WoW! Forum: Is America In A Civil War?

Every week on Monday, the WoW! community and our invited guests weigh in at the Watcher's Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture, or daily living. This week's question: Is America In A Civil War?

Laura Rambeau Lee, Right Reason :America is not in a civil war. It goes much deeper than that. One the one side we have those who understand the exceptional circumstances surrounding the founding of America. We believe that Providence, our Creator, brought the greatest minds of the time together to put words on paper and affirm to the world what we believe are the fundamental truths of human existence; that the essence of humankind is freedom and liberty. We believe this truth predates any laws or civilizations. We are inherently free and our freedom and basic rights cannot be limited by another person or government. But the Founding Fathers also understood the necessity of government to protect these basic rights and created a government template which limited the power of government over our lives and our freedoms. A government’s primary obligation is to protect its citizens so they are able to live their lives without fear while they pursue whatever they choose to do that makes them happy. We proudly believe in a country where the rule of law applies equally to everyone; rich or poor, black, brown, or white.

However, today we are a country in chaos. We can no longer say we are a country where the rule of law applies equally to everyone. We have seen our elected “trusted servants” work not for their constituents but for themselves. Our representative government no longer represents us. They create separate laws for us and exempt themselves from them. They have tasted power and will do anything to stay in power. This applies to both parties as very few of our representatives are truly working for the people.

Over the past century an evil has pervaded America through government, media, entertainment, and education. The war we are in is between good and evil. This evil has many names; communism, Marxism, socialism, globalism, progressivism. Those who espouse and advance this evil know very well how to destroy our country. It has been done before throughout history. The only thing standing between America and this evil are we Conservatives who understand at the elemental level what is at stake. We know what they are doing by creating divisions within our population. They use diversity and moral relativism as weapons. Social justice warriors carry the flag of the cause du jour while screaming about the intolerance of the right. Our youth and young adults are being flooded with incredible disinformation and extremely violent movies and video games desensitizing them against any real injustices in the world. The uncertainty they are being exposed to is dangerous and abusive. It is psychological warfare being practiced on them at their most vulnerable ages. Certainty is healthy, uncertainty is debilitating and destructive.

In order to win this battle we have to restore certainty and morality into our American culture. There are basic truths we can and must hold on to and only those who share these beliefs should be allowed to immigrate to this country. This is the real war in and against America and I fear we are losing it as our voices are being shouted down or ridiculed in the media as intolerant or racist. We must not let them silence us. There is too much at stake.

Rob Miller : Those of you kind enough to read me regularly know that I've always thought of it more as a second American revolution rather than a civil war. That belief of mine goes back to the 2016 campaign.

Contrary to what many people believe, America's Revolution was not exactly universally popular or supported. There were lots of people who supported the status quo, felt that the rebels were traitors to the King of England and acted on those beliefs. Many of them even fought on the British side and took great pleasure and yes, profit in helping the British and their Hessian mercenaries (ach, those Germans!) to commit a number of atrocities, especially in the mid-Atlantic colonies and  the South.  Just like today, the Tories felt that no violence and abuse was beyond the pale for the Revolutionaries, not even inciting, arming and unleashing hostile Indians on unprotected women and children, just as the French did during Queen Anne's War.

It's hardly surprising that many of these Tories relocated after our independence was won.

There are a number of parallels today if you think about it. We too have an entrenched elite living off excessive taxation and laws they passed to benefit themselves that are plundering our country for their pleasure and enrichment. And they likewise think it is right and proper to demonize anyone trying to end the game. They believe that no violence or hatred directed at those and their families whom obstruct them  and their self-appointed privilege  is out of line. They even employ bringing what amounts to foreign mercenaries to America, many of whom have no loyalty to our country, laugh at our laws, steal our wealth and likewise often commit atrocities these new 'Tories' are more than willing to defend and excuse...because like the Hessians, these new mercenaries support their evil purpose.

And as before, many of these new 'Tories' like their 18th century counterparts have no real loyalty to America, its founding principles and especially not to our democracy when you come right down to it. Their loyalties lie elsewhere. Some even openly boast of being 'citizens of the world' and 'globalists' rather than being loyal to the land of their birth.

The biggest difference is the weapons being used. No cannons, bayonets, muskets and sabres this time. Nowadays, the weapons are a crooked, biased media spouting propaganda, 'educators' with no sense of intellectual honesty or responsibility, judges who rule on cases based on their political beliefs rather than the law, disrespect and obstruction by what seems to be 95% of the Democrats in congress (aided by not a few Republicans), rent-a-mobs, 'resistance' and  the Antifa and #blacklivesmatter thugs, the Left's brownshirts. And of course, the new Tories's entrenched minions hiding in government.

No one should be surprised at this. It's been a long time coming, and the rot even reached into our highest office, giving us a quarter century of dysfunction and decline.  But thank G-d, at least the war is out in the open now.

One of the things I've always liked about Steve Bannon aside from his innate decency was that like Andrew (Z"L) he understands that this is a war, not just mere political fisticuffs. And in war, victory is what counts.

2016 was the first major victory, and an insane counterattack was to be expected.  So were some strategic setbacks and errors. But I see our side getting stronger and the New Tories getting weaker as time passes. 2018 will be the next great battle to be fought, and that doesn't just come down to the usual jackass versus elephants nonsense. It's about solidifying real gains to make the 2016 victory not just a momentary triumph but a lasting one that will give us our beloved Republic back, and getting rid of the obstructionists in both parties to the point where even the Tories  who manage to survive the carnage are rendered powerless. That's how I see this ending up...provided we want it bad enough and are willing to keep going no matter how difficult. We owe that to both ourselves and our posterity.

Again, we have been here before:

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. {...}

'Tis surprising to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country. All nations and ages have been subject to them. Britain has trembled like an ague at the report of a French fleet of flat-bottomed boats; and in the fourteenth [fifteenth] century the whole English army, after ravaging the kingdom of France, was driven back like men petrified with fear; and this brave exploit was performed by a few broken forces collected and headed by a woman, Joan of Arc. Would that heaven might inspire some Jersey maid to spirit up her countrymen, and save her fair fellow sufferers from ravage and ravishment! Yet panics, in some cases, have their uses; they produce as much good as hurt. Their duration is always short; the mind soon grows through them, and acquires a firmer habit than before. But their peculiar advantage is, that they are the touchstones of sincerity and hypocrisy, and bring things and men to light, which might otherwise have lain forever undiscovered. In fact, they have the same effect on secret traitors, which an imaginary apparition would have upon a private murderer. They sift out the hidden thoughts of man, and hold them up in public to the world. Many a disguised Tory has lately shown his head, that shall penitentially solemnize with curses the day on which Howe arrived upon the Delaware. {...}

...Why is it that the enemy have left the New England provinces, and made these middle ones the seat of war? The answer is easy: New England is not infested with Tories, and we are. I have been tender in raising the cry against these men, and used numberless arguments to show them their danger, but it will not do to sacrifice a world either to their folly or their baseness. The period is now arrived, in which either they or we must change our sentiments, or one or both must fall. And what is a Tory? Good G-d! What is he? I should not be afraid to go with a hundred Whigs against a thousand Tories, were they to attempt to get into arms. Every Tory is a coward; for servile, slavish, self-interested fear is the foundation of Toryism; and a man under such influence, though he may be cruel, never can be brave. {...}

I thank G-d, that I fear not. I see no real cause for fear. I know our situation well, and can see the way out of it. While our army was collected, Howe dared not risk a battle; and it is no credit to him that he decamped from the White Plains, and waited a mean opportunity to ravage the defenceless Jerseys; but it is great credit to us, that, with a handful of men, we sustained an orderly retreat for near an hundred miles, brought off our ammunition, all our field pieces, the greatest part of our stores, and had four rivers to pass. None can say that our retreat was precipitate, for we were near three weeks in performing it, that the country might have time to come in. Twice we marched back to meet the enemy, and remained out till dark. The sign of fear was not seen in our camp, and had not some of the cowardly and disaffected inhabitants spread false alarms through the country, the Jerseys had never been ravaged. Once more we are again collected and collecting; our new army at both ends of the continent is recruiting fast, and we shall be able to open the next campaign with sixty thousand men, well armed and clothed. This is our situation, and who will may know it. By perseverance and fortitude we have the prospect of a glorious issue; by cowardice and submission, the sad choice of a variety of evils - a ravaged country - a depopulated city - habitations without safety, and slavery without hope - our homes turned into barracks and bawdy-houses for Hessians, and a future race to provide for, whose fathers we shall doubt of. Look on this picture and weep over it! and if there yet remains one thoughtless wretch who believes it not, let him suffer it unlamented.

Tom Paine, excerpted from 'The American Crisis.' Emphasis, mine.

As King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, "There is nothing new under the sun."

Wise man, that King Solomon.  Human nature doesn't change, only the names of the players.

Selah.


 Well, there it is!

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