-Caveat Lector- >From TheNewAmerican http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1999/07-05-99/vo15no14_total.htm > Vol. 15, No. 14 > July 5, 1999 > Table of Contents > > More on Education > More on Family > More on Traditional Values/Religion > > Toward the Total State > by William Norman Grigg > > Has the left won America�s culture war? Some observers, including > political organizer Paul Weyrich (who coined the term "moral > majority"), appear to think so. For many Americans who cherish our > nation�s traditions of individual freedom, limited government, and > personal moral responsibility, the Clinton impeachment melodrama > abounded in evidence that America has undergone a dramatic > transformation. > > If one were to credit the ubiquitous opinion polls and the outpourings > of the "mainstream" media, the American people were nearly unanimous > in their support for President Clinton, despite his ongoing personal > depravity and his willingness to abuse both the powers of his office > and the institutions of our judicial system in order to retain his > position as the nation�s chief executive. The only holdouts were to be > found among the "religious right," which � according to the custodians > of "respectable" opinion � is a marginalized group unworthy of > political influence. > > While the outcome of impeachment was largely a product of the gangland > tactics (including blackmail and character assassination) employed by > the Clinton Administration against its opponents, as well as the > institutional cowardice of the Senate, there is no doubt that > America�s culture has undergone a dramatic transformation � a > transformation engineered by the radical left. Writing in the Winter > 1996 issue of the Marxist journal Dissent, Michael Walzer enumerated > some of the cultural victories won by the left since the 1960s: > > � "The visible impact of feminism." > > � "The effects of affirmative action." > > � "The emergence of gay rights politics, and � the attention paid to > it in the media." > > � "The acceptance of cultural pluralism." > > � "The transformation of family life," including "rising divorce > rates, changing sexual mores, new household arrangements � and, again, > the portrayal of all this in the media." > > � "The progress of secularization; the fading of religion in general > and Christianity in particular from the public sphere � classrooms, > textbooks, legal codes, holidays, and so on." > > � "The virtual abolition of capital punishment." > > � "The legalization of abortion." > > � "The first successes in the effort to regulate and limit the private > ownership of guns." > > Significantly, Walzer admitted that these victories were imposed upon > our society by "liberal elites," rather than being driven "by the > pressure of a mass movement or a majoritarian party." These changes > "reflect the leftism or liberalism of lawyers, judges, federal > bureaucrats, professors, school teachers, social workers, journalists, > television and screen writers � not the population at large," noted > Walzer. Rather than building "stable or lasting movements or > creat[ing] coherent constituencies," the left focused on "winning the > Gramscian war of position." > > While most Americans would be mystified by Walzer�s reference to > Italian Communist theoretician Antonio Gramsci, those who wish to > understand the ongoing culture war must first have some understanding > of the Gramscian concept of the "long march through the institutions." > The process described by Walzer, in which the cultural and > bureaucratic organs of our society have fallen under the influence of > "progressive" forces devoted to transforming our nation, is derived > directly from Gramsci�s blueprint for Marxist subversion. Gramsci�s > distinctive insight, as we will shortly see, was that the construction > of the total state requires the seizure of the "mediating > institutions" that insulate the individual from the power of the > government � the family, organized religion, and so forth � and a > systematic redefinition of the culture in order to sustain the new > political order. > > That process is well underway in our nation � and if it is > consummated, Americans will learn that the culture war is a deadly > serious effort to destroy the institutions and traditions that have > protected Americans from the horrors of the total state. > > "The scientific concept of dictatorship," wrote Soviet dictator > Vladimir Lenin, "means nothing else but this: power without limit, > resting directly upon force, restrained by no laws, absolutely > unrestricted by rules." Benito Mussolini�s totalitarian formula was > even more concise: "Everything within the state, nothing outside the > state, nothing against the state." Whatever its specific configuration > or ideological pretext, the total state always requires that all human > activities be made subject to its power. But to exercise that power, > the total state relies, to a remarkable extent, on the cooperation of > its victims. > > No matter how vast the instrumentality of coercion or how vicious the > intentions of the ruling elite, the masters of the total state are > always dramatically outnumbered by their victims. No army of > occupation is large enough to exercise total control over a tyrannized > population; no secret police is capable of exercising incessant and > all-encompassing surveillance. The triumph of the total state is made > possible by the conquest of the human mind. "We are not content with > negative obedience, nor even with the most abject submission," > explained O�Brien, an agent of Big Brother�s "Ministry of Love" in > George Orwell�s 1984. "When finally you surrender to us, it must be of > your own free will. We do not destroy the heretic because he resists > us.... We convert him, we capture his inner mind, we reshape him." > > "Death by Government" > > Of course, wholesale murder is very much a part of the totalitarian > experience, as a way to dispose of those who prove unsuitable for > "conversion." Lenin�s "scientific concept of dictatorship," when put > into practice by criminals in positions of political power, has led to > unimaginable horror. In the Soviet Union, Communist China, Cambodia, > Vietnam, and elsewhere, the unchecked power of the state "has been > truly a cold-blooded mass murderer, a global plague of man�s own > making," writes Professor R.J. Rummel in his study Death by > Government. > > During the first nine decades of the 20th century, writes Rummel, > "almost 170 million men, women, and children" have been destroyed > through the "myriad ways governments have inflicted death on unarmed, > helpless citizens and foreigners. The dead could conceivably be nearly > 360 million people." In a particularly sobering observation, Rummel > points out that while "library stacks have been written on the > possible nature and consequences of nuclear war and how it might be > avoided, in the life of some still living we have already experienced > in the toll from democide (and related destruction and misery among > the survivors) the equivalent of a nuclear war, especially at the high > near-360 million end of the estimates." > > America has been spared such horrors because it is uniquely blessed > among all nations with a tradition of ordered liberty and limited > government. Our nation�s founding documents, the Declaration of > Independence and the Constitution, embrace a concept of government > diametrically opposed to the Leninist "scientific concept of > dictatorship": the rule of law, administered by a government that is > itself subject to the law, deriving "its just powers from the consent > of the governed," and created for the exclusive purpose of protecting > the lives, rights, and property of the law-abiding. > > But these institutional safeguards of liberty and the rule of law are > dependent on a culture conducive to freedom. In a self-governing > society, public morality and private morality cannot be > compartmentalized; people who have abandoned what George Washington > referred to as the "eternal rules of order and right" will be > incapable of exercising the self-discipline necessary to maintain a > free government. In his Farewell Address, Washington advised that > there is "no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists > in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between > virtue and happiness; between duty and advantage; between the genuine > maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of > public prosperity and felicity." When such habits of virtue are > cultivated and preserved, society can enjoy the blessings of limited > government � one that will, in Jefferson�s words, "restrain men from > injuring one another, [and which] shall leave them otherwise free to > regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not > take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned." > > Quiet Revolution > > In principle, and to a limited extent in practice, Bill Clinton and > his Administration have embraced Lenin�s "scientific concept of > dictatorship." Consider, for example, the fact that Mr. Clinton has > brazenly and repeatedly ignored Congress� constitutional authority to > declare war � most notably in the undeclared Kosovo War, which Mr. > Clinton has conducted in defiance of a pointed refusal on the part of > the House of Representatives to declare war against Yugoslavia. In > domestic affairs, Mr. Clinton has made good on his stated intention to > bypass Congress entirely, ruling instead by executive decree. Former > Clinton Administration lackey Paul Begala memorably summarized Mr. > Clinton�s ruling doctrine in these terms: "Stroke of the pen, law of > the land � kinda cool." > > Just as disturbing is the fact that much of the Senate, and a > significant portion of the House of Representatives, have embraced a > complementary concept taught by Adolf Hitler: fuhrerprinzip, or the > "leader principle." Under that doctrine, an autocratic executive > claims access to the "collective will of the people," exercises power > that is "independent, all-inclusive, and unlimited," and considers > himself responsible "only to his conscience." Thus, the legislature > exists merely to rubber-stamp the decisions of the imperial leader. > > Obviously, America was not conquered by the Soviet Union or by > National Socialist (Nazi) Germany. The institutions of our federal > system of government still exist, albeit in a somewhat distorted form. > Elections still occur at regular intervals, and citizens can still > exercise their right to petition their elected representatives and > express their political opinions in the public square. Nonetheless, > the chief tenets of the most murderous dictatorships in history are > now the operative principles of our national government. How did this > dire situation come about? How can it be reversed? > > America has undergone what historian Garet Garrett described as a > "revolution within the form." Although the "forms of republican > government survive," wrote Garrett, "the character of the state has > changed." To illustrate how this was accomplished, Garrett quoted this > observation from Aristotle�s Politics: "People do not easily change, > but love their own ancient customs; and it is by small degrees only > that one thing takes the place of another; so that the ancient laws > will remain, while the power will be in the hands of those who have > brought about a revolution in the state." (Emphasis added.) > > Communist theoretician Antonio Gramsci urged those who sought to bring > about a "revolution in the state" to pursue the course described > (although not endorsed) by Aristotle: The steady, incremental > subversion of free societies by conducting a "long march through the > institutions" that define such societies. In some ways the Gramscian > approach is kindred to that pursued by Britain�s Fabian socialists, > who chose "patient gradualism," rather than violent insurrection, as > the most effective means to collectivize society. Gramsci�s > distinctive insight was to urge Marxists to escape from the shackles > of economic theory and focus instead on society�s cultural organs � > the press and other media, education, entertainment, religion, and the > family. In order for revolutionaries to establish "political > leadership or hegemony," advised Gramsci, they "must not count solely > on the power and material force of government"; they must change the > culture upon which that government was built. > > Cultural commentator Richard Grenier recalls that during Gramsci�s > incarceration in one of Mussolini�s prisons, he "formulated in his > Prison Notebooks the doctrine that those who want to change society > must change man�s consciousness, and that in order to accomplish this > they must first control the institutions by which that consciousness > is formed: schools, universities, churches, and, perhaps above all, > art and the communications industry. It is these institutions that > shape and articulate �public opinion,� the limits of which few > politicians can violate with impunity. Culture, Gramsci felt, is not > simply the superstructure of an economic base � the role assigned to > it in orthodox Marxism � but is central to a society. His famous > battle cry is: capture the culture." > > Gramsci recognized that the chief "fortresses and earthworks" impeding > the triumph of Marxism were precisely those institutions, customs, and > habits identified by Washington and the other Founding Fathers as > indispensable to ordered liberty � such as the family, private > initiative, self-restraint, and principled individualism. But Gramsci > focused particularly on what Washington described as the > "indispensable supports" of free society � religion and morality. In > order to bring about a revolution, Gramsci wrote, "The conception of > law will have to be freed from every remnant of transcendence and > absoluteness, practically from all moralist fanaticism." > > Layers of Strength > > At this juncture, a question naturally arises: If the conspiracy to > undermine our culture and constitutional system has enjoyed such > success, why aren�t Americans living in abject, undisguised tyranny? > If Lenin�s "scientific concept of dictatorship" and Hitler�s > fuhrerprinzip have been accepted as ruling tenets by our apostate > political elite, where are the gulags and gas chambers? > > The answer to this question is quite simple: The institutions referred > to by Gramsci as "fortresses and earthworks" have not yet been > completely overcome by the forces of revolution. Yes, the American > family is under siege, but its resilience has proven to be formidable. > Parents still seek to instill habits of self-discipline, honesty, and > genuine public service in their children. Millions of Americans from > all religious denominations and traditions remain committed to living > honorable lives defined by God�s law, and insist that their elected > representatives, for the most part, pay at least nominal homage to > that standard as well. The American tradition of individualism remains > a vivid part of our national heritage. And despite decades of mass > indoctrination regarding the supposed glories of collectivism, most > Americans still cherish their individual rights � and are provoked to > militancy when those rights are threatened. > > These admirable traits � the "fortresses and earthworks" Gramsci > sought to overcome � were celebrated by Robert Welch � a devoted > champion of freedom � as "layers of strength" that should be fortified > by conscientious Americans. The reason the enemies of freedom must > pursue Gramsci�s long-term subversive strategy rather than more overt > measures is because most Americans will not meekly submit to the will > of their would-be masters. > > Yes, our situation is grave. No, America does not enjoy any privileged > immunity to the horrors that have descended upon many other countries > during this century of rampant democide. In order to preserve our > existing freedoms, and to restore those that have been stolen from us, > it is necessary for Americans to understand the tactics, strategies, > and objectives of the Gramscian conspirators who are waging a culture > war against us. > > <Picture: cell.jpg (633 bytes)> > > � Copyright 1999 American Opinion Publishing Incorporated A<>E<>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller, German Writer (1759-1805) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." 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