You are not crazy. It is happening. There is an emboldened effort to “spike the right,” silencing conservatives defending free speech, worship, assembly, self-defense, limited government, and diverse thinking, what used to be called “classical liberal” thought. Needed are level heads.
The effort has spread from a few “neo-progressives,” ignorant of history, promoting Marxism, Leninism, Maoism, atheism, anti-Semitism, and neo-Soviet ideas to a wider body of “why not?” Democrats – ready to shut down political opposition, in pursuit of power.
This development is troubling, even dangerous – in the context of American history. Most Americans honor our history, even with backsteps. They understand our idealistic founding on liberty and equality – the greatest possible individual liberty consistent with equal opportunity. That is what Americans died for in places like Normandy and Iwo Jima.
Most Americans understand their rights. All know when they are treated unfairly. Today those who speak up for accurate history, Constitutional liberties, and rule of law, are often targeted, blocked, even intimidated – by leaders of an increasingly intolerant Democrat Party, national media, social media, and their violent surrogates. Americans see all this – know it is not right.
Contrary to the spirit of the First Amendment, a move is afoot to silence those who seek more government accountability, who worry about centralized power and eroding constitutional rights. Suppression of speech is an old tactic of the left. It must be stopped – but stopped wisely.
Conservative Americans are being shut down – then told not to be angry. Congressional Democrats, media “talking heads” (like CNN’s host who derided a double-amputee veteran), and social media billionaires beg for overreaction. That would, however, be the wrong answer.
Three dangers loom. Thoughtful conservatives must see and avoid them.
First, the left wants to instill fear. We must have no fear advocating free speech. Governments have coercive power. Our founders tried to limit that power, but it exists. Historically, unchecked governments thrive on fear. History is replete with examples. Give it any “-ism” you like – communism, socialism, fascism. These ideologies use fear to suppress speech.
That is why we have our First Amendment. Our Founders knew mistakes are corrected by speech. They also knew suppression of speech was dangerous. Government-sanctioned suppression, as by unaccountable social media monopolists, is inherently dangerous.
So, the first danger is fear. Threats to conservative thought must be met by more speech, not less. Fear cannot be allowed to hobble conservative ideas. Whether in writing, peaceful protests, lawsuits, boycotts, new media, political recalls – fear cannot triumph over free speech.
Second, anger can be a motivator – but must be controlled. While Americans traditionally enjoy unfettered speech, they have no right to political violence – on left or right. Read Supreme Court cases, revisit Shays and Whiskey rebellions, see how 1960s violence triggered crackdowns.
Here is the second danger: When media and left-leaning Democrats call conservatives violent – historically not true – they prompt resentment. Unfair narratives cannot become a source for reactive violence. Conservatives must use this moment to promote non-violent answers.
After the Capitol melee, military uniforms are arrayed across Washington DC and state capitols, to deter “conservative riots.” So be it. On one hand, deterrence is sound and political violence always wrong. On the other, one wonders if hyping the threat is not a political strategy, a way of recasting last year’s runaway leftist violence as secondary. Conservatives should not be baited.
To be clear: Conservatives believe in the Constitution – even under pressure. They believe in our republic’s institutions – even under pressure. They believe in elections, rule of law, stability, protection of property, power of persuasion, peaceful protests – even under pressure. The point is to make our system accountable, not destroy it – and not empower others to do so.
In short, the left wants conservatives to become violent, justifying their own violence, stripping conservatives of high moral ground, upending norms for the tolerable, and bringing a hammer down on those who traditionally defend rule of law, conservatives. That is why anyone conservative should disavow political violence. Think about it.
Finally, the third danger is reading Jefferson too literally. A revolution “every so often” is NOT what Jefferson would advocate today. Political violence birthed our nation – greatest in history – but it does not preserve a republic. It gives others the chance to take that republic down.
Jefferson would advocate patient work to preserve the Republic, one to which he gave his life. He would hate the government’s big size – and strive to shrink it. He would hate our big debt, work to reduce it. He would disdain failures in education, morality, and national security, work to reform all. One thing he would not do is destroy what we have built over the past 230 years.
So, to be clear, as someone with relatives who fought in the American Revolution, dozens buried at Arlington, and served in uniform – I love this country. I fear for this country. But the way forward is to speak with conviction, not allowing fear, incitement to violence, or a misreading of history further restrict our freedom. The left wants to “spike” the right. Conservatives need to be smart, smarter than the left, and level-headed.
While I understand the basic premise of your article is to advocate for non-violent resistance and even to a degree some level of acceptance of the left’s stance for the sake of so-called peaceful co-existence, you make a couple of incorrect assumptions. You assume most Americans on the left know and understand their rights and history. Thus everything will somehow self-correct over time, if we are just patient enough.
I encourage you to please speak to the average Millennial or Gen Z’er on the street. and ask them a few basic questions regarding our enumerated rights and American or, even better, a bit of world history going back just over the last couple of hundred years. Not in a confrontational manner, but in a calm, conservational manner. A simple discussion. I have had the opportunity to speak to literally thousands of such people over the last decade and I can assure you that they neither know their actual rights nor do they have any real knowledge or understanding of either American or world history. Most the most part, they have never been taught any of it. At least not properly. What they have been taught all through their attendance in public education system is socialist ideology and a highly distorted view of American history from the socialist perspective. Just look at the current text books and assigned reading materials used by our high schools and colleges these days.
What we have today in the United States is literally two cultures living in the same geographic space, that have fundamentally two distinct and separate views on how society should be structured. On one side you have those of us that believe and support the Constitution and capitalism. Basic human rights and freedoms that allow us to pursue our aspirations based on the individual.
On the other side you have two generations of Americans that have been educated, or should I more correctly say indoctrinated, to believe the Constitution is something to be disposed of. That it is obsolete, because it limits what the State (the Government) can do to its citizens. That it restrains the power of government to do as it pleases in all matters of our lives. That are rights and freedoms are NOT derived from God, but rather they are bestowed by government bureaucrats, who know far better than us what our rights and freedoms should be. That socialism, where the government controls and / or directs all matters related to everything, is the correct foundation for our economy and society as a whole.
Unlike in the times of Jefferson, we are not primary a country where we share a basic set of shared principles. Where free ideas were exchanged to arrive at the reasonable compromises to move the nation forward in a common direction. Personally I think Jefferson or any of our Founding Fathers would be shocked and ashamed of what WE have let this country devolve into. The number of people that still believe in the Constitution as written, our personal rights and freedoms and a society based in capitalism is shrinking steadily. The 40 and under crowd overwhelmingly thinks they want socialism and are cheering it on, because they think it means unlimited “free stuff” that someone other than them will pay for. The same exact social and economic justice smoke and mirrors that ended up crushing most of South America in the 20th century, much of what once was productive and successful African countries and that still reeks havoc all across the world today.
So it is fine to preach patience and hope that it all somehow works out in the end, but that of course ignores how the history of socialism has played out over the last 100 plus years across the globe. As long as people are made to understand the real trade-offs associated with what essentially amounts to capitulation over time, we’re all good.
I disagree with the following statement in this article “First, the left wants to instill fear. We must have no fear advocating free speech. Governments have coercive power. Our founders tried to limit that power, but it exists. Historically, unchecked governments thrive on fear. History is replete with examples. Give it any “-ism” you like – communism, socialism, fascism. These ideologies use fear to suppress speech.”
I strongly support “Capitalism” which of course is another “ism.”
I disagree with the statement about Jefferson. He knew EXACTLY what he was saying and what he meant by it when he wrote: ‘From time to time, the tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots and tyrants.’
It seems the under 40 crowd needs to experience a civil war to know what really matters.
We need more conservative demonstrations, peaceful..if possible. We are 70-80 million strong. We need leadership to to coordinate these gatherings and mass communication. There needs to be protests in every state capitol. The socialists need to know that we are “Made as hell” at the theft and will not back down or be silenced .
If they want war in the streets they can have it !
FREE SPEECH IS GONE, IT’S BEEN DESTROYED BY THE DEMONRATS !!!!!!!!!
Nice words and it would be great if it worked that way but lest we forget…
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
We got where we are by conservatives always playing nice and I am convinced we reached the tipping point a long time ago. Socialism / Communism is a cancer that now has America on life support. The only way to save her is by drastic measures that very few are willing to take.
Big talk but no organization. Even the repub party is practically dumbfounded by the leftist reactionary efforts at this time. NO MSM outlet even approaches allowing free speech and the blatant disregard of ALL the Bill of Rights will follow as the dems claim they must “protect” freedom and democracy by destroying it! DO SOMETHING> I sold all my stock in Apple. I am emailing every rep and senator that still allows an email directly to them. I am migrating all my windows and MacOS systems to Linux ( I am a software developer so this means something) I will be setting up systems to support non-tech tyrant web sites and free speech outlets! There is no more time to sit on your duff and complain!
I believe the left wants to destroy God, individualism, patriotism, family, education, and economy. They are doing an excellent job. They used covid to destroy our liberty. We have no time to be patient to get it back, but it will take the people to act because no elected politician will. When they closed church attendance, we let them get away with it while they sold us out to China. Now China Joe and the looney tunes are in power. Not a good picture of our leaders – for sure. If they take God away from us, we are left with government becoming god, just like China.
Well, the idea of a „Peaceful“ response to Subjugation is exactly what emboldened Hitler and his Deutsche National Socialists — DNS in 1932, and Human Nature being what it is today‘s Democrat National Socialists are no different, meaning that without the very real threat of an opposing deadly Force, these new DNS thugs will be emboldened to install their evil agenda!
Oh, do not fear that We the People will take to the Streets in violent Protestations— no, that is not what the wise Warrior would do. What there will be will be done in Stealth, with Precision, and Extreme Prejudice within the Guidelines described in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We the People of the United States of America shall never kneel, bow, or otherwise allow ourselves to be Subjugated by Tyrants great or small. 1776(2.0)
The socialist want to stifle my freedom of speech but not be angry! Not angry, my hind feet. After they take my freedom of speech away, next will be freedom of religion then they’ll take the guns. Oh but don’t be angry. The demoncrats have lost their minds.
THE democrats ARE EVIL !!!!! THEY WILL DO ANYTHING TO REGAIN POWER (LIE-CHEAT-BREAK THE LAW-DISREGARD THE CONSTITUTION-ON AND ON !!!!!! JUST LISTEN TO STATEMENTS MADE ON BOTH THE SENATE AND HOUSE CHAMBERS BY democrats !!!!
FORTUNATE FOR THEM THEY ARE MET WITH LITTLE OR NO RESISTANCE FROM ALL BUT A HANDFUL OF REAL REPUBLICAN SENATE OR HOUSE MEMBERS !!!!!!
THE GREATEST PRESIDENT OF MY TIME (AGE 89) AND THE REPUBLICANS GAVE HIM VERY LITTLE SUPPORT !!!!
Think things are bad now???????
WAIT till numbnuts and the whore take over this country !!!!!!
Even a rabbit will fight when backed into a corner. I feel we are being backed into a corner.
Until I see a TERM LIMIT option on a ballot, I may just forget about casting my vote for anything or anyone. These GOP leaders, who WE THE PEOPLE put in office are weak and most have been in office far too long!!!! It’s time to put them out to pasture, and NOT with those elaborate pensions either. It’s sickening and disgusting how things have gotten and I am done!!!!!! Don’t get me started on the Demonrats!!!!!! Nancy Pelosi has NOTHING to offer anymore and she obviously has something on all those who cow down to her because she is nothing but evil. WE THE PEOPLE are tired and personally fed up too!!!!!!! WE are alone and I pray something happens soon before we are under a Hitler/Biden regime again. Oh, and Round Heels won’t be sitting back quietly either, because she knows the office is hers!!!!!
Americans have identified with the European Statist false left-right dichotomy, the false division between a totalitarian fascist right & communist left, and its mob rule democracy.
Conservatives are painted with the black brush of “right wing” without realizing what it really is: a semantic trap set by the Statist WORDMONGERS.
America speeds on its way to a S. African style Apocalypse.
If martial Law is not declared today, then, America is all done. Adios Amerigo. Open borders. Biden needs to be impeached if he sets foot in the WH. ASAP.
Thank you for taking the time to write this article.
The left only recognizes violence…they have pushed it through Antifa and BLM and allowed these people to destroy…Jefferson was correct in what he says….he WOULD say the very same thing today….these guys put everything on the table to hand us a Republic and we should do whatever we need to do to keep it. Sorry, this is one time I do not agree with AMAC
We are to be silenced. We are “deplorables.” We are “cultists.” We are to be “reprogramed” There is a hob nailed jack boot upon our throat. Web sites are disappearing daily. The vultures are circling above the carcass.THIS IS NOT OVER. 100 DAYS OF CRAP ARE COMING. SO IS THE FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT THAT HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM US. 2 YEARS TO GET THINGS CORRECTED AND HAVE SOME OF THE COWARDS/RINOS IN CONGRESS GET SOME COHONES. STOP WHINING AND GET OFF OF YOUR BUTTOCKS.
Civil war is the only answer. I’m telling ya’ . . . . .
We will be doing our best to starve out businesses that support the regime of liberal idiots. Our list of businesses and brands to avoid is growing with every passing day. Maybe when their stocks take a dump shareholders will rise up against their policies..
NOTHING we didn’t know, but this is truly America’s DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL, and we must be strong and get through it, RESISTING SOCIALISM through our voices and legal actions.
I agree in most part, playing into the progressive liberal agenda would be wrong and counter productive. We cannot through the baby out with the bath water. However, no matter what the conservatives do somehow the Dem’s and the lame stream media twist our motives and blames us for doing something wrong. Like how media makes what happened Jan. 6th a conspiracy to over through the government when they totally misrepresented the rioting all last summer as peaceful demonstration. I will agree to uphold the laws when all laws are enforced equally and fairly for all. When a law is unfair and not enforced fairly isn’t that what caused us to fight the revolutionary war in the first place! We are at a crossing point in American History, we must make a standup and stop being fearful and object when we see something wrong. And as conservatives we must stop bringing a squirt gun to a fight when the liberals bring a Bazooka.
Looks like the beginning of the communist agenda has begun, wasn’t too long ago BLM wanted to ban July 4th and attack churches that displayed statues of Jesus and Mary for being too white.
BIDEN IS NOT MY PRESIDENT!
Sorry, Mr. Charles, but your platitudes are past the current fervor.
I agree. Calm must prevail. They will use violence against us but it also reduces us to their level. Again with the hypocrisy, There are 20+ congressional and senate seats up for election in 2022, We all must work towards getting qualified Conservatives in office. Write or talk to your current politicians to get voting irregularities corrected. Then work with AMAC or local/national GOP or other Republican groups to get Conservative elected. Senator Rick Scott is leader of the Nat’l Republican Senatorial Ctm. I will be contacting him this week to see what I can do to help, WE MUST ALL WORK TOGETHER!!
Again the Dems wont listen to US, one way talk, achieves Nothing
Why bother., They WANT War day 1 of May riots to date
Only way is via Violence or bust up Big Tech
Chap 7 Big Tech.
Or we lose.
& RINOs & Never Trumpers aid Dems anyway
Instead of wringing our hands in hopelessness, and accomplishing nothing, instead of forming a new “conservative” party, and accomplishing nothing but Democrat control for decades, and instead of marching with pitchforks to the inauguration, and accomplishing nothing but selling the very propaganda the left is attempting get all of America to believe, we need to calm down and ask ourselves what it is we can accomplish. What is actually within our control? It’s four years to another presidential election – we can cast our vote then. Meanwhile, we can quit consuming fake media, except to leave reasoned, fair, and polite commentary on fake media websites showing them the error of their ways. And meanwhile, we can each pick one small thing within our respective financial and skill ability to do that furthers our conservative cause. And we get everyone we know to do the same thing. Starting now. Give $10 a month to your favor legal foundation who is fighting to keep men out of women’s restrooms. Volunteer to review local school books, if history is your thing, to make sure that George Washington is more than a footnote. Or, what I’m considering, organizing volunteers on a voting precinct basis, to bundle checks for the next conservative candidate who will primary the local RINO congressperson. That can be done without much time or money. If the idea spreads we might raise a little money, but it would send a strong message to our current congressperson that RINOitis may be fatal.
After the announcement of the “person” for the associate health position, can expect anything from this butt kissing idiot.
Too many of the comments in response to this article I have read today fall right into the hands of what the Left wants. Listen to yourselves! This article provides great advice on how to move forward in a positive way to overcome what the Left has been doing. Many of the comments today sound like coming from a bunch of wimps, who have hopelessly given up, not like proud, patriotic conservatives. I am a 2-time veteran and wonder, what would all those who fought, and many died, defending our freedoms think of these comments?
We must have term limits. Term limits is the only way to stop Washington from taking over.
Violence would be playing into the hands of the enemy, that’s right they are the enemy to our republic, the lefts greatest weapon against conservativism is the social and mainstream media. They want to cancel us, but we have over 75,000,000 patriots that have a voice that we need to let be heard to cancel them. CANCEL FACEBOOK, TWITTER, GOOGLE, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, YES FOXNEWS, NY TIMES, WASHINGTON POST. TO CANCEL SOCIAL MEDIA DO NOT JUST NOT USE THEIR SERVICE DUCKDUCKGO (NOT GOOGLE) “HOW DO I PERMANENTLY DELETE MY ………ACCOUNT?” DO NOT TUNE IN TO ANY NETWORKS FOR ANYTHING, THEY MAKE THEIR MONEY BASED ON THE RATING. ALSO WHEN YOU HEAR OF COMPANIES SUPPORTING THE LEFT AND GOING AFTER US, LET THEM KNOW THAT WE DO NOT WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. ALSO, ENCOURAGE FRIENDS AND RELATIVES TO COME ON BOARD, THIS IS WAR, LETS KEEP IT FROM BECOMING A HOT WAR.
That is all fine and good, I have turned the other cheek so many times I am black and blue and have no other cheek to turn, I believe that unfortunately in order to keep our country of the people, by the people and for the people we will have to take to arms to defend it from the “ELITES, the LEFT AND THE ACTIVISTS” ie Democrats, who will not go down without a fight and violence that no one wants but that they will make necessary. Of course they will not dirty their hands or risk their own life and limb, but will hire it out or bully someone to do it for them like the National Guard or the military. I wonder how many brave soldiers will refuse to fire on innocent citizens for the Politicians.
Where would we be today if our founding fathers had thought this way: stay calm and not have violence. Without the war of indipendence we would never have gotten our indipendance. Untill ALL the media is put in their place and made to abide by the law we have our hands and feet tied and our mouthes gagged.
What happens when you take a very friendly and docile animal and you corner it andstart pocking it with sharp sticks and throwing rocks at it? It will probably show it’s teeth and eventually charge you. I think we are coming close to that point.
The Republican party has abandoned Conservatives and no longer represents us. I just discovered a new party that is fighting for a voice; check it out at….
conservativepartyusa.org
It may not be much but it is a start and could send a loud and clear message to the GOPe.
Apathy and naïveté by conservatives have contributed largely to where we are, that being said when the democrats ask for unity it is simply a code word for surrender. They have shown for months that they encourage violence as a means of intimidation. The swamp republicans are quickly selling us out for their own self interest. America has never surrendered to a foreign enemy and cannot surrender to a domestic enemy either.
I feel that the Left-Wing Democrats are going to try and bring this GREAT Country down to a Socialist Wasteland.
I, truly, hope I am misguided.
Tomorrow afternoon after the charade of the inauguration of America’s first illegitimate president (an impending Scourge on our nation and all Americans), we will have an infestation taking up residence in the “Dark House” on Pennsylvania Avenue. Let’s hope that in 4 years we will be able to fumigate the place and return it to being a “White House” occupied by a person all Americans can be proud of.
Unfortunately, for the next 4 years, we will have to suffer this Pretend/Fake President and it will be the Winter of Our Despair and Coming Darkness. Let’s resolve however to double down, regroup and defeat these Demsheviks at their own game in the 2022 midterm elections, and again in 2024. Hopefully, more Americans will wake up and realize the folly of following this Demshevik Pied Piper and his hordes of lemmings into the radical socialist abyss that they promise us.
In the alternative, if this does not work, keep your guns ready. You may be called upon at any time to be one of the new Minute Men who will save our country.
I make a motion that everyone turn off the inauguration in protest of the stolen election. President Trump was busy campaigning while the democrat party busy devising ways to cheat. Now, a few words about the republican party – too many cowards! Mitch McConnell, as one example, has made a career out of being a coward. Mitch should’ve been voted out years ago- voted out with all of the other republican cowards currently stabbing Mr. Trump in the back!
The lefties have brainwashed the younger generations. We need to start properly educating the upcoming young Americans. The coming four years could get real ugly. We need to get our houses in order before we can help others.
This is exactly right. I will admit I am afraid. I am intimidated. These people taking over are backed by mean, unprincipled mobs.
President Trump was the only person to speak the truth. Mitch wants to hold on to all his POWER and MONEY, he will do NOTHING!!! Joe Biden is out to lunch and not playing with a full deck. Harris here she comes. VERY SCARY…
We need to deal with these renegade politicians individually, we have the right to recall, investigate, punish or replace them if they fail to defend the constitution or serve us, force them out into the open, we can expose corrupt judges and lawyers as well, we can take our country back peacefully but we need to do it now, there is no next election, your ballots are already being printed in china, with all the selections filled in, chinajoe wants to shut down AMERICAS ENERGY INDUSTRY and give big contracts to china, THAT IS THE DEALS HUNTER MADE with ukraine and china, if we let them get away with this voter fraud, they will go all out next time and we will never have another honest election.
My only response is: God Bless America!
Conservatives need to STOP bowing to the Speech Police and use their Rights EVERY minute of EVERY DAY! Speak truth about what is unacceptable and deviant, unconstitutional and oppressive, and let the Left deal with their own immature and misguided emotions. NEVER be silenced by ANYONE, for ANY reason!
Mr. Charles, an EXCELLENT article that states exactly the questions that Conservative Americans must ask and believe.
The haunting question of many conservative voters is whether or not We the People have enough strong, committed, and courageous voices in our Washington representation to have our beliefs and rights protected.
What has been exposed and defined are the large number of politicians of both parties whose self interest , drive for money,power and perks seriously cloud the reasons the people elected them.
In my view, President Trump, cared more for ALL American Citizens, worked tirelessly for America’s interest FIRST, and was the ONLY President who did exactly as he promised.
I’m watching and hopeful that somebody else in our government has the will and backbone that he showed.
Really appreciated your article,very thought provoking.
Thank you Mr. Charles for your views on these most troubling times. Since the socialists no longer fear the ballot box, they will no longer need to care about opposing views. States need to strengthen fair voting laws, or the socialists will continue to win elections at the state level and in turn the national level. Socialists at the local level as well as the federal level have thumb their noses at the Constitution. It is increasingly clear that laws only apply to conservative dissenting voices, not the real lawbreakers. Republicans at the state and federal level have allowed much of this to happen, giving up their legislative authority to stop it. The U S Senate has already made it known it intends to stack the U S Supreme Court, and admit at least Washington DC as a state.
The Socialists are in the process of purging the House and Senate of dissenting voices. Scaring the opposition into silence. Freedom of speech is becoming freedom of authorized speech. How long before we have the ministry of authorized thought? I will not give up on our country. I pray for our country and hope my prayers are answered.
RJ