Introduction
Much of what is being sold to us by the media, and taught to us by politicians at all levels, is that we are deeply divided because the people on the other side are idiots at best, and evil at worst.
Don’t believe a syllable.
The “Divide and Conquer” approach to defeating your enemies is as old as politics and war. Win by getting your enemies to fight each other.
That is the subject of today’s 10-minute episode.
Continuing
The Latin phrase “Divide et impera” is as old as politics and war. The divide your enemy so you can rule both sides tactic is attributed to Julius Cesar–he successfully applied it to conquer Gaul twenty-two centuries ago. But he wasn’t the first, nor the last, to implement it.
It is being done to us today, and quite effectively, I might add.
Let’s test my claim. We are being told all day, every day, that we are, “A deeply divided nation.” In the various attempts to prove it, some of what we are shown are scenes where large crowds of Trump supporters are enthusiastically waving American Flags. This is contrasted with, contrasted with, mind you, large crowds of people demanding justice when it comes to police murdering blacks.
There is no inherent conflict here. I do not personally know of a single person who objects to the flag, or believes that cops murdering blacks is in any way defensible. People like that they do exist, but they crawl through life on the fringes. The observation here has nothing to do with being a divided nation, but that whack jobs do indeed exist. Personally, I served under that flag for 3 years, 2 months and 25 days (but who’s counting), and have one that flies in the front of my home every day. And I abhor murders of any kind, perhaps especially when the authorities do it to civilians. And even more so if there is proven racial animus.
Here is another example of what we are being sold: People who support abortion are baby killers, while people who are against abortion hate women. There are people who have those views, but again they are on the fringes. And, yes, those fringes grow and deepen because the divide and conquer people fan the flames of disagreement, delighting when it flares up and becomes hatred. Here are the two questions that need to be debated in the abortion argument:
That approach to this highly controversial issue will not sell many newspapers, or get many viewers, but it will lead to a reasonable discussion, and likely, resolution. But is reasonable discussion leading to resolution really the goal of those we work so hard to divide us?
If those two observations make the MSM and many politicians sound hardhearted to the point where they put their needs and wants over the welfare of the nation, that’s because it is true. In the spirit of “Say their names”, say it with me: “The MSM and many politicians are far more invested in themselves than in our nation.”
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.” -John F. Kennedy at his inaugural address in 1961. What most of the media and many politicians should do for their country is to get over themselves and step aside. And Revolution 2.0™ is here to help.
We’ll take the balance of this episode to look at more areas where we do indeed have common goals, not the mutual hatred that we are being taught. Don’t most of us share the same common, bedrock goals? I don’t mean desires that many share like wanting this party or this candidate to win (or the other party or person to lose), I mean the core, meaningful, underlying goals that most of us share. Find the common ground (yes, it exists), add facts that would stand up to the rule of evidence, then apply non agenda-based reasoning. It works. And if the discussion falls off track, go back to the common goals–the touchstone–to get back on track. Back to bedrock:
Yes, we are deeply divided, but not because that is our doing, or because there are inherently deep divisions. We are buying into a dangerous lie, a lie perpetrated by those for whom their divide and conquer agendas are far more important than our country.
Tell me what you believe. I and many others want to know.
As always, whatever you do, do it in love. Without love, anything we do is empty.
Contact
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Will Luden, coming to you from 7,200’ in Colorado Springs.