Freedom and Fulfillment 45
Stand-alone Chapter 45 - Social Preparedness
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Chapter 45 - Social Preparedness
Have you noticed some tearing in the social fabric? There seems to be more and more conflict and division nationally and locally. Contention and hatred are becoming more evident. Friendship and love seem to be harder to find and maintain. It's past time to seriously consider why these things are happening and what we can do to have more peace and contentment in our hearts and relationships.
Joshua Philipp identified one of the main causes of social stress as follows:
When Karl Marx envisioned regimes under socialism and communism…he believed they would destroy all the beliefs, traditions, and morals of the world as it was. He and other communists that followed believed their ideas superseded all others, and that in the brutal regimes that would follow to create these systems, the ends would justify the means…Socialist leaders believed the political system should permeate every section of public and private life, to include ethics and mores, family, churches, schools, universities, community organizations, culture, and even human sentiment and aspirations. (The Epoch Times)[i]
In other words, Marxist ideology is built on a framework of class warfare that requires tearing down and replacing virtually all beliefs and systems that have historically produced peace, progress, and prosperity. The main idea is to amplify ill will and conflict sufficient to cause social collapse. Then, when that social breakdown occurs, use it as a pretext for establishing an all-powerful government. The justification for all this conflict and tyranny is the perceived need to establish social justice—which has been accurately defined as follows:
Social justice is the complete economic equality of all members of society. While this may sound like a lofty objective, what it really means is that wealth should be collected by the government and evenly distributed to everyone. In short, social justice is communism. It is rooted in the Marxist idea that the money people make and the property they own do not rightfully belong to the people who make the money and own the property. (americanthinker)[ii]
Until recently, most Americans understood that capitalism increases productivity and prosperity which generally leads to widespread peace and contentment. The evil antithesis of peace, prosperity, friendship, and love is cultural Marxism.
Cultural Marxism seeks to impose socialism by gradually infiltrating minds, hearts, and relationships—turning them away from mutually beneficial cooperation toward conflict, hate, and war. Cultural Marxism cannot function or survive without creating animosity between individuals and groups.
The totalitarian ploy is to make something horrible sound wonderful. For instance, giving away other people's money (theft) is made to appear admirable. Marxists teach us to hate anyone and everyone who resists them, especially those "greedy" workers who want to use what they have earned. Let's consider some social modes of minimizing hate and promoting peace.
Family
The most effective way to combat the onslaught of well-dressed hatred and lethal principles seething through society is to shore up our families and safeguard our children. The following quotations from The Invincible Family[iii] clarify the problem and the solution:
Problem
We must rescue children from the harmful influence of the family...We must nationalize them. From the earliest days of their little lives, they must find themselves under the beneficent influence of Communist schools...To oblige the mother to give her child to the Soviet state—that is our task. (p.216)
Solution
I assert…that a significant portion of mothers will refuse to give their children over to the state—either literally or ideologically—even under the most severe circumstances. Mothers and fathers will ferociously contend for the minds and bodies and souls of their children…[Families] eventually win because there is always a mother somewhere raising up a valorous, moral, liberty-loving, intelligent, intrepid girl or boy who grows up to detonate a rebellion—either by the pen or by the sword—that ruptures the foul tethers by which his countrymen are bound. (p.223)
In order to raise up such intrepid boys and girls, we must speak, teach, and live the truth at home. We must intentionally raise up a generation of citizens who understand history, cherish family, love purely, and resist tyranny.
Mother Teresa[iv] spoke these great truths about the power of family: “If you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family…Bring love into your home, for this is where our love for each other must start…Never worry about numbers. Help one at a time, and always start with those nearest you.”
Friendship
Studies have shown that people with strong friendships generally live over seven years longer[v] than those with weak social ties. It is also well-established that friendship increases happiness.[vi]
Many socialists seem to fit the Stalin mold: "The real Stalin had colleagues and sycophants, but almost no friends."[vii] Since socialist ideology promotes hatred instead of love, people who embrace it seem to experience limited friendship.
In his shocking and relevant book, Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents,[viii] Rod Dreher suggests the following solution: "In a time when people have forgotten how to be neighbors, simply sharing a meal or a movie together is a political act. This, I say, is a way to fight back against the loneliness and isolation that allows totalitarianism to rule." (p.145) In this same vein, Ronald Reagan famously said, “All great change in America begins at the dinner table.”
It is tragically ironic that one of the ways to defeat the socialist system responsible for the starvation of over 50 million people is to eat together, as families and friends. Many of my most treasured friendships have been developed around the table. Once when I was challenged in an adversarial way, I started a new friendship with this response: "How about if we get to know each better while sharing your favorite lunch, decide if we trust each other, and then consider our options?"
Meeting in small groups around the tables of America we will foster friendship, healing, and freedom one meal at a time.
Third: Sanctuary
Here is an interesting introduction to the concept of sanctuary: "For most people, the private sphere is more treasured than the public sphere. Work in the public sphere is where people go in order to make their private life possible...[so that] they can construct for themselves a private pocket in the world in which they and the people they love can do what they want." (The Invincible Family, p.72)
Most of us long for a place where we can do what we want, a place of peace, beauty, and safety. Such a place might be in our minds or homes or neighborhoods—or at a remote retreat. Marxists tend to hate the private sphere. The historical record and current socialist demands illustrate that the socialist state is the most intrusive beast imaginable—and no person, place, or circumstance is beyond its desire to control. Therefore, we currently have the most urgent need for sanctuary in the history of our country.
States, cities, counties, churches, clubs, and various legal authorities can help provide many different kinds and levels of sanctuary. Communities, friends, neighbors, and Mutual Assistance Groups (MAGS) can offer social sanctuaries of defense and refuge from illegal violations.
Tim Makay gives a comprehensive explanation of MAGS,[ix] including this succinct definition: "A mutual assistance group, or MAG, is simply a group of people, often with various backgrounds, skills, and resources who decide to work together and rely on one another to better deal with times of crisis, disaster and general trouble." For more extensive MAG information Charley Hogwosod's book[x] is a great resource.
MAGS might consist of family, friends, church, or neighborhood groups. The way they are organized may vary but during hard times many of us may need a MAG. Now is the time to set up, prepare, and start functioning MAGS. Failure to form a MAG or even procrastination could be a grave mistake. Here are some supplemental MAG related links: CPT,[xi] GEP,[xii] NCPC.[xiii]
As we eat, play, worship, study, and work together in our families and in our communities, we can triumph over the rising tide of socialist hatred that is threatening to rip us apart.
© Copyright 2024 Gene Van Shaar
[i] https://www.theepochtimes.com/why-socialists-want-to-destroy-our-memory-of-the-past_2934520.html
[ii] https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2010/05/what_exactly_is_social_justice.html
[iii] https://www.amazon.com/Invincible-Family-Defying-Global-Motherhood/dp/1684510554/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kimberly+ells&qid=1614904419&sr=8-1
[iv] https://www.coraevans.com/blog/article/10-most-beautiful-mother-teresa-quotes-on-the-family
[v]https://drudgenow.com/article/?n=0&s=2&c=1&pn=Anonymous&u=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-there-a-friendship-crisis-2018-08-17
[vi] https://www.happify.com/hd/why-friends-make-us-happier/
[vii] https://www.salon.com/2005/05/05/stalin/
[viii] https://storiesandstarlight.com/book-review-live-not-by-lies/
[ix] https://modernsurvivalonline.com/mutual-assistance-groups/
[x] https://www.amazon.com/MAGS-People-Prepping-Charley-Hogwood-ebook/dp/B00G70F2X2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1512134923&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=MAGS+The+People+Part+of+Prepping+and+the+Survival+Group+Handbook&linkCode=ll1&tag=srvsullblog-20&linkId=9df1d7b2000c7de2073ed38853238d8d
[xi] https://www.ready.gov/community-preparedness-toolkit
[xii] http://www.getemergencyprepared.com/neighborhood.html
[xiii] https://www.ncpc.org/resources/home-neighborhood-safety/