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George Orwell, the disillusioned former socialist writer, outlined it well in two of his classic political satires, Animal Farm (1945) and 1984 (1949). The importance of controlling the media narrative, the news, and public discourse are fundamental if one is to set up a dictatorship. As for totalitarian regimes (the worst kind), a monopoly on the means of communication and the information (or misinformation) that emanates from it, is a centerpiece of its organizational structure. The Biden administration is seeking to institute a political police agency within one of the federal government’s departments, none other, than Homeland Security (DHS). The labeled “Disinformation Governance Board” is an action plan that emanates, most boldly, from cultural Marxism (or Neo-Marxism).
The KGB dedicated most of its agency’s vast resources to disseminating disinformation. The post-Soviet despotic model, designed and currently stewarded by Vladimir Putin, has continued, and built on this infamous legacy. Free expression and the availability of plural viewpoints that are uncensored by the government or private quasi-monopolies are essential for a republic. The infringement of basic rights of thought, expression, and exchange of ideas in peaceful assembly is inherently paramount for a functioning democracy, measures akin to a Ministry of Truth or Propaganda are antithetical to a free society. The biggest threat to the U.S. today is a domestic minority. This elite, oligarchy is composed of Barack Obama’s Democratic Party, mainstream media, Big Tech, and the nation’s woke capital and investment firms.
Herbert Marcuse, a prominent member of the Frankfurt School (FS), laid out in his 1965 essay, “Repressive Tolerance,” the rationalization for state censorship to promote socialism. The Neo-Marxist thinker and activist argued that “…what is proclaimed and practiced as tolerance today, is in many of its most effective manifestations serving the cause of oppression.” In other words, diversity of opinion that negates the socialist morality is at the service of “oppression.” With brutal sincerity, Marcuse added, “Liberating tolerance, then, would mean intolerance against movements from the Right and toleration of movements from the Left.”
The German communist and mentor to Angela Davis, the Marxist, and Black Panther Party member, is unapologetically stating that intolerance must be practiced towards the Right while allowing tolerance exclusively for the Left. This certainly echoes the sentiment of Silicon Valley, woke Wall Street, and Democratic Washington these days.
Biden’s ministry of truth scheme is not the first attempt by the leftist cabal that is shepherding American governance today, at dissent suppression. The white supremacy conspiracy, which has become a staple in the Left’s subversive narrative, accommodates Marcuse’s censorship prescription. HR 350, the “Domestic Terrorism” bill, explicitly signaled out white nationalist groups as national security threats, for example, and never even mentioned communist organizations like Black Lives Matter and Antifa, which terrorized America in the summer of 2020. Elon Musk’s purchase and potential liberation of Twitter have unnerved the Left. DHS’s political police in its war against the Right, as well as the Center, must be challenged.
Sectarian socialism, with its woke repressive policies, signals the end of freedom in America. The Free World is facing many challenges. The Putin regime is challenging the international democratic order. Ukraine is only a first step. China, although setback by the Ukrainian people’s resolve to remain free and the West’s support of its effort, will continue to be a menacing imperialistic danger. Here in the U.S., the biggest enemies are domestic. A propaganda ministry is another manifestation of this fact.
Julio M Shiling, political scientist, writer, director of Patria de Martí and The Cuban American Voice, lecturer and media commentator. A native of Cuba, he currently lives in the United States. Twitter: @JulioMShiling // Julio es politólogo, escritor, director de Patria de Martí y The Cuban American Voice. Conferenciante y comentarista en los medios. Natural de Cuba, vive actualmente en EE UU.