As a society is moved albeit gradually by a vocal minority in the direction of a more prominent religious/moral approach to government, small but influential minorities have moved – at a critical moment – to usurp the movement toward change. They have in fact accomplished a “coup,” if you will, where the gradual movement transforms into a gigantic and rapid great leap.
The “great leap” or “coup” remains an attempt or an experiment temporarily “legitimized” only so long as the control group remains in control.
This seems to be what has happened in all the countries who slipped into some form of theocratic government. Displacing them has not been the inevitable outcome in every case.
And in retrospect, viewing the “coup” of 21st Century where an influential minority kept their objectives mostly secret, displacing the philosophical and political power beginning even before the Bush administration has proven itself able and willing.
The minority has as an agenda the stuff of which most American citizens give only a passing attention as it seems much easier to live on memes.
(1) Turning U.S. foreign policy into open imperialism using our military blood as the prime weapon in our arsenal.
(2) The culmination of 60+ years of conservative opposition and effort to repeal the national legislation that came out of FDR’s victory, Hoover’s defeat which formalized the end of the Gilded Age.
(3) The destruction or disempowerment of labor unions and escalated evolution of market capitalism that with the repeal of all things “New Deal” that came out of the Great Depression, leaves all of us trapped within a social and economic Darwinism.
Conservative activism post-Goldwater accelerated in the 1980’s when Limbaugh-like propaganda broadcasts exploded publicly and relentlessly coupled with courtship between the Republican Party and an aroused and aggressive Christian coalition. What was begun is a not-so-gradual movement toward acceptance of another “New Deal” regarding American social and political form.
Is the attempt succeeding?
That movement – now much more powerfully public and in our national social awareness – has the context of every Republican campaign strategy since the election of Reagan. Had that campaign management’s inner circle publicly proclaimed and campaigned by openly advocating the three items listed above, they would have lost the elections. They have been afraid that although Americans have been sleeping, perhaps not THAT asleep.
Beginning with the Presidency of George Bush, people (political and religious components) have attempted to rush desired changes as rapidly as possible – all the while finding many ways to hide and obscure those same 3 objectives.
2004 and 2016 revealed that they had done their work well. We who opposed Bush and Trump electorally find ourselves still as the “loyal” opposition. We remain obligated to stand up and speak out. Only in our most naive state can we just sit back and content ourselves with theological debates around religion as a lifestyle separated from social consciousness.
2020 finds us facing a political, social and economic philosophy that has revealed itself as more interested in private good than public good.
My worries are not about pre-Armageddon scenarios of theocratic takeover. As a social worker who administered public welfare, working with homeless, aged, under-educated, broken families and individuals, my worries are about where the above 3 objectives are leaving and have left the rest of America.
My worries are about apathy and what it takes to wake up slumbering majorities.
Problem is the sleep-inducing drugs of deception, fake news and outright character assassination seem to have a potent ability to cause civic drowsiness which leads to politically active sleep-walkers acting like the walking dead.
Such is the actual zombie apocalypse.
Curmudgeon at Work 