Photo by SwapnIl Dwivedi on Unsplash
In his excellent book “Live Not by Lies”, Rod Dreher urges us to learn by the example of societies in modern history who, having found themselves drowning in lies - big ones, little ones, minor ones, and ones so monstrous and diabolical their minds would not allow them to consider the possibility that they could be true - found the only way out.
A small minority of Americans see clearly that we no longer live under our laws or our Constitution. That minority is growing and will continue to grow because of the existence of platforms like this one, and because those in power want to shut people like me up. More than that, they want to silence people like me so completely and comprehensively that we become little black holes, from which nothing gets out.
But how is it even possible that we have gotten here so quickly and completely?
First, the faith community
I believe it’s because inside of every human chest beats the heart of a tyrant1, one who wants things his own way, and is unwilling to allow you the same kind of freedom, unless it serves his own purposes. And the minute it doesn’t, he has no further use for you, and is as interested in your rights as a lion is in the rights of a wildebeest. So, the first thing a would-be totalitarian needs to do is to eradicate morality of any kind, especially such as is based on belief in and submission to God.
Our country has done that quite effectively by ignoring anyone and everyone in any faith community, by ignoring any rights they might claim to have, by mocking and marginalizing them, and by simply ignoring the law in order to harass them. Our country came into existence because the tyrants in England were doing that to the moral men here who, based almost entirely on their Christian beliefs, could no longer submit to the will of their oppressors. We succeeded spectacularly because of our belief in the principles in the Bible.
But we are no longer a Christian nation - we haven’t been for several generations. Some of the things we now call moral and right would have been anathema to the founders. Many of the most foundational principles to our society have been systematically removed - marriage between one man and one woman for life, do not murder, do not give false witness being a few examples. So many of these principles have been removed, as so many bricks, that the wall can no longer hold. We are left with more and more people angry, demoralized, and outraged at the unfairness they’re forced to suffer.
Next, the Constitutional Republic
Yes, it’s true that we still have the structures our Founding Fathers put in place by which our government and society was organized, but they have been bypassed - simply marginalized by the so-called deep state (what Eisenhower called the military-industrial complex), which is actually in charge. These unelected bureaucrats do the deals that will bring money to themselves and their pals, bring in people who are either ideologically aligned or able to be bribed or manipulated, and the laws passed by Congress are simply skirted or ignored.
What’s left is the amalgamated mess we have right now. Call it what you’d like, but don’t call it a Constitutional Republic, and don’t call it a Democracy. Totalitarian Nightmare might be more fitting.
The one thing all totalitarian regimes seem to have in common is the elimination of the middle class. They purposefully divide the countries they rule into two: the elites and the working class. The elites are few in number, but are enormously wealthy and powerful. The workers have little or nothing - either in tangible terms or freedoms, and though they all want to improve their lot, the elites and their fellow workers knock them down every time they try.
The way out
First, the non-elites need to be moral, even when all around them seem not to be. Second, they need to seek wisdom in all things, so as to avoid being fooled into unwise decisions, which can be deadly. And third, they need to decide that resistance is not futile, and that there really is no way out without it.
We here in the USA have a few tremendous advantages over those who have been subsumed in the past. The first and most important is the availability of alternative channels of communication like this one. Others are emerging, including Locals.com, Rumble (with which apparently Locals.com is merging), Gab , GETTR, Odysee, and other social media platforms.
We also have a thriving decentralized alternative media industry including American Greatness, Consortium News, Epoch Times, Just The News, Reason, Revolver, The Stream, Gateway Pundit, any and every scholar featured in Imprimus, the free publication from Hillsdale College, and Steve Bannon’s WarRoom Pandemic. We also would be wise to follow specific independent content creators and curators. Some of the ones I always make it a point to read, listen or watch are Victor Davis Hanson, Dr. Peter McCullough (A renowned frontline physician and amazing source of useful information about all things COVID), RFK Jr. of Children’s Health Defense (top notch source of on-point COVID truth), Sidney Powell of Defending the Republic, and Thomas Sowell. A few less-than-conservative writers and thinkers deserve mention as well: Naoli Wolfe and Glenn Greenwald come to mind.
Lastly, I want to mention the incredible resource we all have in podcasts, which are free, and many of which have great content. Some I recommend are American Thought Leaders, Firebrand (Matt Gaetz), Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson, and of course Bannon’s WarRoom.
My intent here is to enhance and support content I’ll be curating from other sources. The posts here will hopefully add context to some of the news posted there and possibly in other spots as well.
So thanks for tuning in! Let me know if I post anything especially noteworthy, whether good or bad. I’d love to hear from you!
Training in character and faith disciplines can tamp this instinct down and nearly drown it out, but being separated from the community of like-minded people or its foundational documentation can allow it to reemerge.
"First, the non-elites need to be moral, even when all around them seem not to be. Second, they need to seek wisdom in all things, so as to avoid being fooled into unwise decisions, which can be deadly. And third, they need to decide that resistance is not futile, and that there really is no way out without it."
That is certainly noteworthy. Corruption is the acid that eats away at civilization and corruption begins with the individual. Victory lies in each of us, but can only be achieved if enough of us succeed at attaining the moral high ground by triumphing over our innate darkness.
Thank you for this well thought out and wisdom filled article Mr. Andrew. I look forward to reading your other work.