Fire of Troy, Kerstiaen de Keuninck, 16th century
For years now we've talked of the left's Long March Through the Institutions. The metaphor comes from Mao's conquest of China, but the process has been more similar to the creeping spread of an invasive fungus than it has been to military manoeuvres. Over the course of long decades during which it seemed that the left's steady advance was absolutely inexorable, progressives slowly, patiently consolidated control over every organ of society. They took power job by job, appointment by appointment, sinecure by sinecure, board position by board position, department by department, committee by committee,
There were those who noticed, and tried to do something about the infection - Senator McCarthy, for example. It is a symptom of the total control of the left over the popular consciousness that despite having known for years now that McCarthy was absolutely correct that the United States federal government was being infiltrated at every level by agents of the communist party, his name has remained a byword for hysterical, unjustified witch hunts.
By and large, however, absolutely nothing was done. We believed in merit, you see, and in the freedoms of speech and conscience. So what if an applicant for a position is an avowed leftist who is hostile to Western civilization down to his very marrow? He's still the best man for the job, competent within the boundaries of his discipline, and it would be a great crime to blackball him on the basis of his political beliefs. As we saw during the Cancelled Years, such broad-minded tolerance only goes one way. Frank Herbert captured it well: "When I am weaker than you, I ask you for freedom because that is according to your principles; when I am stronger than you, I take away your freedom because that is according to my principles."
Comment: Let's hope these brave words prove true. The beginnings are encouraging.
And hopefully there will be support for those affected by the chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.