Bullies, Cowards, and Heroes
Merriam-Webster provides the following definitions:
- A bully is “one who is habitually cruel, insulting, or threatening to others who are weaker, smaller, or in some way vulnerable.”
- A coward is “one who shows disgraceful fear or timidity.”
- A hero is “one who shows great courage in support of others or a noble cause.”
In other words, a bully oppresses. A coward submits to fear, and a hero does not.
Forget the smoke screen. Communists are bullies.[1] Rather than being focused on Aristotle’s “good life” and “live and let live” for their people, communists fixate on gaining power and control. They specifically want to use power to oppress a nation’s people. Understanding how communism either succeeds or fails at taking over a nation-state requires an understanding of the nature of bullies, cowards, and heroes.
Throughout the ages, there has been an assertion that “bullies are cowards.”[2] Authors have refuted the universality of this claim at least as far back as Charles Lamb in the nineteenth century.[3] Nonetheless, the assertion that a bully “punches down” because he/she is afraid to “punch up” does apply in an unknowable number of cases. In the case of communism, the entire purpose of Aesopian Language is to avoid punching up until the vanguard has tipped the balance of power. At that point, communists immediately start punching down. If that’s not cowardice, it’s cynical and oppressive.
What sets communists apart is their unity for the sole purpose of gaining nationwide control. Their goal is to oppress the very people who have allowed them the freedom to gain power.
In the United States, some familiar phrases such as “systemic racism,” “white supremacy,” and “intersectionality “ are Aesopian language. As such, they are used to unite the revolutionaries and fluster traditionalists within society. Once society is on the ropes, the question turns from the cowardice of the communists to the cowardice of the rest of society.
Anyone can be either a coward or a hero. How someone responds to the hard-wired fight- or-flight mechanism in each of us determines which.[4] Communist takeovers depend upon the bulk of the population being cowards. To that end, they focus on division. Their ultimate goal is to isolate individuals, so that the occasional hero is dispatched quickly and easily. Defeating a communist onslaught requires united courage.
After his defection in 1970, former KGB agent Yuri Bezmenov disclosed the Soviet playbook to wear down resistance.[5] The plan is designed to isolate individuals and create a population of cowards. There are four stages:
- Demoralization
- Destabilization
- Crisis
- Normalization
According to Bezmenov, demoralization attacks the moral fabric of the nation by taking over academia and the press. He considered this stage complete in the United States by 1985. On the other hand, to Patrick Byrne, the founder of Overstock.com who studied in China, the real demoralization stage has been Covid-19.[6] For certain, our response to the Covid-19 epidemic has led to isolation.
Bezmenov described destabilization as changing the nation’s status quo by major changes to components and policies of the government. The government increases entitlements, but infringes upon liberties. Byrne refers to this stage as “disorientation” and points at the violence in the streets by the likes of Antifa and Black Lives Matter.
According to Bezmenov, the crisis is a cataclysmic event that creates fear and division, with a revolutionary change in power. Byrne considers it to be the 2020 election.
This leaves the final stage, normalization. This is when the population is beaten down – Byrne points to the dishonesty of the media – and communism takes root. This is the critical stage where either heroes emerge or a cowardly population succumbs to communism. It takes courage to override the apprehension and confusion created by the first three stages.
Professor Phillip Zimbardo of Stanford launched “The Heroic Imagination Project” to understand heroism and create tomorrow’s heroes.[7] He enumerates five tendencies that keep people from being heroic:
- Not paying attention: Vigilance enables one to override the instinctive flight or fight mechanism.
- Relying on labels and categories
- Looking to others for reinforcement under the situation: Courage manifests itself by taking action without reinforcement from others.
- Seeking acceptance and avoiding rejection: Courage takes risking rejection to do what’s right.
- Believing we can’t make a difference: Courage overrides all negative emotions.
A collection of heroes can resist communism’s divide and conquer tactics if they refuse to be divided. They must stick together. Overcoming division means they must communicate regularly and effectively. A people who cannot communicate to coordinate and counterbalance the communist assault are doomed.
Conclusion
Communist takeovers rely on creating crises where the population is both demoralized and disoriented. It is difficult to gather one’s courage under these circumstances, but heroes can rise to the occasion. They realize that if they yield today, they will be oppressed tomorrow. This is resisting conquest; however, it takes communication to resist division.
In the United States the current battlefield of division and conquest is manifesting itself with the so-called cancel culture. It is more than getting banned from Twitter or Facebook. It is destroying the lives of law-abiding citizens. Cowards throughout industry are refusing to take a stand for the rights of their fellow citizens. Individuals of courage (heroes) are being picked off one at a time. If this process is not halted and reversed, the population will succumb.
Benjamin Franklin’s wood carving of the divided snake has never been more appropriate, “Join, or Die.”[8]
[1] “Bullying.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/bullying.
[2] Diogenes. “All Bullies Are Cowards, and What They Fear Most.” Medium, ILLUMINATION, 7 Apr. 2020, medium.com/illumination/all-bullies-are-cowards-and-what-they-fear-most-7bb91a18ceb0.
“What Does A Bully Is Always a Coward Mean?” Writing Explained, writingexplained.org/idiom-dictionary/a-bully-is-always-a-coward.
[3] Lamb, Charles. Harvard College Library. Baudry’s European Library, 1835.
[4] Patrick Wanis Ph.D.Anointed “The Woman Expert” by WGN Chicago, and Patrick Wanis Ph.D. “Are You a Hero or a Coward? ~ Patrick Wanis.” Patrick Wanis, Patrick Wanis Ph.D., 1 Sept. 2018, www.patrickwanis.com/are-you-hero-coward/.
[5] UTT_USA. “The Communist Takedown of America.” Understanding the Threat, 30 Apr. 2020, www.understandingthethreat.com/the-communist-takedown-of-america/.
[6] Byrne, Patrick. “Patrick Byrne: China Is Taking Us Out From Within.” Www.theepochtimes.com, 30 Dec. 2020, www.theepochtimes.com/patrick-byrne-china-is-taking-us-out-from-within_3637007.html?utm_source=morningbrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb-2020-12-31.
[7] Patrick Wanis Ph.D.Anointed “The Woman Expert” by WGN Chicago, and Patrick Wanis Ph.D. “Are You a Hero or a Coward? ~ Patrick Wanis.” Patrick Wanis, Patrick Wanis Ph.D., 1 Sept. 2018, www.patrickwanis.com/are-you-hero-coward/.
[8] “The Story behind the Join or Die Snake Cartoon.” National Constitution Center – Constitutioncenter.org, constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-story-behind-the-join-or-die-snake-cartoon.
