If…

If I had been raised by a far left mother who really detested America and passed that misguided passion along to me, I might have done a lot of things differently in my life.  If my mostly absent father had been driven by an attitude of strident anti-colonialism and really bought into the Marxist view of society, i.e. class warfare and a belief that everything bad in the world originated with the United States of America and with its Capitalist system, I almost surely would have become an activist dedicated to the radical transformation of America.  

If I was schooled in the far left’s vision of America as a racist, evil, corrupt nation as portrayed in “history” books like Howard Zinn’s, “A People’s History of the United States” I would have wanted to bring social and economic “justice” to the United States.  In believing Howard Zinn and other radicals of the far left, I would have become passionate about righting the wrongs that the evil capitalist system had imposed on minorities and the poor.  Zinn’s vision of American would be my own…

        “Around 1776, certain important people in the English colonies made a
        discovery that would prove enormously useful for the next two hundred
        years. They found that by creating a nation, a symbol, a legal unity called
        the United States, they could take over land, profits, and political power
        from favorites of the British Empire.  In the process, they could hold back
        a number of potential rebellions and create a consensus of popular support
        for the rule of a new, privileged leadership...it was a work of genius…
        They [the Founders] created the most effective system of national control
        devised in modern times, and showed future generations of leaders the
        advantages of combining paternalism with command.”

My understanding of our Founders and my passion would have been inflamed if I studied under or read quotes from professors like Leonard Jeffries who characterized America’s first president as “George Washington the slave master bastard Founding Father.”  Or reading Zinn who said of American patriot, Thomas Paine, 

        “…he lent himself perfectly to the myth of the Revolution—that it was on
        behalf of a united people.  The Declaration of Independence brought that
        myth to its peak of eloquence.”

If I believed this Marxist vision of America and America’s Founders, I would have been outraged and incensed.  I would have dedicated my life to righting this wrong, just as my father had, in my mind, dedicated his life to righting the wrong of colonialism.  And if I was very smart, I would have approached this goal with not only a burning passion, but also the cleverness and cunning that would be needed to destroy this corrupt, racist society that had brought hardship and destitution to so many.  If I believed this, I would have schooled myself in ways to gain power without revealing my true intentions.  I might have studied Saul Alinsky’s book, Rules for Radicals, and made it my guidebook for ascent to power over the unscrupulous people who were ruling America.  From Rules for Radicals I would have learned about Alinsky Jujitsu, which has a striking resemblance to the dialectical materialism of Karl Marx—three steps forward and one step back.
If I was really angry with the travesty that those malevolent men who imposed slavery on African Americans and servitude on the lower classes through the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, I’d use any and all means to rectify this cruel situation.  I would not be bound by “the rule of law” because the “rule of law” would be understood by me to be a fraud.  English “historian” Christopher Hill aptly summed up the rule of law as something that “…benefited the men of property.”  In other words, as a true believer, I would now understand that the idea of “the rule of law” was just another wealthy white male contrivance to hold down the poor, the underprivileged and minorities.  If I fully bought into this worldview, I would now be prepared to right this wrong by whatever means necessary.  Clearly the privileged class had seized control of government illegally, and therefore any way they could be displaced would now be justified in my mind.  And because I understood just how entrenched and how powerful these evil men (and women) are, I would fully appreciate the challenge I faced.  I’d have to be very clever and shrewd to drive them from power.  I would understand that I couldn’t go right at them and let them know what my true goals really are.  Of course, I could publicly speak in code to my fellow leftists, using words like “change” and “transformation.”  These words would not only be understood by my allies, they would also be put in the best possible light by those who would want to think the best of me.  I could count on leftist allies in the news media—one of the few institutions in America, along with academia, that had not been corrupted by the greed and hate inspired vision of the Founders.

If I believed everything I had heard from my parents, and from those in the schools I attended, that America was perhaps the most corrupt nation in the history of the world, I would have to take a stealthy, yet ruthless approach to gaining power.  If they brought a knife to a fight, I would bring a gun.  I would curry friendship with leftist revolutionaries, especially those who had the courage to resort to violence to overthrow this corrupt and fraudulent government.  I would establish my bona fides at a “liberation theology church” that I would attend for many years.   I would dedicate my first book to the pastor of that church.  That pastor would be totally in sync with my hatred of America and he would say things from the pulpit like, “God Damn America.” I would, of course, deny hearing him ever say such things.

I would also polish my leftwing credentials by being a community organizer, using street protests to gain what I knew would otherwise be unattainable through due process of law, an elongated process that I knew to be just another artifice created by the corrupt ruling class.  I might get a law degree and teach the U.S. Constitution through the prism of one who understood the document to be a contrivance designed to keep down the underclass.  I would pass along my accurate understanding of the Constitution to young people so that the ranks of future radicals would grow and expand.

And, if the timing was right, I would take advantage of an opportunity to run for the state legislature as the first rung in my ladder to give power back to the people. While in the state senate, I’d establish a clearly leftwing voting record so that I could solidify my support from a powerful, financially connected radical minority, and then if the stars aligned themselves correctly, I’d run for United States Senator.

If I got that far and won that race, I’d immediately start designing and planning my run for President of the United States.  I would need to do it quickly before I had established a long track record of leftwing voting that would hinder me from running and winning later.  I would know that my success in gaining power would depend greatly on a stealthy approach and the willing connivance of a friendly news media.  Speed and political jujitsu would be key to my success.  After all, my goal would not be to continue down the road of timid liberalism, but to radically alter the vision and the system of government created by the Founders.  My goal would be nothing less than radical transformation of the United States into a pure, peaceful, and successful socialist state.  I would understand that socialism and communism had failed in the past because flawed people took the reins of government away from those like myself who only want the best for all people. I know that socialist success depends on a clear understanding of what needs to be done and how to do it in a way so that all would benefit equally from a benign redistribution of income.  It requires an understanding that there is nothing special about the United States of America.  It is, as a leading academic said, “Just another country.”  In fact, I would understand that the United States was worse than just another country—it was an unjust, neocolonial empire that not only oppressed the poor and minorities in America, but had also oppressed the poor and minorities all around the globe.  I would know and understand that the United States of America was perhaps the most cruel, most malevolent, most unenlightened nation in the history of the entire world.  It wasn’t a nation to be revered.  Just the opposite, it was a nation to be reviled. 

And if I had an opportunity to run for President, I would make every effort to change and transform America into a good nation, a just nation, a kind nation, a peaceful nation.  But I would not run as a leftist, but rather as a moderate with moderate views and goals.  Along with my radical friends I would realize that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform the failed vision and failed nation of the Founders into a nation to be truly admired across the globe.  It would be, in short, an opportunity to create a successful socialist state.  If we needed to steal the election we would not hesitate to do so because we would know that our righteous cause justified it.  If I had to lie about my true intentions I would do so.  What other choice would I have, because to do otherwise would invite defeat and the continuation of the corrupt system that had been oppressing the poor and minorities for hundreds of years?  Frankly, I would understand that traditional American morals were just another deception like “the rule of law,” the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence.  They were designed by man to keep down the working poor and to empower the rich and the wealthy.  I knew that the idea of the American dream, the American ladder of success, and America as an exceptional nation were just lies that had been perpetuated to maintain the privileged in power.

Upon my election the gloves would come off.  No quarter would be taken.  I wouldn’t rely on Congress to get things done.  I would go outside of the law and outside of the Constitution, if necessary, in the interest of the people.  After all, the entire idea of a separation of powers into three elements of government was just another fraudulent attempt to keep power from the people.  The people had been held down for too long.  It would be time to free the people from the oppression of the “rule of law” and all the other false constructions of the privileged few.

I would speak for the people.  If Congress failed to do what I knew it should do, I would bypass it and go directly to the people.  The Constitution would not prove a hindrance to me either.  I would appoint “czars” even some who might loudly and proudly proclaim themselves to be communists.  I would appoint fellow believers to the Federal Communications Commission to shut up my misguided enemies.  I would love it when one of my appointees would say, “Freedom of speech is overrated.”  He would be absolutely right—noisy critics are just a nuisance that would impede this one time opportunity to forever transform America into a successful socialist nation with me at its head.

I would ignore Congress and the Constitution and bypass them to appoint my union cronies to the National Labor Relations Board so that we can unionize all workers in America.  My Marxist view of history would allow me to understand that unions have been in the forefront of revolutions around the globe.  I would impose rules and regulations on business enterprises so that they would understand that in order to prosper you have to dance to my tune, giving your full support to keeping me in power.
I would take the opportunity to go around the world and apologize for the oppression and harm that the United States had caused to all people through their power, arrogance and pride.  I’d let fellow socialists in other nations understand that this was a new day in America.  I’d strike up friendships with other men in power who understood that socialism was the next step upward in the ascent of man.  I would show my open admiration and approval of leaders like Hugo Chavez and encourage them to move forward with their socialist revolution.  And I would also show my open disgust with such American allies as Israel and Great Britain.

Everything I would do would be for the good of the American people, at least those who have been oppressed for so very long.  The enlightened men and women assembled around me would make decisions for our citizens about what they eat, where they live, their transportation, how and when they heat and cool their home, even what light bulbs they can use for lighting.  They would do this because they would know what was better for American citizens than they do themselves.

But my biggest plan would be the most important of all.  It would be the key to completely transforming America.  Yet it would not be understood by the media and the American people thus giving it the greatest chance for success.  If I was a smart person, I would have studied history and know that the advent of a large crisis is necessary to make true transformational changes.  The bigger the crisis, the greater the opportunity.  As my aides might say, “Never let a crisis go to waste.”My goal would be to create such a crisis without anyone ever understanding what I was trying to do.

My leftist ideology would permit me to understand that it is only when the United States collapses financially that the real transformation to a socialist-Marxist state can occur.  While I would know that it would be painful, even to my most ardent supporters, it would be a necessary event.  With my knowledge of the French Revolution, I would understand how to bring a great crisis about.  The French Revolution really began in 1788 when Bourgogne government was spending 62% of all revenues on interest from the money it had borrowed.  Revenues could not keep up with expenditures.  It was a financially unsustainable situation. What did the Crown do to solve this problem?  It raised taxes and devalued the currency.  Taxes became so high and so punitive that people took to the streets in open revolt.  Runaway inflation added fuel to the fire and thus began the French Revolution.  Unfortunately, the French Revolution was too bloody.  I would not seek to see blood run in the streets.  With any luck, such violence would be avoided. 

How would I create a crisis great enough to give me the power to transform America? Following the model of the French Revolution, I would intentionally spend the United States into bankruptcy.  By doing so, I would destroy the economy creating runaway inflation and a worthless currency.  Panic would grip the heart of every American.  But I would be presented with an opportunity to accumulate the power I would need to establish a socialist America.  Mobs would take to the streets in Washington, DC and in cities all across America, burning cars, destroying businesses, and taking over buildings.  Instead of being angry, I would express sympathy for the plight of the rioters, and urge understanding and restraint by the authorities.  As the far left mob moved to occupy the Capitol Building, blocking Congress from operating, I’d express my solidarity with these oppressed people.  I would portray them as the victims, and blame right wing extremists in Congress and my predecessor as the cause of their anger.  I’d become more strident and more demanding as the unemployment rate climbed from 9% to 15% to 25%, and the inflation rate rose above 50%.  I would damn the capitalist system for the economic crisis.  I’d indict my opponents as insensitive racists and patrons of the rich.  I’d show courage by meeting with the mob and commending them for their restraint.  I’d clearly label my enemies as the originators of the crisis facing the nation and demand that they step aside in the time of crisis so that the necessary changes might be made to create a new and better society.  I’d announce to the American people that in light of the unprecedented crisis I was suspending the next election. Furthermore, I would announce that in the interest of the people and as provided for in the Constitution, a new Constitutional Convention would be held to make critically needed systemic changes to end injustice and inequity in America.  This would be the beginning of a new era in our land.  It would be an era of fairness, of redistribution, of a new ethical and moral code that would lead the United States to a nearly utopian state.  All would benefit equally and all live modestly.  Out of necessity, there would be exceptions, of course.   Leaders such as myself and others who had sacrificed so much for the revolution would need special privileges and benefits to sustain them as they take on the massive burden of remolding the United States into the most just, most kind, most tolerant, and most understanding nation in the world.  In the interest of the people, critics would need to be silenced and perhaps some detained for their own good. The crisis would make it necessary to temporarily abandon state granted privileges such as free speech, freedom of travel, freedom of assembly, and due process of law.  Even freedom of religion would need to be curtailed and monitored lest citizens be tempted to regress into their former lower state of enlightenment.  These state granted privileges would be re-instated as the citizenry showed that it was enlightened enough to once again exercise with restraint these special liberties. Those who resisted would be re-educated fairly and humanely.

The new, all-powerful, central government would be led by rational and tolerant men and women with a new vision of America as a truly just nation, not as a false beacon of hope to the world.  Coming from the academy, from nonprofits, and even the church, this special enlightened class of Americans would bring the right vision to our land for the first time.  The United States would no longer puff itself up and take pride as being something that it never was—better than the other nations of the world.  It would be just another nation, but a more fair and just one where the long oppressed prosper and their benevolent leaders now decide what is in the best interests of the people.

If I had a far leftwing vision of the world, this is what I would do.