(Author’s note: Over the past two-plus years, I’ve been writing a series of essays (titled “Fragments”) that I have posted here and on my Substack. Below is the Epilogue to that work. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to visit my Substack and read the entire series. I think it will be worth your time. And it’s free!)
April 2024
I ended this series of essays by writing in jest that my intent was not to provide solutions but rather to simply diagnose the problems. However, in the year since I wrote those words, I have struck upon a few steps (I hesitate to call them “solutions”) that all people who are not interested in “going along” (I’ll refer to them as conservatives, but they include all traditionalists, libertarians, and freedom lovers generally) can employ to begin what will be a long fight to undo the madness of the present system:
- Stop fighting its wars: In retrospect, I think it has been a mistake for the conservative movement to align itself so closely with the military. This was understandable given the threat from the Soviet Union, which (at the risk of using an overused description) really was an existential threat to the American Way of Life and the Free World generally. And for decades after WWII, American families proudly sent their sons (and far fewer of their daughters) to serve, and sometimes die, in the cause of freedom. Even during the draft, young men frequently volunteered to serve, often out of a sense of obligation but also too for opportunity and adventure. This was noble and right.
The Right’s attachment to the military became even stronger in the years following 9/11. Although, the country as a whole was more appreciative of the military as an institution in the years following that event (“Thank you for your service.”), the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were fought, in the main, by either men and women from small town America or those who identified with its ethos of “God, Family, Country.”
But it is increasingly evident that the military has become just another extension of the leftist project. In the latter stages of Afghanistan and Iraq (after the charade of weapons of mass destruction ended), these wars stopped being about defending America’s vital national interests and became instead part of the effort to promote a gauzy internationalism. Fighting terrorism took a back seat to promoting abstractions such as democracy, women’s liberation, and human rights. This kind of nation building was criticized from the Left as “neo-conservatism,” but it is more properly understood as the paleo-liberalism of Woodrow Wilson and the One-Worlders who followed. In fact, it is exactly the kind of internationalism that the Left is currently promoting in Ukraine.
It is striking just how fully the same people who have opposed every military conflict—large (Vietnam) and small (Grenada)—this country has engaged in over 50 years have embraced the war in Ukraine. No expense is too great. No risk—such as the very real possibility of triggering a larger war—too daunting. This despite the lack of any clear threat to American national or security interests and the fact that those who are most directly threatened by Russia, namely the member nations of the European Union and its satellites (of which Ukraine is one), are fully capable of defending themselves. The United States military has become a tool at the disposal of the international managerial class in the EU, the UN and NATO, not the defender of American security. If it were the latter, the U.S. Army would be on the U.S.-Mexico border, not Poland’s border with Russia.[1]
Lastly, like the universities, the armed services have been captured by the same forces that want to use the country’s institutions (even the ones they supposedly hate) to advance their ideas of equity, primarily of the gender and sexual sort. This is all the more ironic in that it seems to me that there are few segments of human endeavor more immune to equity as warfare. Very rarely does the little guy win. In fact, since WWII, this country’s approach to war has been to ensure that it has no equitable peer. These indoctrination efforts can only lead to a further diminishment of America’s fighting spirit, which has been as crucial to its success as any weapons system. The most effective way to stop this nonsense is to refuse to participate in it. Don’t send your sons to fight and die in their internationalist wars.
- The corporations aren’t our friends. As a free-market conservative, I had always assumed that the corporations were on our side. In fact, much of the conservative success of the 1970s and ‘80s was a direct result of the anti-regulation, pro-capitalist activism of the Business Roundtable, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Federation of Independent Business, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.[2] Going even further back, it may be hard to imagine, but there was a time when the film studios and television networks were wary of offending their audiences with storylines that were immoral or otherwise offensive. Media corporations even solicited the imprimatur of religious leaders and other arbiters of public mores. For some decades now it has seemed as if the entire point of entertainment is to offend. Yes, this sometimes led to insipid narratives and even censorship, but it also helped to promote a baseline of societal decency that simply no longer exists.
Certainly, much has changed. American society has undergone a moral upheaval. It’s not just that Judeo-Christian morality is less a guiding force in people’s lives but that authority figures have decided that it is not their role to provide moral guidance, even to children (except, of course, in regard to racism and tolerance). Now, as with the universities and the military, the corporations see their primary role as transforming society along social justice lines. Profits are necessary, but social change is the point.
Much of this ethos can be traced back to burgeoning “tech” companies of the 1970s, with Apple being the most famous example. These enterprises were powered by individuals who embraced—in whole or part—the hippie ideals of peace, love, and challenging the status quo. Yet, this generation of business activists still wanted what every entrepreneur wants—to become fabulously wealthy—they just wanted to do good at the same time. In some instances, their children carried on this idea, as in Google’s “Don’t be evil” motto, for instance.
However, in many others, the connection between a company’s business decisions and the profit motive is increasingly less clear. Automobile companies have turned their back on the combustion engine, even as demand for electric vehicles remains elusive. Oil companies promote the environment. Sometimes, companies are just reacting to one government regulation or another; other times they seem to be leading the charge to the bright, progressive future. The quality of the good or service offered is becoming less important than the progressive values behind it. As a result, we hear from marketing and PR flacks that “our customers expect us to support diversity, equity, etc.”
Nowhere is this more evident than in regard to the National Football League. For several decades now, American football has promoted spectacle, manhood and patriotism. But even before the George Floyd riots, the NFL allowed itself to be used by blatantly anti-American forces. They now promote societal division (the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the “Black” national anthem), radicalism (Under the auspices of its “Inspire Change social justice initiative)[3] and the emasculation of the sport through flag football and other efforts to soften the game. And yet, fans, many of whom no doubt consider themselves to be conservatives, continue to pay for season tickets, merchandise, video games, streaming services, and cable packages that enrich the NFL and fund these objectionable activities.
- Stop funding the enemy. Along these lines, it is disheartening to see how willing conservatives are to continue funding the very organizations who work to promote everything we oppose. It is time for us, collectively, to begin being purposeful with our dollars. This does not necessarily mean a blanket boycott of certain goods and services. However, in some instances, (especially in regard to the media) the prohibition should be total: cancel your cable and streaming services, stop your newspaper and magazine subscriptions, get rid of Amazon Prime. Every cent that goes to the Hollywood studios or media corporations or Jeff Bezos is undermining our cause. In the case of cable, you are paying for content, whether you watch it or not. Which means, the NFL still gets paid, even if you’ve stopped watching the games. On that note, stop funding the NFL, MLB, and the NBA.
In other cases, it’s a matter of being more conscientious with your purchases. If you want coffee, by all means go to Starbuck’s. But if there’s a Peet’s or local shop nearby, go there instead. If you haven’t already, stop giving donations to any organization—especially your alma mater—that does not reflect conservative values. This may also include your local church. And for Pete’s sake, stop buying all that cheap shit from China. You’ve got to know that the little doodad made in Outer Mongolia and shipped half way across the world only costs $1.34 because it’s made with slave labor. Plus, in all likelihood, you are also funding the Chinese Communist Party.
Yes, as you start to think before you spend, you will find that there aren’t many corners of American life that haven’t been co-opted by the enemies of all that is good and right. But if you’re not willing to make the minor modifications in behavior I’m suggesting, how committed are you to taking back our country really? Again, it’s not the one-time purchase as much as the auto-pilot spending that funnel billions of dollars to the corporations and billionaires who actively undermine the things we cherish. If conservatives flexed their economic-muscle just a little bit, the effects would be monumental.
- Politics is not the solution. Finally, it is time for conservatives to stop putting all of their hopes and dreams in a political victory that will—once and for all—settle all accounts and right all wrongs. It’s going to take more than rallies and “FJB” bumper stickers to get our country back.
To begin with, elections are increasingly irrelevant. Events are overtaking the normal ebb and flow of politics. The future of the country will be decided outside the normal channels of action. Conservatives have placed too much faith in the political process. They keep hoping that one person (Donald Trump, Larry Elders) or one election is going to save the day. If only it were that easy.
And let’s face it, for most “politics” doesn’t really amount to all that much. When you think about it, voting every couple of years doesn’t amount to much. Maybe writing a check? Wearing a T-Shirt? Again, a bumper sticker or sign on the lawn? Rallies are fun, for the people who attend, and serve some role in creating a cohesive base, but are of limited value beyond that. In most cases, political involvement amounts to even less than that, a mere identification with a cause or candidate. The real work of politics—phone banks, precinct walking, attending party meetings until all hours—is a lot less fun.
So what to do instead? I think the answer is that we all need to live more deliberate lives. Every action, no matter how small, must be examined. In fact, it is the small actions that probably matter most. In every moment we are making a choice: about how we use our time, how we spend our money, about what we silently consent to and what we speak out against. In the America of 2024, as in the communist countries of old, it is the small actions—the refusal to mouth propaganda, the decision to disobey a petty bureaucratic demand—that can get a person into the most trouble.
I realize that this runs the risk of politicizing every aspect of life, which is what the left does and what all conservatives should avoid. And to be clear, I’m not arguing that conservatives should likewise become obnoxious warriors for the cause, calling out others for their transgressions. But we need to be willing to speak and act in ways that make clear we do not approve and will not participate in the reigning insanity.
Conservatives also need to engage at every level, not just at the heights of government and media. The focus should not so much be the state legislature or Congress or Fox News but the home, the street, the neighborhood, the church, the community. One needn’t overtly organize. In fact, doing so, although sometimes necessary, will only stiffen opposition. But a single person simply saying “No” can move the earth.
Don’t get me wrong, political action at some level is necessary. We’ve got to defend ourselves after all. And many groups and institutions (from the PTAs to the Boy Scout troops to charities, nonprofits, and many professional and community organizations), are so corrupt there is no option but to leave them altogether and form alternatives. But politics is the least effective route to true, lasting change.
I think it is difficult to overstate just how far gone America, at large, is. Even more disturbing, as a resident of California, I see every day just how much worse it could get. As, I wrote in the introduction, when I began this series of essays in January 2022, it was because I was convinced that something had shifted. America had become an unfamiliar place. I had thought that the successes of conservatism 30 years prior had been the correction following the excesses of the 1960s, culturally and politically. It now seems that all of those victories have been lost and we are in an even worse place than we were before the “revolution” of the 1970s and ‘80s. Now all that is left is to fight on as best we can.
J.S. Scifo is a North County resident who has worked in national and state politics. You can also follow him at J.S. Scifo on Substack | Substack.
[1]Vandiver, John. “US Army stakes out permanent presence in Poland with ‘Camp K’.” Stars and Stripes. March 21, 2023. https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2023-03-21/army-garrison-poland-nato-russia-9562441.html
[2]For an extensive telling of the role played by the private sector in the conservative revolution of the 1970s, see “Reaganland,” by Rick Perlstein.
[3]According to the NFL’s website, its “Inspire Change” initiative supports improvements in Education, Economic Advancement, Community Police Relations, and Criminal Justice Reform. All of which are not so subtle code for left-wing causes Inspire Change | NFL Social Justice Initiative | NFL. Of course, there is also NFL Green, NFL Pride, and Por La Cultura.