OPINION:
The presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT gave America an early Christmas present in their pitiful testimony on Capitol Hill this past week. They were asked directly by Rep. Elise Stefanik whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated the codes of conduct of their universities or constituted harassment. All the leftist academics equivocated.
It is always a gift when someone reveals their true nature to us, for better or for worse. It’s a gift for the whole country when an entire movement is exposed for who and what they really are, as the left has done in recent years.
Americans who are watching their nation be turned upside down by the left’s slow march through our institutions need not race headlong into 2024 with a sense of being consumed by it all. After decades of ignoring this worsening condition, Americans can face these threats head-on, out of the shadows. But there’s a catch.
The socialists and Marxists in the Democratic Party who are methodically chewing away at this country are brilliant strategists who overwhelm their opposition with human capital, messaging and money. They provide so many targets to confront conservatives that conservatives often end up paralyzed.
They create a society that, to those who hold fast to traditional American and biblical values, can turn into a political and rhetorical firefight that not only wastes time and resources but often seems utterly hopeless.
The key to winning the battle for America is people appreciating that they cannot fight a multifront war but can indeed be effective when focused on one or two issues.
We are so deluged with information that shocks and outrages us that it’s only natural to want to tackle the broader challenge of saving this nation from the erosion of all standards of decency, morality and truth.
Compartmentalizing our individual approaches to activism, however, is critical to ensuring that our involvement is deep and effective. We do have limitations. We can’t be experts on everything. We can’t influence a dozen issues well.
We can’t hold a real job and raise a family and be an activist who fights the socialists on every front.
And that’s OK.
Posting on X or other social media platforms isn’t real activism. Unless you have millions of followers or you are a hedge fund billionaire like Bill Ackman, who called for the presidents of Harvard, MIT and Penn to resign, you’re not getting the effect you need to have real impact.
People can act locally to organize and project influence. That local influence can translate into statewide action and national change.
How do we know that works? That’s what the socialists have done for decades.
If you’re a veteran who cares about the collapse of our military into a weak, “woke” shadow of its former self, rejuvenate military associations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars to help drive awareness and change.
If you’re part of a law enforcement family and you’re watching communities suffer because of the war on cops, engage in your area to support our police.
If you’re a parent and you see your school teaching alternative history, critical race theory and radical gender ideology instead of reading and math, lean into working with other local parents to reform that school.
If you’re a teacher who has watched the collapse of our public schools at the hands of socialist union bosses, tenure and ideologically driven curriculum, join the millions who are working to give parents greater choice in their children’s education.
If you’re a current or former athlete who wants to protect women’s athletics and privacy in locker rooms, then join others to make that your battle.
If you’re Jewish and you’re seeing the left’s pervasive antisemitism, wear your faith openly, honoring both God and those who died for their beliefs.
If you’re a Methodist and are watching your church be torn apart by left-wing social agenda, do what thousands of congregations have done and create a new path forward until you can reclaim control.
If you’re a Catholic, hold Catholic elected officials accountable for thumbing their noses at church teachings.
If you’ve served in government and now see how public employee unions abuse taxpayers and are bankrupting our nation, fight to make this country one of the people again, not the administrative state.
Do any one of those in your daily life and in your community, and it’s a victory for our country.
The enemy has been flushed out into the open. In their arrogance of power, they’ve revealed themselves to us. One of their biggest fortifications against our values is collapsing.
So pick an issue, organize locally, and dig into it. Don’t be afraid. Don’t let the gift of knowing the left’s true nature go to waste.
• Tom Basile is the host of “America Right Now” on Newsmax and the author of “Tough Sell: Fighting the Media War in Iraq.”
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