The work of recovery will be hard, and the road long. The Left will not go down easily or quietly;
The rank and file of the Left see themselves as the "good guys". Therein lies the core of the problem. The left has so consistently and for so long identified Trump with Hitler, and MAGA with Nazis, that many misguided folk now accept that as true. It is yet another example of the Big Lie, one that if it is repeated often enough and with apparent authority, will be accepted as truth.
The result is that significant numbers of people now see themselves as the true Americans defending democracy from king Hitler Trump, and saving the nation from his far-right Nazi MAGA cult followers. They see themselves as little Schindlers protecting the neo-jewlike illegal immigrants that the ICE Gestapo wants to round up and make disappear. They see those on the Right as evil authoritarian Fascists who want to re-establish slavery, eliminate women's rights, and impose a Christian authoritarian theocracy that would persecute gays and trans and furrys and anyone they could label a deviant.
They are so convinced of their righteousness and of the evil of the right, that any action, up to and including murder, is justified in the struggle against what they see as manifest evil. If it was right to kill Nazis before, it must be right to kill Nazis now. Their virtue knows no bounds, the evil of the perceived Fascism they struggle against knows no limits—at least in their minds.
With that mindset, it is only natural that they would cheer the death of a leading conservative figure, that they would seek to protect illegal immigrants from removal, that they would advocate and practice violence against law enforcement, and loudly protest any attempt to enforce laws. The question becomes, how did we get here?
Perhaps the most obvious source is our education system. Hijacked by the Left, our once superior education system has degraded to the point where nearly half of the students cannot read at grade level, and fewer still can do basic math. From the perspective of the needs of our technological society, our education system is a massive failure. From the perspective of the Left, however, it is a resounding success.
The failure to teach skills essential to the survival of our modern society is bad enough, but worse still are the things that students have been taught. Instead of essential skills in reading, writing, and math, as well as civics, true history, real science, and critical thinking, students are taught:
This incomplete list is just a sample of what modern students are taught. Useful skills include how to be an effective activist, how to determine what is true by asking your friends, how to protest and cancel speech that you disagree with, and other essentials for life in today's society.
Snarky humor aside, many on the Left are intelligent and well meaning people. Unfortunately, for too many, they use their intelligence to rationalize rather than reason. Critical thinking has been replaced by criticism thinking. Critical theory is one manifestation of rationalization where one begins with an idea about some proposed cause of a social condition and proceeds to show how it answers all questions—or not..
For example, begin with the proposition that economic disparities between races is due to white privilege. An argument, also known as a rationalization or explanation is then constructed to show how the imagined cause explains all the differences in economic conditions. There is no need for objective evidence, or for consideration of other potential factors such as education or environment. The primary criterion is explanatory power--that is, if the explanation will support strong defensive rationalizations. This is the sort of criticism thinking that has replaced logic and reason in much of modern education.
Critical thinking--the collection of information from multiple sources, the formulation of explanations and the subsequent testing of those explanations against real data, has been actively discouraged. Many schools used to teach critical thinking, sometimes under the name of applied logic, until the Left realized that many of their positions would not stand up to critical analysis. The solution was to stop teaching people how to think for themselves, and instead rely on trust networks to ascertain truth.
A trust network consists of friends, internet sites, teachers, and anyone or anything else who provides information that an individual will accept without question. Usually this means accepting opinions that agree with the individual's own, and rejecting any that disagree. Known as "confirmation bias" this reliance on trust networks simply reinforces beliefs common to a social network and shields individuals from uncomfortable contradictions that may show their beliefs to be incorrect. This is a very difficult system to break through and is why so many on the Left seem impervious to reason.
At least three generations have gone through the Left's indoctrination mills known as public schools. Fortunately, many have survived the experience with at least a modest ability to think for themselves. The reality of survival and earning a living has further served to counteract the effects of official misinformation, although the process is often slow and painful.
Unfortunately, the survival of our Nation depends on the ability of a large majority of the population to think clearly and accurately. Our society needs the essential skills that our education system once taught. The challenge we face it two fold--one to restore our educational system to one that actually equips people to function and prosper in a modern society, and two to address the damage that has been done to those subjected to progressive indoctrination.
Full correction of the damage done will likely take a long time, perhaps even generations, but we can start now. Replacing leftist school boards across the country with based members who value real education is a good step. Likewise, weeding out progressive teachers will also be necessary. Home schooling, charter schools, and other similar measures can go far to producing a cadre of students with real, useful educations.
As for the others, while there are many who are too far gone for recovery, there are many who have questions about what they are being taught. They see the discrepancies between what they are taught and what is real. The Left's emphasis on gender issues, and on climate claims that don't hold up has helped us greatly.
Charlie Kirk's approach of "prove me wrong" challenges is especially effective in addressing this unmet need for truth. In large part, the effectiveness of his approach was why he was killed. It begins with recognizing that most of the victims of the Left are sincere and want to do good. They have simply been misinformed and misled. In interacting with them, it is important to listen to their concerns and questions, and to gently encourage them to consider other perspectives. While ridicule and contempt may have some immediate gratification, they only serve to harden positions.
Charlie's approach of calmly addressing issues and presenting better alternatives and interpretations is much more effective. It does, though, require that we understand our own positions and can either articulate our responses or direct those who are seeking better answers to good sources. We cannot simply tell them they are wrong. We must lead them to understanding of what is wrong and why. The reward is that as individuals are encouraged to question their indoctrination, there will be a cascade effect as trust networks begin to erode.
The work of recovery will be hard, and the road long. The Left will not go down easily or quietly. Not everyone will be receptive, but many will be. Most people want to do good and help others. That is a common feature of humanity. The reward of our effort is the restoration of a peaceful and prosperous country with liberty and justice for all. Is it worth the effort? I think so. What was once ours can be again.
Read next: My Response To The Video, 'The Real Reason Black Children Don't Respect Adults Anymore'
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