Political Theater: Trump vs. The Left and the unnoticed approach of the police state
Joseph Goebbels once said that a lie repeated often enough would be accepted as truth. Perhaps then, if the truth is continuously repeated, it too will be accepted for what it is. Sometimes, the truth does not sit well in the minds of men. It forces us to face discomfort and accept realities that we otherwise might ignore to satisfy our own sense of reality. Living the lie allows us to disregard our personal responsibilities to the world around us while providing us with a false sense of security that tends to diminish when faced with the realization that we have been deceived. Nothing could demonstrate this idea better than the political circus that is our government.
Since the election of Donald Trump America has been treated to a non-stop, relentless propaganda campaign designed to discredit and unseat the man as a duly elected president. Many of his diehard supporters have come to believe that he is singlehandedly waging a battle for freedom against an entrenched “deep state.” The more the left rallies against him the more his supporters love him. In fact, sixty-two percent of his voters have said that it wouldn’t matter what he did, they would still support him. This is disturbing as it shows an unwillingness to face the truth.
While the attention of the country has been focused on the impeachment drama, a Trump vs. the Democrats soap opera, the nation is in fact, taking a draconian turn to the left and no one notices. It isn’t that they don’t notice ̶ rather, it is a refusal to come to grips with the idea that things may not be what they seem. While one side portrays the president as someone who absolutely must be removed from office because he colluded with the Russians, or engaged in “quid pro quo” with Ukraine, the other side shows him as a man who can do no wrong. A brilliant tactician who is engaging in a game of four-dimensional chess who at any moment will take down the deep state and restore America to greatness. Sometimes, when things seem too good to be true, they are.
Carrol Quigley, a former professor from Georgetown University and author of the book “Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in our Time” is quoted as saying the American political system should give the impression that there are two parties working against one another when in truth, they are pursuing the exact same policies. It should also be noted that Quigley was one of Bill Clinton’s professors.
The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies... is a foolish idea. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can throw the rascals out at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy. Then it should be possible to replace it, every four years if necessary, by the other party which will be none of these things but will still pursue, with new vigor, approximately the same basic policies. (Quigley, 1966)
Attorney General Barr recently released a memorandum, to little fanfare no less, to U.S. attorneys across the country detailing his plan to create a pre-crime detection system in the Justice Department. According to Joe Wolverton II of The New American Magazine, this system will enable social media companies to share their collected data on individuals who are displaying a potential for violence with federal agencies in an effort to stop mass shootings before they occur. The key words being used here are “disrupt those who are mobilizing for violence.” In other words, Facebook, Google, Twitter and other social media platforms will be sending what you say to the federal government if they think you are acting in a threatening way. This is kind of like passing a national red-flag law without having to pass it. Donald Trump can safely back away from his support for red-flag laws and still get what he wants as a matter of policy. The fact that this initiative wasn’t publicly announced should show American’s that the impeachment sideshow is just that, a distraction from the fact that two political parties are working together to suppress our liberties and subvert the constitution.
This slow and steady advancement of the police state is a perfect example illustrating Quigley’s quote. First, it was the Patriot Act under Bush. We had to surrender some of our liberties to keep us safe in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks. Then, under Obama, it was the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011, where the war on terror was gradually being moved to the American home front. Slowly and ever so incrementally, the image of Islamic terrorism is being replaced, and everyday patriotic Americans are being viewed as potential threats.
The theatrical production being presented to America is vote Trump or get socialism. The truth is that we are going to end up with the same no matter which way we vote. The trick is getting us to accept it. People will argue that Trump has done so many wonderful things and the economy is booming ̶ but the truth is that the government doesn’t control the economy, the federal reserve does. The economy is something that can be manipulated to go one way or the other, it has no consequential effects in the long game of transforming America. The Left and the Right can continue to have false debates on non-essential issues, keeping the American people trapped in their ideological boxes while steadily advancing an agenda most of us aren’t paying attention to. The only way we could possibly reverse course is to come to grips with the idea that things may not be what they seem and stop declaring that we would vote for a president no matter what he does.
