 | The Enemy of the PeopleBerit Kjos - 1996 |  |
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| "To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul, O my God, I trust in You!" Psalm. 25:1 |
Recent examples of Government Tyranny.
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In the wake of the tragic Oklahoma bombing, most Americans realized that unthinkable violence could touch anyone at any time. But some citizens had to face a more personal reality: The deadly explosion had given government and media leaders the crisis they needed to justify merging a vast and varied mix of "malcontents" into the singular group labeled the Radical Right.
They might as well have been called the enemy of the people. Day after day, the media's accusing pens pointed to suspected foes of American togetherness -- those whose "enraged rhetoric" had created a national "climate of hate and paranoia." They ranged from "rabid" radio hosts and armed "extremists" to concerned Christian parents. "Their coalition," said Time, "included well known-elements of far-right thought: tax protesters, Christian homeschoolers, conspiracy theorists... and self-reliant types who resent a Federal Government that seems to favor grizzly bears and wolves over humans..."1 All were implicated, for all had questioned the government's growing control over local schools, private property, and personal lives.
Emotional appeals work. It's easier to shout, "Stop spreading hate!" than to encourage rational debate. It's more effective to discredit discerning citizens by linking them to violent anarchists than to give factual answers to legitimate questions. It's quicker to invalidate unwanted information by tying it to wild speculations than to provide honest responses--especially when the truth would expose plans best kept hidden. History has shown that nothing crushes well-informed resistance faster than well-planned disinformation and false accusations. Nothing unifies a nation faster than a common enemy.
Hitler knew those lessons well. He had watched the Bolshevik Revolution. His book, Mein Kampf, explains the winning strategies to any future revolutionary. Notice his insight into group psychology:
"The art of truly great popular leaders in all ages has consisted chiefly in not distracting the attention of the people, but concentrating always on a single adversary.... It is part of a great leader's genius to make even widely separated adversaries appear as if they belonged to one category, because... the recognition of various enemies all too easily marks the beginning of doubt of one's own rightness."2Hitler focused his fury on an influential, well educated ethnic group whose religious beliefs opposed his own. "It was a stroke of genius on the part of Hitler to find this common denominator in the Jew," explains the Encyclopaedia Britannica. "This enabled him to discover the Jew behind all his changing adversaries... in short, behind everybody and everything that at a given moment opposed his wishes or aroused his wrath."3
Long before the Oklahoma bombing, political and educational change agents had found their common enemy in the medley of "malcontents" they called the Radical Right. Like Hitler's Jews, this diverse mix represented politically incorrect religious values. The Oklahoma explosion added new intensity and plausible justification to the growing hostility, and the public quickly echoed the media rhetoric. "There is a dedicated, very well organized, very well financed movement in America that is very anti-public schools, very anti-government, very anti-tax," said Lew Finch, the superintendent of schools in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "The ultimate example of that sentiment is the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City."4
Finch's revolutionaries were Christian parents, those who supposedly want "all schools" to "be controlled by the church--their church." Like many progressive educators, he felt hampered by parents who resist two key parts of the new education system mandated through Goals 2000: (1) the psychological strategies for changing their children's beliefs and values and (2) their government's plan to expand the educational bureaucracy through national standards and tests that emphasize attitudes, not academics.Across the country, educators battling "the agenda of the Radical Right" express similar paranoia toward concerned parents. In state after state, leaders organize conferences to identify opposition groups, analyze their tactics, and plan counter-action.5 Many follow the suggestions from Ronald Havelock's book, The Change Agent's Guide to Innovation in Education. "[T]ry to identify resisters before they become vocal and committed," he wrote. "Resisters, like innovators, should be judged for relative sophistication and influence."6
A report titled "Primer on the Extremist Attacks on Public Education," teaches educators to do just that. Prepared by the California Teachers' Association, it also lists specific strategies for defeating "Extreme Right Groups" so that "the majority's moderate, more inclusive values may be promoted and protected...."7
It's hard for many Christians to understand this hostility. Why are educators and politicians so angry at them? Why can't they just teach basic academics? Professor John Goodlad, an influential "change agent" in the global as well as national arena, answers that question. He warned his fellow educators that "most youth still hold the same values as their parents.... If we do not alter this pattern, if we don't resocialize.... our society may decay."8
"Paradigm shifts are complicated," said Chester Finn, who helped Lamar Alexander market America 2000 to the public. "But shift we will."9
To sell their radical agenda to the public, politicians, and educators have become masters at manipulating information. "We have actually been given a course in how not to tell the truth," said North Carolina school superintendent Dr. Jim Causby in his speech at the 1994 Annual Model Schools Conference in Atlanta. "How many of you are administrators? You've had that course in public relations where you learn to put the best spin on things."10
Does Causby's admission sound familiar? "Spin control" has become a daily task for White House staff and political news-makers. New policies, plans, decisions... everything demands the right kind of marketing. Many of those "spins" are used to mold public attitudes toward "radicals" who oppose White House policies. We shouldn't be surprised. The Bible tells us that "the whole world is under the control of the evil one,"11 and he has always despised God and His people. Today, as our culture shifts to the global paradigm, political and educational "change agents" are turning biblical values upside down. From the new paradigm perspective, God's people look like inflexible radicals who oppose tolerance, unity and "academic freedom." It makes sense to hush their voices and purge beliefs that block "progress" toward the 21st Century global village.
Remember that throughout history, Satan has used government leaders to persecute Christians and Jews. In fact, persecution is a normal part of Christian life. "If they persecuted Me," said Jesus, "they will also persecute you... because they do not know the One who sent Me." (John 15:20-21)Hitler tolerated what he called "positive Christianity" -- a government-controlled church movement that conformed to Nazi ideals. But genuine Christianity was incompatible with Nazi loyalties. Actually, the Nazis realized that sooner than most Christians.12
Today, only compromised, cross-less "Christianity" that blends with all the other spiritual paths to "ultimate reality" is acceptable to America's new paradigm leaders. Those who choose to follow the narrow path of obedience, surrender and intimacy with Jesus will surely be viewed as the most repugnant of the so-called Radical Right. But to those who know the joy of His presence and live in the light of eternity, that won't matter at all.13
Endnotes:1 Philip Weiss, "Outcasts Digging in for the Apocalypse," Time (May 1, 1995); 48. The last words of the quote ("on government land") were deleted since Time failed to mention the reason for concern: the government land borders on farms where wolves attack domestic animals, yet laws protecting wolves prohibit farmers from protecting their livestock.5 Joy Perry, "Workshop: "Responding Democratically to Opposition Groups," Wisconsin Report, December 16, 1993, 1.6 Ronald G. Havelock, The Change Agent's Guide to Innovation in Education (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications, 1973);122.8 John Goodlad, "Report of Task Force C: Strategies for Change," Schooling for the Future, a report to the President's Commission on Schools Finance, Issue #9, 1971.10 Cynthia Weatherly, "The 2nd Annual Model School Conference," The Christian Conscience (January 1995); 36.Home - Articles - Persecution - Victory
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