Dakota Beacon

In a very real sense, America as we have known it is very much on the brink of disappearing. Progressives, Democrats, and assorted leftists maintain that America has never been a force for good in the world, they advocate “blame America first,” and they believe the United States is the focus of evil. They want to reshape America from the way it was originally founded.

Those who cannot – or will not – accept the outcome of the 2016 election still seek to overturn it. Two and one half years after the fact, the fight to overturn the election of Donald Trump continues. Never in the history of our nation has such vicious hatred underscored the illegitimate attempt to annul the results of a valid election.

 And there are reasons, wrong reasons, for the leftist beliefs. Count some of them.

--America deserves blame. It was founded by evil white slave owners who brought disease and destruction to the Indians.

--America has become rich at the expense of the world and has not fairly shared the wealth.

--Using “gunboat diplomacy,” America has stolen the world’s resources.

--America’s borders keep people away from freedom.

--America is intolerant. It exhibits bigotry and prejudice against race, gender, diversity, and climate change.

--American Constitutional protections are historical artifacts left over from the 18^th century notions of “separation of powers” and “representative republic”

--the Electoral College cheats the majority out of “fair” elections. This is especially so since the election of Donald Trump.

A few quotes illustrate the premise that many leftist “leaders” hate America.

“We’re never going to make America great again. It was never that great.” –Governor Andrew Cuomo, August 15, 2018.

“[America] was never as great as advertised.” –Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Democrat Presidential candidate, May 6, 2019.

“Exactly when did you think America was great? [It’s] an American past that never in fact really existed, this notion of ‘greatness.’” –Eric Holder, former Obama Attorney General, March 26, 2019.

Which begs the question. How can younger generations distinguish between good governance and a blood sport? They can’t. Today’s social media tend to promote the latter. Middle schools, high schools, and universities teach our kids “social studies” and not civics. The term “civics” has lost its meaning. Upon graduation they know very little about American history, much less the true founding of America. What little history they are taught has been skewed to the left by progressives and leftists in control of education. In doubt? Look at today’s textbooks. Do they look anything like what was taught forty or fifty or sixty years ago?

Alternatively, check out social activist Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” and the undue influence it has had in universities and teachers colleges. The same could be said of Marxist Charles A. Beard’s “An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States”. Follow that up with the lasting influence of leftist activist Noam Chomsky’s works and the works of other likeminded authors. Finally, observe the lack of free speech in most universities. How would young people, especially in teachers colleges, know any better than what they are taught? Without knowing any better, they in turn are teaching leftist ideology to our kids and grandkids.

In the eyes of progressives, Democrats, and leftists of all stripes, the actions of the Deep State, the administrative state, the unelected bureaucracy, to thwart and overturn an election of someone they disapprove of is no big deal.

But, it is a very big deal. If the conspirators responsible for corrupting the rule of law and abusing federal agencies for their own ends are not held accountable, then this sort of thing can and will happen again. The next time it may succeed. We’ve never seen anything like it in our history. The left regards Trump as guilty and he must prove himself innocent. And, when a citizen is always regarded as guilty, when guiltiness is their permanent state rather than presumed innocent until proven guilty, then America is finished. The governance of America will be in retrograde. We could easily devolve into a “banana republic” when unelected bureaucrats are on the verge of nullifying a presidential election.

The coup against Donald Trump is not over. It continues unabated. Either it will succeed, or it will be exposed for what it is – an attempted coup -- and the perpetrators brought to justice.

Hope burns eternal in the human heart. The older a person gets, the more likely he or she will appreciate and regard with awe our nation, how it was founded, and how it succeeded. In all likelihood, time and maturity will encourage these beliefs. But, is there enough time left for the younger mindset to evolve?

Maybe. But we are very close to the edge.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).