Winning Hearts & Minds

Every political or social movement has a guiding philosopher who sets the initial premises. For communism it is Karl Marx. For democracy it is Thomas Jefferson. For contemporary socialism it is Maynard Keynes. For America’s social and economic engineers, self-proclaimed Progressives, the guru is Professor George Lakoff at UC Berkeley through his book, Don’t think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate.

According to Lakoff,”If you work hard, play by the rules, and serve your family, community and nation, the nation should provide a decent standard of living…” Also, “Bring corporations under stakeholder control, not just stockholder control.” And there is this definition: “It is the job of government to promote and provide more freedom, a better environment, broader prosperity, better health, greater fulfillment of life….”

Political equality, economic equality, social equality. This all means an enormous central government that provides cradle-to-grave security and entitlements to our 300 million people. But who would rule such a government? It would certainly be enlightened souls who can judge human behavior and mandate social change to insure that justice is evenly distributed every time. Local, state and federal government – through elected representatives and myriad bureaucrats – is the vehicle through which wealth can be controlled and redistributed. Under the guise of a utopian dream Progressives have waged a war against traditional American values.

Americans are not ready for this political coup, so a strategy of Divide and Conquer is employed. Factions arise with a shotgun blast of battle fronts:

· removal of religious expression from public venues
· declaring religious faithful as ignorant bigots
· open borders
· civil rights for non-Americans
· abuse of eminent domain laws
· increased government spending… a list too long to print.

There are multiple battles to wage, and they are mounted simultaneously – mainly through their chief mercenary the American Civil Liberties Union. Battles that cannot be won outright are waged against the finances of targeted institutions. Checks in the Win Column exist because school systems, companies, social and even religious groups simply cannot withstand the costs of continual litigation.

They must win the hearts and minds of Americans, and a major step is to weaken and confuse the nation’s value system. Remember that most people are ignorant of the cultural and political imperatives in play, and many people simply believe whatever they are told by anchors at CBS, CNN or MSNBC. Worse yet, the bias and interpretive reporting portrayed in major newspapers like the AJC, NY Times, Washington Post are the primary “news” sources. Among the most successful tactics: If you disagree, you are a bad person. A pro-life person is “anti-women’s rights.” Against gay marriage, you are homophobic and terminally bigoted. A supporter of aggressive strategies against terrorists is a warmonger.

A major battle front exists here in Georgia. Introduction of legislation requiring a government issued voter identification hit the proverbial fan like a fresh cow patty in summer. Immediate responses portrayed Republicans (Georgia’s ostensibly conservative party) as rolling back the civil rights clock, returning to Jim Crow, disenfranchising blacks, poor & elderly. Never mind the objective was to reduce from 17 optional forms of identification. Never mind the idea was to thwart voter fraud. Never mind the fact the cards would be issued free of charge. No, the argument was framed around political equality. The ACLU marched in claiming the ID cards placed “undue burden,” thus stalling implementation of the law. At least for now, Progressives have maintained access to votes from illegal aliens and others with dubious voter qualifications.

The object of the game is political and economic power, not the stated utopian world of Kumbayah. No tradition, belief system, religion, economic or corporate entity is safe from attack. As fiscally conservative Americans we must acknowledge the subversive nature of this coup toward pure socialism. The truthful way to pose the issue is not simply as Democrat vs. Republican, or conservative vs. liberal. Such titles fall short by creating exclusionary classes of truly compatible people. The truth is purely about America - the United States - and the values and traditions that define us as a nation.