I have been posed with this question, both as a conservative and a military historian. I contend that we are in a civil war. It is not a conflict on a traditional battlefield . . . yet, but a war is waging—digitally, verbally, and physically. People are attempting to use force and coercion to change the way others act, behave, and comply against their will. Values and our rule of law have become targets. One side seeks to impose its lifestyle and culture on a massive part of the population simply based on its self-perceived moral authority.
We are at a stage of war where one side, the Left, is fighting a war against the Right. Conservatives, for the most part, try to ignore the constant attacks, many still harboring the illusion that things can be resolved with compromise or concession. It is much like America prior to 9/11. Islamic extremists had been at war with the United States for years, but it took a major attack to convince us we were in a conflict. We simply have not had our 9/11 moment yet.
January 6 was not a trigger point for liberals; it is their justification or impetus for what is to come. Portraying Republicans as supporting an insurrection gives them all the reason they need to come down and come down hard.
Most people think of our last civil war as a template for a new one—state versus state with nice neat lines of demarcation and armies in the field. That model and frame of reference doesn’t apply. This is a new model. This time the war is being waged more on the internet and in public via a biased media and augmented with riots and violence.
The war is being fought against targeted individuals. Digital terrorists, aka social justice woke warriors, strike with impunity to lie, defame, intimidate, and brutalize anyone who dares speak out against them. These leftist online marauders operate with the full consent and approval of their leaders. They try to force conservative voices into silence or self-censorship. When that fails, they will threaten physical violence.
We are facing an enemy who thinks nothing about calling your employer and trying to get you fired. The woke consider any associates or family as legitimate targets of their wrath. The truth has no meaning to them, nor do your First Amendment rights, all that matters is them crushing you, then moving onto their next target. Look at what they did with Brett Kavanaugh. When their flimsy accusations failed, they whipped up completely false accusations to go after him, his family, and smear his reputation. There were no apologies, no sense of guilt.
The truth was the first victim of the civil war we are engaged in. The Left intends to control it, and, when it stands in their way, they simply sidestep it.
The riots of 2020 were a sign that the conflict would and could easily turn violent. These test runs were aimed at implanting terror on the Right as to what the Left was capable of, and willing to do. As we saw with the 2020 election, the fear of riots can intimidate people’s activities like voting. Ask yourself this, if Trump had been declared the winner, would the Left have accepted it peacefully? Or would they have rioted in the streets, like they did in D.C. at his 2017 inauguration? Instilling fear to drive a change of behavior is the definition of a terrorist.
The riots demonstrated that the Left can field ad hoc armies if they desire to, with little to no repercussions. They have allied themselves with radical groups such as Antifa in this conflict, a sign of just how far they are willing to go. Like petulant children, they threaten a tantrum and destruction if they don’t get their way.
This civil war is one that will be marked more by virtual mob justice and battles in the streets. It isn’t a war to seize territory, it is a war of exerting control over your enemies. Few armies will take to the field beyond the National Guard. Everyone is a potential target . . . everyone is a potential warrior at this stage. The Left is not above targeting spouses and children in this fight.
Yes, this war is on. Yes, we are in the early stages, but make no mistake, this is a new kind of civil war, a new variety of open conflict. The battle lines of this conflict are blurred and frustrating. This time it will not just be brother against brother, but indoctrinated children against their own parents, neighbor against neighbor, rural citizens versus urban residents. What is at stake is our way of living, our freedoms, and the future direction of our nation . . . and we are only in the early stages of this civil war.