OPINION: Cancel culture cancer

Should saying something derogatory about a group of people cause a person’s professional life to be ruined? If someone utters a racial, sexual or ethnic slur, without breaking any laws, should their ability to provide for their family be eliminated? If someone “Likes” a post or forwards a Tweet(X) should they be fired from their job, shunned from society or both? Do you think this is justice? Do you want to live in a world where the answer to any of these questions is “Yes?”

Most thinking citizens recognize we are in the midst of a culture war; a Marxist revolution that has been ruminating for the last half century or more. The gradual but persistent eroding of faith, family and freedoms effectuated by the few through insistent demands made on an accommodating majority.

America’s strength is not the direct product of equity or diversity. America’s strength comes from equality of opportunity where diverse elements combine and work toward a singular goal. The Marxists know this and want to destroy it. How? By making the goal “diversity,” not unity. Divide and conquer through the amplification of differences and then fracturing those divisions into ever smaller pieces until there are only special interests and no independent cooperative unity.

The Marxists can then take these fractured groups and turn them to their cause, building loyalty by promoting them to positions of power, not as a result of merit but by fidelity to the cause. Add to this a happy consequence that they may be members of “protected classes,” who have been granted additional rights beyond your average citizen, and any criticism of their shortcomings, no matter how blatant and obvious, is met with shrieks of “racist” or “sexist” or any of a plethora of “-ists” or “-phobes” from their arsenal. ‘Shut up you peon, free speech has the limitations we say it has. Think or say what is not approved and you will pay the price.’

These self-appointed moral authoritarians will accuse you of being a fascist for having too strict morals or views and next they will accuse you of not being fascist enough because you tolerate someone who has engaged in forbidden thinking or speech. Their actions are not driven by rational processes but by attention seeking faux moral preening or worse, an attempt to monetize their indignation. ‘Donate to our cause to stop these toxic men.’

Civilization depends on having a justice system; a set of mutually agreed rules and a method of enforcing them. Progressives see rules as useful only when they comport with their quest for power. Believing the ends justify the means, they corrupt or misapply the rules to suit their agenda. Obama complained that the Constitution was merely “a charter of negative liberties,” restraining the unbridled power of the state over the people. We see every day the unfair application of laws toward one group and preferential treatment of another.

An egregious example is the latest indictment against President Trump. To be found guilty of the charges the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump KNEW and BELIEVED the election was fair and honest but said that it wasn’t. Not ‘should have known’ or ‘may have known’ but that he absolutely knew and believed the election was without flaw. The prosecution must know this would be an impossible standard to meet among a reasonable jury given we know for a fact that there were election irregularities and that it is documented that Trump revived opinions from legal counsel supporting the belief that significant election issues existed. Not to mention that the Democrats did exactly the same in 2016 without reprisal. In fact, what we have is an attempted political assassination of an opponent at the cost of Freedom of Speech and the credibility of our justice system. Welcome to the Banana Republic of America.

So what is the average citizen to do to protect and defend the true Republic against these threats domestic?

Violence is NOT the solution, for several good reasons. First, it is violence and it’s what the Marxists want. We saw how they leveraged the violence of Jan. 6 to strip the rights from thousands and intimidate millions. Also, violence is not needed. We saw this plainly on June 1, 2020, in Coeur d’Alene where thousands of armed citizens took to the streets and successfully dissuaded Antifa agitators and their useful idiot accomplices from rioting in our small town. There were enough citizens with guns to get whatever they wanted, and what they wanted was peace.

The solution is obvious. All political power rests with the people. Many are afraid of this responsibility but we must embrace it and deny those that seek to subvert due process to gain the authority they crave. To do this only requires one simple thing: insist on Due Process.

For the cancer that is cancel culture to metastasize participants must forgo due process. In full Salem Witch Trial fashion, a transgression of some imagined crime results in immediate guilt followed by punishment. Once ‘offending’ words are uttered or the post sent, the alarm klaxons sound, calling the “indignitaries” to action. Demands for public apologies, self-flagellation, and cancellation are issued with the true goal of demonstrating power and authority. Resistance is futile, they say … but it isn’t.

This cancel culture pretext collapses in the face of Due Process. A fair hearing, where the accused can face the accusers, followed by impartial judgement and a proportional remedy would restore rational fairness. This is what justice looks like.

You have the power to save the Republic. All that it requires is for you to be rational, fair-minded and follow the principles of due process established at our founding. Insisting on due process before taking any punitive action is in all cases the morally superior position.

It’s just common sense.

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Brent Regan is chairman of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.