Trying to understand the fraying of the American fabric requires a look at history. In this essay I will attempt to point out similarities from not so pretty historical happenings and people.
I will use three relative comparisons with the Chinese Revolution and the Peoples Republic of China, the impact of Karl Marx and the foresight of George Orwells’ 1984.
China
In 1946 Chiang Kai-shek opposed Mao Zedong in a civil war fought to unify China. Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalist followers fled to Taiwan. The United States stepped up to protect Taiwan preventing the Korean conflict moving further south. Even today, the mainland Chinese seeks to reclaim Taiwan. Sadly it is yet to be seen how the Biden administration will react to any Chinese attacks or invasion.
Mao sought the eradication of all traces of traditional cultural elements and replacing them with his particular vision which was a form of Marxism.
In 1966 the “May 16 Notification” indicted all bourgeoise in government, academia, industry, finance and religion. The ultimate goal was the elimination of education and religion throughout the vast country. To such end he indoctrinated the youth and supported their activism and violence as they opposed the “Four Olds” of customs, habits, culture and ideas. The youth were identified as the Red Guard and were protected from interference by Mao directly who ordered police to let them do their destruction and activism. The Red Guard ran rampant destroying religious edifices, libraries, cemeteries, cultural and historical artifacts.
You don’t need a road map to see how many similar aspects of the CCP and its rise are analogous to what is happening in the United States today. From wholesale repression of the religious for standing up for their faith, to hand cuffing the police while they watch BLM and Antifa burn and loot many of our cities. Historical statues that have stood for decades are torn down for being on the wrong side of history. The Chinese Revolution is thought to have caused the death of some 20 Million. We have so far been spared this blood bath.
Karl Marx and Marxism
Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels authored the Communist Manifesto, Das Kapital, making their case for the power of the worker and the evil of the elites. Feeling that commerce, education and religion were the province of the bourgeoise class Marx and Engels sought to dismantle society and replace it with stateless and borderless ideology run by the working class. The basics of Marxism can be thumbnailed into the following:
Class Struggle – working class vs. elites. The workers are presented as slaves to the owners of the means of production and commerce. They are seen as selling their lives for their sustenance.
Dictatorship of Production – the overthrow of the power holders by the working class to gain political power.
Communism – abolishment of private property, power to the workers alone, classless and borderless society
Internationalism – unified global entities without regard to borders, traditions, customs.
Religion – Claiming that religion is the opium of the masses designed to indoctrinate the mindless into a regiment of rituals Marx and Engels sought to eradicate all of it.
Karl Marx as a person was a despot who caused his family to live in poverty, filth and want. He refused to do anything that would be considered a job and was no more than a beggar living off the largess of his family, friends, and colleagues including Engels.
Socialism is the precursor of Communism so when you hear people and politicians like Senator Bernie Sanders affirm that they are socialist democrats the danger is that that is a vailed tip of the hat to ideology is all out Communism. Far left progressives, even if they do not admit they are socialists, are cut from the same cloth. They rant and rave about the disparities between the classes and point to the government as the replacement for personal responsibilities and the need to support ever one for everything by taxing the rich. What is always neglected is that the top one percent of the wealthiest already pay forty percent of the income taxes in America. Additionally, the bottom forty percent of the population pay no income taxes. Karl Marx would be proud.
George Orwell’s 1984
Probably one of the most quoted and prescient works is 1984 the George Orwell novel set in a fantastical time and society.
The character of Winston Smith exposes the fear, hopelessness and dishonesty of Oceania. Big Brother is omnipresent in a country made up of the Inner Party, the Outer Party, the proletariat and the imaginary opposition known as the Brotherhood.
Society is overseen by nefarious agencies that exist to monitor the activities of citizens, think NSA, CIA and FBI. The agencies promote the indoctrination of youth as spies for the Party against their family, think Critical Race Theory being taught to our children. Society is further subjected to things like doublespeak, Newspeak, Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Love, the Anti Sex League.
Winston is tasked with rewriting history, events, and statistics as directed by the Party. An operator for what could be considered the equivalent of cancel culture he was responsible for writing all unpersons out of history. He must write in Newspeak that alters grammar with a restricted vocabulary to prevent subversive concepts. Rewritten history is relegated to the “memory hole” analogous to cancel culture. The Though Police enforce all violations of the days Big Brother edicts and any other thought crime. Here you need to see the woke attacks and political correctness.
As a work of fiction 1984 presents so many comparisons to 2021 United State of America. Thankfully the book exists for us to see the pitfalls of allowing the transition of our way of life.
Winston ultimately is tortured and made mentally numb so he will no longer challenge the Party. Don’t let that happen to you. Listen, observe, think and take a stand or you will become Winston.
In closing. History is the best teacher of every societal upheaval, the cause, the turmoil and the results. Not knowing history, being blasé and thinking none of the developments really affect you is naïve and will lead to the loss of our American values, traditions, laws and culture.
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