The Left’s attempt to cancel the views by anyone deemed to be a Republican or conservative has been picking up steam since November.

Randall Lane, the chief content officer of Forbes Media and editor of Forbes, which most people don’t realize was sold by the Forbes Family years ago, recently called for destroying the careers of anyone who work for Trump, particularly his press secretaries including Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Kayleigh McEnany.

“Let it be known to the business world: Hire any of Trump’s fellow fabulists above, and Forbes will assume that everything your company or firm talks about is a lie,” Lane wrote, brazenly and gleefully.

“We’re going to scrutinize, double-check, investigate with the same skepticism we’d approach a Trump tweet. Want to ensure the world’s biggest business media brand approaches you as a potential funnel of disinformation? Then hire away.”

Can you imagine the temerity of a major business magazine, once considered “a capitalist tool,” seeking to diminish the livelihood, reputation, and indeed quality of life of those who served in the administration of our 45th president?

Squelching the Right

For having the ‘gall’ and legal right to challenge the election of Joe Biden on the senate floor, on behalf of major concerns of his constituents, Senator Josh Hawley’s book with Simon & Schuster was canceled.

The book had been slated for publication this spring. Simon & Schuster announced: “After witnessing the disturbing, deadly insurrection that took place on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., Simon & Schuster has decided to cancel publication of Senator Josh Hawley’s forthcoming Book, the Tyranny of Big Tech.”

“We did not come to this decision lightly. As a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints: At the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom.”

Senator Hawley responded, “Simon & Schuster is canceling my contract because I was representing my constituents, leading a debate on the Senate floor on voter integrity, which they have now decided to redefine as sedition.” He then said, “See you in court.”

Ostracism Beyond the Pale

If only the blatant social, civic, and financial attempts at ostracism we’re confined to American publishers. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is likely the least intelligent person ever elected twice to the U.S Congress, has called for the re-education, reprogramming, or indoctrination of anyone who voted for Trump. She is joined by legions of others calling for the same.

Thus, 75 to 80 million people, in her view, require a type of intervention for the high crime of having voted Republican. Log on to any alternative news site today – not the mainstream press – including Politicrossing, Rantingly, The Liberty Daily, Whatfinger News, Red State, etc., and every other day you will see articles of those on the left calling for drastic measures to silence those on the right.

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, supposedly a moderate, openly called for removing both Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz Manchin via the 14th Amendment, over their objections to Electoral College votes. Where was Sen. Manchin in November, 2017 when Nancy Pelosi did exactly the same thing?

Ideological Litmus Tests

On the heels of the Left’s attempt to squelch the freedom of speech and livelihood of those on the Right came, perhaps, the most egregious development thus far. National Guard troops assembled in Washington, D.C. to insure domestic tranquility during the transfer of power on January 20th were subsequently looked upon by the Left in a new light.

The Left now wants to know who voted for Trump, versus who voted for Biden, and send the Trump voters to far posts, away from Biden.

This ideological litmus test is much more than the start of a slippery slope, it virtually guarantees that the nation will be fractured, and in record time.

Suppose that hereafter, within the professions, you must declare whether or not you voted for Trump. No more buying real estate using a broker who leans right. Don’t even consider getting insurance from an agent who voted for Trump. What about your doctor? Can he or she be trusted if a GOP member? Do you want to retain an attorney who voted for Republicans?

Major voices on the Left actually prefer this path. NBA basketball players have complained to the press that they don’t want to play for a team whose owner is a Republican.

Reason Takes a Holiday

Where will all this lead? Perhaps, more reasoned voices will prevail, and point out the absurdity of asking people for their “official papers,” much like was done throughout Europe in the lead up to and during World War II.

However, at the rate that the Left is already asserting itself in highly un-American ways, acting like the East German Stasi, and usurping the U.S. Constitution, there’s no reason to hold out hope.

– – – – –

Racism or revolution? It’s a fair question in any honest assessment of our current chaos. Cop shoots black man, people cry racism, protests turn into lawless looting and destruction. What isn’t talked about is the key to the entire mess—personal responsibility. And what lurks in the background is a new revolution.

First, who’s responsible for George Floyd’s death? Daunte Wright’s? One could say former Officers Derek Chauvin and Kim Potter, respectively, but this would be lazy thinking and dishonest. Here’s a better question: Who’s responsible for their lives?

Before we poke the hornet’s nest, let’s consider facts.

Both men had criminal records. Both were known by local police. One was an addict; the other had a warrant out for his arrest. Both men chose to commit crimes; George Floyd tried to pass off a counterfeit bill; Daunte Wright illegally possessed a firearm. He also drove with an expired license plate. Keeping one’s vehicle current is a basic responsibility for all licensed drivers. Wright failed to do so, which led to his being pulled over. This is when he made his fatal choice.

Choices and consequences

Imagine yourself in his situation. An officer is arresting you. Your choices are: A) allow yourself to be handcuffed or B) break free and get back into your car or run or fight or anything other than acquiesce to arrest. Any rational and honest person has to know that he alone is responsible for his actions. Everyone is responsible for his or her choices—personally responsible. 

What did Daunte choose to do? He chose flight. This triggered the arresting officers, which prompted Officer Potter to use what she says she thought was her taser in order to subdue Wright. The fact that she used her firearm and then expressed shock and dismay afterwards indicates incompetence, not racism.

George Floyd and Daunte Wright chose to commit the crimes that invited police attention. They had criminal records because they chose to be criminals. They alone bear responsibility for setting the stage for negative interaction with law enforcement. We can debate the culpability of the officers, and a jury is deciding whether Derek Chauvin is guilty of anything more than excessive force.

They may find him guilty of much more, but the inconvenient truth for Black Lives Matter is that George Floyd and Daunte Wright would likely both be alive today had they not chosen to commit crimes. Their lives would truly matter because they’d be alive to make better choices. They could choose to become ex-criminals.

Personally irresponsible

In any era prior to our present age of victimhood and “systemic racism,” both men would bear personal responsibility for making choices that led to their deaths. This is not to say that Derek Chauvin isn’t guilty of manslaughter or murder.

The truth is that George Floyd and Daunte Wright and Michael Brown and others are solely responsible for their life choices—especially those that put them at odds with law enforcement. We all are. Rather than confront this truth, opportunists (and true believers) cry racism. The reality is that the vast majority of police aren’t any more racist than you or I. Many are simply weary and wary of the same people saying the same things in order to avoid personal responsibility. And now they’re called racists and badgered and beaten down as they try to do their jobs.

The beatdown manifests itself in rising crime and resistance to arrest, anti-cop antagonism, calls for defunding, accusations of racism, vilification and worse. Our legal system, which also isn’t racist, found no truth in claims like, “Hands up. Don’t shoot.” Sadly, race hustlers like Al Sharpton and the Black Lives Matter founders have weaponized these words to further an agenda that doesn’t help the people they claim to champion. They seem more interested in self-enrichment and political change than in equality.

The revolution

The Black Lives Matter grifters value equity over equality and revolution in place of our republic. Black “victims” of police racism and brutality are mere pawns in a new race war as the means to their end—a Marxist Utopia. Hatred, chaos and division are their weapons.

Why do we see looters presented as peaceful protesters by corrupt media? Why do young white anarchists participate in BLM protests after police shootings of black suspects and criminals? It’s opportunity.

What better way to usher in a new reality than with a new revolution? America rebelled against an English tyrant because of inequities involving class and representation. Because America was built on visions of equality, freedom and the merits of hard work and opportunity, class warfare has no legs here. Race is the ticket. Marxists tried it in the ’60s, but were thwarted by reform. Inadvertently, an entire ethnic group in America were turned into victims and semi-wards of the state.

The result? Critical Race Theory, white privilege, reparations, the vilification of police, and reverse racism against “white” people. The racist oppressors are our justice system and law enforcement. According to the revolutionaries, slavery is our original sin, and we have yet to fully repent of it.

In reality, we’ve made great steps toward equality. America is like any other republic—flawed and imperfect. America is also a beautiful experiment in self-governance. Rather than transform it, we should hold one another responsible for our choices and encourage each other toward unity and true equality.