There is today a great many varied opinions among those concerned about how to tackle our current predicament. Some suggest attempting to reach a détente with the left, yet others suggest various movements from secessionist, to nullification, to a greater degree of federalism. Some simply wish to carry on over the cliff, and those who do seem to be demanding we all go over with them with a quiet dignity.
The simple and unfortunate truth of the matter is that we are in such a circumstance that we have never before experienced as a nation. Even during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars we were ostensibly of the same polity, and these were considered wars of fratricide. Today we exist as two entirely separate, but geographically intertwined nations of peoples. Not nations of brothers, or acquaintances, but of bitter enemies.
“Enemy” is not a name most would have applied to the British in 1776, and even fewer to the south in 1865, but it is fitting for this time. Many will not be happy I am saying this, but I revert again to my assertion that “to tell the truth is never wrong.” We share no religion, no ethic, no common sense of duty, respect, or honor, and no common philosophy of governance. The first upholds the American founding of 1776 as primal with its enumeration of natural rights as granted by a good God, whereas the second upholds the founding of 1809 of international Statism, and collectivist rights ordained by government. These are not the makings of ties that bind us. They are the makings of existential threats to our respective ways of life.
The last century has been marked by the incessant march of the left through the institutions of America as a force building towards hegemony. The capture of the institutions over a century was a long march with the goal of immediately, and rapidly expending the entirety of social, and moral capital of these institutions upon reaching critical mass in a final and momentous push for revolution. These are our times. This is now. The revolution is here.
We must now take action to begin securing what little remains and begin pushing back with the goal of reasserting the original American founding. The methods we must utilize to do so are not those of normal politics. When considering what must be done the first item we must understand is that there is some minimum standard for action now for which anything less than will result in a total loss – even though we don not now know what that minimum is. The consequences of a total loss are such that if it comes to pass we will, in our last moments, think back to this time with an understanding that there would have been no such thing as “too much,” or “too far.” The utter catastrophe of total failure in this regard would likely dwarf the casualties of the Soviet Union. It would turn the USA into a serfdom of famine, privation, unspeakable violence, and ugly, ugly death. This is our defacto future, and it is closer than you think.
We then must resolve that those actions we consider absolutely, and unequivocally must rise above the threshold of failure. Therefore, the most conservative measures to be considered should be those of selective nullification where necessary (such as Abbot and DeSantis telling the federal courts where to go repeatedly and daring the feds to send troops), establishing the legitimate threat of state-level violence against the federal government in amenable regions (if only to bring about negotiations), forming state alliances outside of federalism, seeking international recognition and assistance where useful, expelling federal agents from states where they are interloping against citizen interests, and calling up the unorganized militia to train and equip. Yes, it is that bad. The hour is, in fact, quite late. There is no safe or lawful path forward, but take heart that there now appears to be no law anyhow.
What do we call a time of such partisanship that the law no longer seems to hold sway? By what name do we call a circumstance where there is a total worldview split, and an irreconcilable one, between the partisans? What do we call it when one party seeks arbitrary power with no limiting principle over the other? Many people have already opined on this matter. Some call our current time the “fourth turning,” as if history should be spelled with a capital “H” in some deterministic manner. They may, however, be onto something insofar as it does appear that the sun is setting on this “empire” of ours. Our institutions are crumbling before our very eyes – at least before the eyes of a bare majority of us. It’s not entirely clear to me on where the gaze of the large minority falls, though I do suspect the silhouettes reflected in their pupils are shaped roughly of Eden, as dimly backlit by the fires of Hell.
There is much to be done, and we must finally put a name to it. This is war. We did not start it. We did not, and still do not want it, but it is at our doorstep. It is being waged against us this moment. We are not special. We are not immune. We are not invulnerable. There is nothing at all preventing the horrors of the Balkans, Mao’s revolution, Ukraine’s Holodomor, or Hitler’s camps from playing out on American soil over the coming years. Nothing at all but us.
In finally naming what we are now up against we do a significant good. As I said, this will require measures that fall outside partisan politics. Very many have declared our experiment a failure writ large. Some are beginning to suggest taking up the cause of a return to systems that predate our union – even to something vaguely Roman. There is no need. We can take the measures that must be taken under the rubric of war within our system of philosophy and ethics. We can correctly call it an aberration – an exception to the (classical) liberal order that has been a success for the ages. We needn’t discard our values. We can and should fight to preserve the founding of 1776.
Do not misunderstand my points here. I am not arguing for imminent militant action. I do believe it would be perfectly moral to make that argument. Militant force is already being used against us. I also believe it would be a strategic blunder at this time. We are losing. We need to fight smart. We must look to the strategies of Unrestricted Warfare: legal, economic, information, infrastructure, grey zone, cyber, etc. It remains true that the fastest way to lose this war is to pick up a gun and do something. That is, it remains true for the moment. The future is far less certain.