Frank Vernuccio | On May 27, 2021

George Floyd Protests, Minneapolis, MN.

In the nightmares of our collective political imagining, our freedom is lost to jackbooted men strutting down any town’s Main Street. It’s not happening that way, but the danger is just as real.

The more subtle tactics of dishonesty, propaganda, censorship, and the undermining of normal Constitutional order, it turns out, are more effective on American soil than beerhall putsches. Over the past dozen years, what could not be achieved through revolution or at the ballot box has made worrisome progress through the extraordinary domination of key influential institutions by progressive extremists.

Consider the overwhelming alterations in our schools, where “woke” curriculum reigns supreme. Examine our justice system, where a number of district attorneys and states’ attorneys generals, elected with the heavy financial assistance of left wing campaign contributions abuse their office for partisan political purposes. Watch nightly television “entertainment,” where propaganda is inserted in everything from detective shows to late night comedy talk programs. Look at news media, whether online, in print, or over the airwaves, where anything differing from progressive orthodoxy is frequently censored.

There have been no melodramatic episodes of book burning, but a similar effect has been accomplished by driving moderate and conservative teachers and professors out of education, while students not agreeing with left-wing ideas are harassed and segregated into “free speech zones.” Social media giants censor out non-Progressive users and ideas. The most commonly used search engines hide or ignore results that reflect accurate information that counters extremist propaganda.

Americans have endured the ascension of a political, media, and educational class that has contempt for their fellow citizens. Some elected officials vote for the taxpayers to pay for private protection for them, while defunding police forces. Congress passes laws establishing second-rate health care systems that they are exempt from.

The keystone concept of transparent, honest elections has become anathema. Illogical arguments abound against maintaining accurate voter rolls, having voters prove their identity with appropriate identification, and securing truthful mail-in ballots.

Dissatisfaction by those elites with the current population has led to an open border policy, in which massive numbers of noncitizens are lured into the nation with the expectation that they will receive generous benefits. Americans who have paid for Medicare, Social Security, and educational programs throughout their lives are expected to happily empty federal, state and local treasuries to finance their replacement with foreigners.

In Washington, every bedrock foundation of American Constitutional order is under relentless attack. Freedom of Speech is considered subject to not hurting Progressive’s feelings. The Second Amendment is an endangered species. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments, which reserve those powers not specifically given to the federal government to the people and the states, are viewed as little more than an anachronism.

In a 2018 article in The Week, national correspondent Ryan Cooper wrote: “The American Constitution is an outdated, malfunctioning piece of junk — and it’s only getting worse.” Elena Kagan, refused to acknowledge the inherent concept of inalienable rights during her 2010 confirmation hearing.

That, indeed, is the crux of the matter.  America was founded on the concept that the individual, not the government, was sovereign. The whole purpose of the Bill of Rights was to protect the people from government. But in the twisted logic of the Left, the rights of the individual are subject to the current will of the federal government.

Very recently, the scope of the attack on the Constitutional structure has been breathtaking. The electoral college, which protects the rights of citizens within smaller states, has been vigorously assaulted. Similarly, the concept of a Senate with equal representation from each state has been harshly criticized. There is a powerful move afoot to pack the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure that Leftists win every case.

No mustachioed, strutting figure has made an overt attempt to publicly overthrow the Constitution. But the multifaceted, subtle assault by the Progressive Left is just as real and even more dangerous.

Frank Vernuccio serves as editor-n-chief of the New York Analysis of Policy and Government.

Originally published on Townhall Finance.

Frank Vernuccio

Frank Vernuccio serves as editor-in-chief of the New York Analysis of Policy & Government (website usagovpolicy.com). He is the co-host of the syndicated radio program, Vernuccio/Novak Report, and is also a contributor to Fox News. His columns appear in many newspapers. After graduating Hofstra Law School, he was a legislative editor for a major publishing company, then served in both Republican and Democrat Administrations. Following the 9/11 attack, he was appointed to run the hard-hit Manhattan branch of the New York State Workers Compensation Board.