The majority of Americans have never left the United States. As such, it’s not surprising that the Chinese Cultural Revolution is a rather unknown historical and political event. However, an examination of the forces and ideologies which guided China’s Cultural Revolution will shed light on what is going on in the United States today. The Great Leap Forward and the subsequent revolution yield important lessons that Americans should heed. By understanding the past, we recognize the struggle that is currently tearing apart civil society.
Young Americans are increasingly turning to Socialism with the belief that it will solve the apparent inequities in American society. What is disturbing is that most do not even know of the history of Socialist states. Such economies are firmly implanted in collectivist thought. So what are some of the fundamental tenets of a “Cultural Revolution”?
1. Mobilization of Youth
One of Mao’s key methods of enacting the Cultural Revolution was mobilization of youth with terms and phrases like, “to rebel is justified.” This tactic is being employed increasingly in America’s youth, mainly through media portrayals of systemic oppression. The tactic is very simple: use the younger generation as militant activists by instilling the belief that their predecessors have failed to bring about social change (or enough social change). For this to work, revisionist history must be created.
The 1619 Project is the most evident neo-Marxist literature to enter mainstream America. This is a calculated piece using the collectivist playbook. The main article makes a very specific claim, “Our democracy’s founding ideals were false when they were written. Black Americans have fought to make them true.” This claim has a singular goal in mind. That is to deliberately paint the ideals the United States was founded upon as “false”. This means that the younger generation is now justified in rebelling against a state or “system” which they’ve deemed a failure. This is a prime example of the aforementioned move toward revisionist history.
2. Changing of Words and Their Meaning
Black Lives Matter has entered the forefront of national discourse. So much so that simple dissent over private business dress codes has made it into national headlines. News media and social media have acted in a positive feedback loop, amplifying previously local issues into massive outrage campaigns. Though this has been happening for some time (well before the 2016 election), it appears we still fall into this trap.
Many Americans are hesitant in their support of a movement which is characteristically incoherent in nature. While there is rather broad support for the simple fact that “black lives matter,” the term itself is now embroiled with several different meanings. Broadly speaking it can mean support for the general idea, or support for the movement at large, or support for the specific organization.
The organization itself, i.e. Black Lives Matter (the organization) has several items on its list of beliefs which are more than concerning. For example, “We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.” This is done through collectivization of resources and community power in which family does not matter more than the greater community. As such, loyalty lies not with the people in your life but with the greater cause. This deliberate ambiguity implies that those who disagree with it are accused of rejecting the value of black lives altogether (or the reality of racism in America)."
What does this mean?
The Cultural Revolution was organized with youth invading the established social institutions and performing public “struggle sessions”, accusing people in positions of power of their privilege. The irony being that these officials were actually party officials themselves, but now being older party officials have become “privileged” and must be replaced “for the people”. This cycle is being played out in American society as “white privilege” campaigns and social atonement ceremonies, where individuals or companies must take to social media to acknowledge their “privilege” and thus work on being “re-educated.”
But bowing to the will of the collective will not protect you. By publicizing your so-called “awokening” and acknowledgement of privilege you are only delaying the inevitable. They will still come for you because the goal is not racial reconciliation, it is Marxist revolution. The goal isn’t to improve the system. That would require the belief that the founding principles of the United States are good. The goal is to tear down the system and rebuild it into a Socialist utopia.
This is a pandemic of thought and it is here.