When I first attended university, my major was in history with a political science minor. Yes, a far cry from where I ended up – with an undergraduate degree in accounting years later.
What I appreciated most about my history professors is that they chose not to ‘rewrite’ history but presented it as it had happened. They also encouraged us to learn from the past, so we would not make the same mistakes again. Well, for a nation then in the midst of the Vietnam war and all the controversy surrounding how politicians were interfering with our military’s endeavor to win the war, it seemed as if the willingness of leaders to learn from the past was being undermined by their need for something else . . . maybe power, maybe money.
I bring this up because I believe we are experiencing something similar today. I am reminded of what former USSR President (dictator) Nikita Khrushchev said about America. He said, ‘We cannot expect the Americans to jump from capitalism to communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism, until they suddenly awake to find they have communism.’ He also made the comment in 1956 that, ‘We will take America without firing a shot. We do not have to invade the U.S. We will destroy you from within . . .’
Are we experiencing this being played out in America today? Are our leaders – intentionally or unintentionally – engaged in our country’s demise?
The terms used by Communists in the 1950s and 1960s when they began to infiltrate the U.S. culture were ‘progressive’ and ‘liberal.’ We may have tried to redefine these terms, but I believe they mean the same today as they did decades ago.
Can we learn from the past even amidst all the ‘political correctness,’ ‘historical revisionism,’ and ‘cancel culture’ rhetoric?
Lee Smith published an article titled The Thirty Tyrants. The sub-title gives away his premise: The deal that the American elite chose to make with China has precedent in the history of Athens and Sparta. The hyperlink to the article is provided: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-thirty-tyrants
As leaders, what is our responsibility? Are we willing to step outside our comfortable place and confront the evil that is occurring? Though the Apostle Paul reminds us that we battle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, we know people choose to align themselves with this evil.
How then must we respond?
This is a personal choice that requires much prayer, much listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit of God, and obedience. It will be different for each person, but it is incumbent upon us to know ‘truth.’