TARGETING FREEDOM: THE SLINGSHOT EFFECT

The Democrats claim, and I assume some actually believe, that the most serious and proximate threat to America (other than climate change) is right-wing extremism. And if they continue along the path they’ve chosen, they may get their wish.

Anyone who’s paying attention (excluding ideologically befuddled Leftists) can see the asymmetry in the application of the law that’s intensified in recent years to bizarre, previously unimaginable levels. There are many examples, but it’s worth cataloging a few: Hillary vs Trump; Black Lives Matter rioters vs 1/6 perpetrators, the DOJ vs anti-abortion protesters, the Treasury vs Republican organizations, university administrations vs conservative students, the government vs Musk, and anyone conservative vs Hunter Biden. The list goes on and one.

The preferential treatment extends beyond lawfare. There’s preferred people of color vs white and “privileged” minorities (think Jews); alternate sexual preference vs heterosexuals, trans vs “cis”; and more recently, illegal immigrants vs citizens. This last deserves special mention.

Who would have thought, even a short time ago, that lawlessness would be not only tolerated, but rewarded? Now, people who enter the country illegally are given phones, welfare, domiciles, free flights without the need for the IDs and vetting we citizens must face, and most recently the ability to commit crimes without deportation, and perhaps even without consequence. My jaw still hangs over the recent headlines regarding the pummeling of the men in blue in Times Square by illegal aliens, with the perpetrators being released on their own recognizance (as they flipped the bird to the press and law enforcement on public TV). Clearly, the current, widespread enactiment of deleterious policies and corrupt prosecutors can be directly traced to the upsurge in crime, drug use and ODs, economic decline, and I fear, an anticipated resurgence in deadly, domestic terrorism.

Many people are uninformed, many are distracted by the events of their daily lives, but most are not far-left progressives with brains clouded by an untenable, utopian life perspective. As the anticipated effects of these policies are hitting home in the form of unaffordable food and gas prices, rampant crime, and manifest, intolerable crunes such as that publicized in Times Square, people are finally waking up. It’s reflected in the recent polls showing a small lead for Trump, a man disliked by a large plurality of the electorate (and highlighting how remarkably negative is the perception of his opponent) in the general election. With this awakening comes potential salvation, but also danger.

The reaction to prolonged doses of insanity and injustice in a country that has been accustomed to fairness (not to be confused with equity) and the equal application of the rule of law is becoming increasingly strident. As Jordan Peterson has pointed out, the safe road between Chaos and Order lies in the middle. But human nature being what it is, as in physics, every action is accompanied by an equal and opposite reaction. It typically starts with the small minority that are most extreme and with rhetoric and untenable policy proposals, as we’ve seen. But with continued continued and blatant injustice, the fear is that it will evolve into violence by the few, and spread to the many. This is the worst possible outcome for our country. Even if a peaceful transition away from left-wing lunacy can be achieved, we will need to be vigilant against overcompensation, or “the slingshot effect.” To the deluded Left, this overreaction is represented by the extreme right-wing fascism depicted in fantasies such as “The Handmaid’s Tale” that the Left believes all conservatives long for. While an over-correction of that magnitude is highly improbable, we needn’t go quite that far to overshoot the narrow path between anarchy and tyranny. Maintaining a healthy political and social equilibrium requires a sane, functioning Right and Left, which we have not had for some time.

I hope Biden and the far Left are ousted in the upcoming election. It’s taken decades to achieve the degree of political and societal dysfunction we’re now experiencing; the road back will likely take as long. But in the process, if we lose sight of that narrow safe passage between Chaos and Order, we will be at risk for a different kind of fascism the next go-around.

THE HANDMAID’S TALE

If you watch Hulu, or even if you don’t, you’ve probably heard about their original series, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a dystopian drama about what I imagine is the Left’s vision of right-wing values carried to their logical extreme. For those unfamiliar, it’s a story centered around the main character’s struggle in a U.S. city post Crisis/Apocalypse based on a fascistic interpretation of Scripture. The secondary premise is that the vast majority of women have been rendered infertile (by a virus?) and the prime directive is to preserve the human race through enforced and highly protected procreation via the remaining fertile women. The city is run by totalitarian pseudo-religious Commanders in crisp black suits governing a cadre of red-garbed and 17th-century-hatted Handmaids subjected to ritual rape by the Commanders, to claim the babies for their blue-garbed wives. Law enforcement is maintained by public hangings and mutilation. Black-uniformed assault weapon-wielding military types are everywhere and the closest bastion of freedom lies north in, you guessed it, Canada. I’m barely touching on the brutality of the society, but you get the idea.

The series is well-written, well-acted, and expertly produced. If it weren’t for the fact that it represents a not-so-subtle tribute to Leftist foolishness, I’d have nothing bad to say about it (other than, at times, it can get a tad tedious and heavy-handed on the message side, to the detriment of plot pacing).

So now it’s time for a series characterizing the logical extension of the Left’s beliefs, right? Don’t hold your breath.

First of all, unless you’ve been hiding in a closet, the vast majority of the powers-that-be in Tinsel town are not just liberal, but full-blown leftist. Creating the mirror opposite (in truth, both sides end in fascism) of this series would be as unnatural to them as a fish walking down Hollywood Boulevard. But more importantly, there’s no need—we’ve seen their beliefs play out in real life every day: the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, the slow, steady corrosion of life in Cuba, and the dramatic fall from freedom and economic grace of Venezuela, to name just a few.

In truth, the next series, “The Left Turn into Hell,” may come, but it will be a documentary.