Greenfield: Must read column

LARRY ANDERSON
Larry Anderson

I have long believed all countries have at least a 10 percent chance for civil war at any given time. History bears this out, and current events unfold within the dissatisfaction of many. Universal contentment doesn’t exist.

Keep in mind America was born in revolution, and our most costly war in terms of humanity was a civil war. Some believe, and I concur, that we are edging toward another upheaval, and, again, our enemies are ourselves.

That is not to say this is inevitable, but the best deterrent is awareness. That’s why I am urging everyone to read Dan Greenfield’s essay “The Civil War Is Here,” published March 27. You can find it in 10 seconds on the Internet and read it in five minutes.

If you value your country, future and freedom, you will read it. It is the most telling examination concerning the left’s behavior that I have read. It is also the most cogent because the evidence offered is clear.

Realistically, I know many of you won’t read the essay due to lack of time or skepticism, so I am offering a few insights as far as room provides. Greenfield’s general theme is the left has turned away from democracy and has focused on corrupting it for the purpose of socialist replacement.

The following quotes are from the article:

“The left has rejected the outcome of the last two presidential elections won by Republicans. It has rejected the judicial authority of the Supreme Court when its decisions don’t accord with its agenda. It rejects the legislative authority of Congress when it is not dominated by the left.

“It was for total unilateral executive authority under Obama. And now it’s for states unilaterally deciding what laws they will follow….It was for the sacrosanct authority of the Senate when it held the majority. Then it decried the Senate as an outmoded institution when the Republicans took over.

“It was for Obama defying the orders of Federal judges, no matter how well grounded in existing law, and it is for Federal judges overriding any order by Trump on any grounds whatsoever. It was for Obama penalizing whistleblowers, but now undermining the government from within has become ‘patriotic.’

“There is no form of legal authority that the left accepts as a permanent institution.

“After losing the White House, the left shifted its center of authority to Federal judges and unelected government officials.

“The left has no allegiance to the system. It accepts no laws other than those dictated by its ideology.”

Greenfield is absolutely correct. The above has led to the following, according to the author:

“Democrats have become radicalized by the left….It means that their first and foremost allegiance is to an ideology, not the Constitution, not our country or our system of government. All of those are only to be used as vehicles for their ideology.

“That’s why compromise has become impossible.”

In other words, the left exploits our freedoms to advance their agenda, which includes eliminating those protective liberties for everyone else.

Greenfield continues: “Our system of government was designed to allow different groups to negotiate their differences. But those differences were supposed to be based around finding shared interests. The most profound of these shared interests was that of a common country based around certain civilizational values.

“It (the left) has retreated to cultural urban and suburban enclaves…while disregarding the interests and values of most of the country. If it considers them at all, it is convinced that they will shortly disappear to be replaced by compliant immigrants and college indoctrinated leftists who will form a permanent demographic majority for its agenda.”

Hence, liberals’ leniency toward illegal immigration, open borders, and sanctuary cities. All these practices are political, not humanitarian as pleaded by the left. That is self-serving propaganda.

Legality and impact on our country and its social and historical stratum mean nothing to the left. The left detests what we are and our right and responsibility to remain so.

Now, I had to cherry pick Greenfield’s essay, and while I provided important points from it, I hardly covered its text. I am leaving that to you.

I doubt you will have trouble connecting Greenfield’s points to the left’s behavior in the past or its current conduct under our new administration. Making those connections and then doing what you can about them may be the only things saving us from future chaos.

I hope everyone takes Greenfield seriously because this is where we are in America. I see it everyday..

Larry W. Anderson is a retired educator, author, and life-long Northwest Missourian.