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Surviving a Siege Mentality
Much of the country feels we are going through a civil war; it just hasn’t been formally declared yet, although many of us have said that the last four years have felt like a war. The current environment is so detrimental to our country that I fear for our wellbeing, mentally and physically.
If you ask the people whose homes and businesses have been destroyed, they would likely tell you how devastated they feel. Their entire lives may have been invested in starting their businesses. Sacrifices were made, economically and relationally. They thought they were in a great country, where they could thrive and reap the benefits of a free society. And then in one vicious attack, it was all taken away. Their hopes and dreams were tossed onto the ash heap. And if it felt like a war, they had no one to protect them, and often couldn’t protect themselves. Now they are trapped in a nightmare with little relief.
What about the people who have lost jobs and are having difficulty finding new ones? Is there a job shortage, or have people just given up on their hopes to succeed at work? And even if they’re working, and they might even appreciate avoiding the commuter traffic, they are either alone with only a computer connection and telephone to link them to others, and maybe trying to figure out how to keep their children in school, learning at home or intermittently in the schools.
But of course, the schools are being transformed. School names are being changed as another way to damage our connections to our past. The buildings may be the same, but they no longer bear the name of men and women we admire. Little by little, our past is being wiped out. And our children may never recover from the brainwashing that is supposed to be education.
The small business owners who have survived are struggling to make ends meet. If lockdowns continue much longer, our thriving towns will likely become ghost towns.
And the Left doesn’t care.
* * * * *
So what is the purpose of this dire commentary? What I find most frightening is the degree to which the Left has tried to turn us into monsters—all of us. I am finally feeling the hatred toward the Right permeating my own life. It isn’t just about Trump anymore; we are all hateful, white supremacists, racists, undeserving of the money we’ve earned. We are not entitled to keep the benefits of the sacrifices we’ve made. We must be punished into fear and submission. We are irredeemable, so they must keep their boots on our necks forever.
The conversations we are having are extremely important, especially on Ricochet. When we are fighting evil, those who are evil must see that they are not the only ones who will be relentless. We will call them out, every opportunity we get. We will rail against the injustices. Through our sharing, we will begin to identify steps we can take, first to hold them in check, then to disable and destroy their efforts.
One thing I know for certain. They can demonize us all they want.
But we have G-d on our side.
Published in Culture
So well said. Apparently I’m not the only one who has noticed how the “white supremacists” canard has been ramped up and broadened in recent days. From past experience, you can see these lies on the horizon as they move forward to general acceptance.
It is important to partner up with other groups that are oppressed by the powers that be. The few can control the many by dividing the many into factions and getting them to fight amongst themselves. Biden and crew will probably spend about $4Tillion this year and most will go toward the haves and not the have-nots. They’ll get the gold and we’ll get the shaft.
Thank you – was feeling pretty bleak, and a bit less so for your post.
I provided this link to another post but I add it here because I still don’t believe the number of Conservatives who have failed to grasp the importance of going on the offensive and not succumbing to a siege mentality. Note that AOC states that conversations are already going on to establish a “commission” to regulate the media. This is madness and we ignore it at our own peril.
https://dailycaller.com/2021/01/14/joe-concha-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-establish-ministry-of-truth-media/
Thank you, @brianwyneken! I thought I would depress people! But I do believe there is hope. We have so many things working for us. I’m glad you feel better.
Thank you for this link, @cacrabtree. We don’t know if this will happen, but the fact that they are publicly talking about it is frightening. After the actions of various companies against the Right the past couple of weeks, I think we have to be ready for anything!
One shred of hope at the back of my mind is that people will get acutely bored with the new State media and will venture out of it.
That would be great, Marci. But will they have somewhere else to go? ; (
A child turned on his father to the FBI leading to the arrest of his father who attend the Jan 6 rally. This was typical behavior during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The younger generation were so brainwashed they would turn on anyone, even family. Now, of course, we hear so many of them regretting their behavior but it is too late. I am sure all of us have lost friends and family support due to support of Trump. For years, the media lied about Trump and so we must be cult members. I cannot even use Google anymore without being brainwashed by the left. I won’t stop investigating the truth and I won’t stop telling them. And I won’t give up on God. That’s how I survive this crazy world.
And @joanofark, we’re with you. And we need to be able to rely on each other, too. Thanks.
Unfortunately Trump’s personality fed into this. To be clear, it was there before Trump but his personality for better or worse incites emotions and reactions. I forget who said it but conservatives fall into a stereotype when they come across as angry. Ronald Reagan repudiated that stereotype with his geniality. Unfortunately Trump confirmed it. I’m not criticizing Trump here. I’m just relating why I think it’s so bad now.
Well, Susan. Your post is a delight to my day. Thank you for writing so often. You represent the best of America, deliberate, non-judgemental, open-minded, courteous and faithful.
Oh my goodness, Joan! You are so kind! Any writer would love this kind of praise; it’s what we aim to provide. Thank you.
But the world that we live in is ruled by humanity.
G-d is always present, Henry.
Perfect, Percival. What a great way for me to bring my evening to an end. Thanks.
Maybe he is but I sure can’t find him.
And the left doesn’t? “Angry left” is almost a cliche.
The Korean shop owners protected themselves during the Rodney King riots.
That may be a more recent characterization, I don’t know. I’m not talking necessarily reality, I’m talking stereotypes.
He’s always there, Henry. Just because you can’t see him doesn’t mean he isn’t present.
I can attest to the truth of this. I was there in ’92, and I saw it first-hand. Seeing those community members and small business owners who protected their own shops made me proud to be an American, and was a rare bright light in an otherwise dark time.
If the Democrats don’t move their power to Congress, as corrupt and crazy as it is, and away from the White House which is not only corrupt but far more influenced by the radical left, the republic is probably over. Maybe we can recuperate and win future national elections, but these people act as if they believe their totalitarian ravings. If they open themselves to China, the one reason to try to hold together will vanish and we’ll have to do something. It’s time we had folks working on how and what to do as we may have no choice. Can we leave the rest with their debt that will be abolished only by inflation and useless bureaucracy? How do we go on a gold standard they have it all. Bit coin? Pieces of California, New York and other left dominated places, could join as well. Crazy and radical to be sure, but if it’s the end of republican government and domination by China? Just having serious and wide discussion of the options might even cause a few on the left to move away from the crazies and actually try to govern.
I find it even more frightening there are people on the right who agree with them . . .
I don’t see that happening. The Executive Branch and Congress are all subservient to the radical Left, and they will do what they need to do to stay in their good graces. So much for separation of powers.
Excellent point, @susanquinn…and this has been a recognized trend in our government for a number of years. The Founders never anticipated that the Legislative branch would surrender their authority to the Executive, unbalancing the entire mechanism like an unbalanced flywheel will eventually ruin the engine it is meant to stabilize.
And what is the solution? I don’t know, but the wild-eyed, hare-brained idea that pops into my mind is this: Perhaps we need a constitutional amendment? What if being elected to serve in the Legislature branch (House of Representatives or Senate) makes one ineligible to be elected to serve in the Executive branch; mightn’t that make the Legislative branch sufficiently jealous of it’s Article I authority (since climbing from Representative to Senator would no longer be a pathway to the Presidency) to stimulate the long awaited “clawing back” of its power from the Executive?
Ricochet is a nice shelter in the siege.
I think there’d be a lot of people who wouldn’t run for the legislature! They’d hate to give up the idea of the Presidency. I’m also not sure that would solve the problem. I think that nowadays the control over the radical Left wouldn’t be stopped with that kind of change. And the two branches are so closely connected that it might be impossible to figure out how to cut out all of them. But I’d like to be wrong!
If you want the legislative branch to flex its muscles, impose term limits. Senators and representatives are way more focused on their congressional careers and re-election than the people’s business. As in: voting this way with the party will ensure national party funding for my next campaign or two.
Back when the term rules were laid down, it was practically inconceivable that 70 year old legislators would make weeks long journeys via (unheated) horse drawn coaches to commute between their constituents and Washington DC. and term limits kind of take care of themselves when life expectancy is under 60. I think the founders would have addressed this if they thought there was a chance of a 40 year congressional career.