation Extinction
I first realized North American politics had changed during the Obama era. George W. Bush had been an unpopular president. It was clear that America wanted change. Along came Barrack Obama who captured the presidency and initiated a social revolution. But along with that came a political perspective that could only be described as sinister. I remember hearing a news item stating that an Obama advisor had said now was the time to destroy the Republicans and remove conservative thought from America forever.
Not Fair Play
I was shocked. I had grown up in a different world. No one sought to eliminate opposing thought forever. Differing parties presented their vision for the future. In subsequent elections the majority expressed their will. There was room for differing political views, but the prevailing idea was “May the best party win.” This was different. I logged the news item for future reference. But I should have paid closer attention. Why? because it was an important turning point in our political and social history.
“Something Wicked This Way Comes”
Sorry for stealing from Shakespeare, but the quote fits. I realized something wicked had happened. The Democrats were not just attempting to win. They wanted to destroy their opponents. That realization changed everything. I became aware of the new culture war and realized that I had been naïve. I had thought things were the same and, to be fair, I could have been forgiven for doing so. In the “old days” we thought of ourselves as citizens subject to the same laws. We had our nation’s interests at heart, even though we saw those interests differently. Sometimes you were right, and sometimes I was, but as long as the nation prospered there was room for difference.
One Party, One Thought
Not any more. The left is now attempting to destroy conservative thought. Like many people I have come to accept that this, but it is still a staggering thought. Extreme liberal progressives represented by Big Tech, Hollywood, mainstream media, universities, and public education are attempting a coup, one they think will finish us off. What will they replace us with? Themselves of course. There will be one party rule and one kind of thought, in other words a “monoculture” a kind of totalitarianism. It is already here in the form of “cancel culture.”
A Vision That Slowly Revealed Itself
The idea of establishing a totalitarian monoculture has been around for a long time. For a little over a century the left has been attempting to crush all competing thought in order to create a utopian “paradise” in which, “for the good of all,” free thought is extinguished. From Marx, Lenin and Stalin to smooth talking far left Democrats in America like Barrack Obama and Alexandre Occasio Cortez and, to use Canadian examples, Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland, the notion that they need to eliminate conservatives to create a better world has slowly been gaining ground.
We’re All Nazis Now
It is one of the most dangerous political ideas, and it has been growing. Defaming opponents has reached new heights as the left labels anyone with a right of center viewpoint a “Nazi” or “Alt Right” fanatic. Demonizing intelligent center right conservatives has become a cottage industry both in mainstream media and in academia, so much so that what would once have been labelled extremist left wing sentiment or unbalanced reporting has become acceptable.
What Now?
Knowing this, it might be tempting for us to succumb and say to ourselves. “O.K. I guess this is the way the world is now. I had better accept its principles and adapt.” Nothing could be worse than doing so. Woke culture and the Left have become totalitarian tyrants and history shows us that the price of succumbing to tyranny is too high. We have to resist this extremist left leaning monoculture. That’s all there is to it.
Good News
The good news is that people around the world are resisting. New digital platforms like Parler, Gaab, Rumble, and Bitchute are springing up. Alternative media outlets like Post Millennial, True North Initiative, Quillette, UnHerd, Rebel Media, The Daily Wire, Spiked Online and the Epoch Times are attracting millions of people tired of having to swallow far left progressive dogma and bend the knee to extremism. It bodes well for our future. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t mean the battle is won. As Winston Churchill said in reference to Dunkirk, “Evacuations are not victories.” We still have a long way to go, but the good news is that we now recognize our enemy and we are not taking their bullying lying down.
Good article, Perry. I think the issue isn’t that totalitarians exist on the left (they always have), it is that by taking control of the media and public education, they have managed to make their totalitarianism mainstream while casting moderates on the right as the totalitarians. The culture is now mirroring so much of what occurred in China during the cultural revolution, and the ecological policies that Leftists are advancing are reminiscent of the Great Leap Forward.
Agreed. In fact the parallels with the cultural revolution are striking aren’t they? I can see valid comparisons between the Red Guard, the unthinking fanatical teenagers Mao unleashed on his opponents and the people and many young people today who have been the victims of extensive conditioning and woke propaganda. Tragic, that’s the only word that adequately describes it.
Thank you for this thought provoking and deeply reflective article, Perry. I believe that one of the biggest challenges we face in our cultural moment is the fact that we have never really had to fight anything of this magnitude before. Up until now we have contented ourselves in the knowledge that we will continually live off of the moral capital of our Judeo-Christian foundation and that, somehow, we will be able to weather whatever storms may come. But alas, we have failed to learn the lessons of world history! We let down our guard, we became lazy and we… Read more »
You are right in observing that we let down our guard. We became fat and lazy as well as naive and took it for granted that we did not need to do much and our ideas and way of life would just naturally continue undisturbed. That allowed the far left and postmodernists to chip away at our culture and sow the seeds of their cultural Marxist propaganda in our society as a whole and undermine it. Now we must do the hard work of “reconquista” that is, reconquer our civilization and re-establish its norms. Fortunately, we are not the only… Read more »
Thank you, Perry! And so are you! I am grateful for those many who are beginning to step forward, refusing to submit to the cultural Marxism inflicting our culture. At times like these we find that we have far more allies than we even imagined! There are many who appreciate the liberties and responsibilities that derive from our historical base and they are making their voices and actions heard and seen.
Another great article (like usual Perry).👍 You mention new platforms and I am into many of them but please NOTE that even bitcoin assumes access to the Internet. Suppose governments make it illegal for all “haters” (anyone who does not agree with their leftist doctrines) to be allowed access to the Internet when they do not have a government ‘number’? Even now this concept is being played out by nearly all grocery stores. If you do not have a mask on you cannot buy food. Next they will have a policy that you cannot shop in their stores if you… Read more »
Thank you Perry for this article. As a former fisheries biologist I am seeing the possible extinction of salmon runs into the lower Fraser River. The heat waves this summer have particularly exacerbated the situation. Declines are based hugely upon habitat loss in small and intermediate streams. Once the habitat is destroyed it is gone forever. In a similar manner the habitat for conservative thinking is being destroyed. News media, the internet, water cooler conversations, even chit chat among people who we once regarded as being on the same page as ourselves, is being “redacted”, cancelled, minimized, marginalized, ruled as conspiracy theories or hate speech. May… Read more »