The Battle Rages On!

I have been to the Gettysburg battlefield on several occasions, even leading a battlefield walk. Gettysburg was a critical turning point in the American Civil War. It was the first major defeat of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and, for the second time, thwarted his attempt to invade and successfully launch an assault against Washington, D.C., from the north. The previous summer his endeavor ended in a stalemate at the Battle of Antietam. The victory at Gettysburg was secured by the efforts of Union cavalry commander Brigadier General John Buford Jr. Buford did exactly what a cavalry commander is supposed to do: find the enemy, gain and maintain contact, and secure the main assault force.

When Buford’s Union cavalry spotted the lead elements of the Confederate army coming north along the Chambersburg Pike to Gettysburg, he took decisive action. Buford played the ensuing battle out in his head and recognized the importance of securing the high ground of Cemetery Ridge. Buford positioned his cavalry to fight a delaying action meant to keep Lee from claiming the strategically vital ground, which he did, just in time for the lead elements of the Army of the Potomac to arrive. Buford was not focused on his immediate engagement with the Confederate army. He was focused on the battle to come, which over the three-day period yielded a decisive victory and certainly preserved the American Union.

So, what does this have to do with the title of this missive? Well, the Union victory at Gettysburg did not end the Civil War. The battle raged on for another two years. There is no doubt that the entire country, and the world, will be focused on the results of Tuesday’s midterm elections. However, regardless of the results, there is an ideological battle in America that will continue. Yes, it is critical to have victory for America, its fundamental principles and values and its rule of law. But this, just like the victory at Gettysburg, does not mean an end to this philosophical conflagration in which we are engaged.

The battle between constitutional conservatism and Marxism/Islamism will continue. If Republicans are successful, the leftists will dig their heels in deeper. If one does not believe this to be the case, look at the tripling down of the Marxist left after the 2024 presidential election. If the Marxist left and their Islamist allies are successful, they will be greatly emboldened to advance their ideology and policies of totalitarianism, tyranny, and collective subjugation. In either case, we will witness increased leftist coercion, intimidation, threats, and violence.

Post this election cycle, America will need visionary leadership like Brig. Gen. Buford, who can see beyond the immediate skirmish and set the conditions for a battle to come. And I am not just talking about the 2028 presidential election. This is about seeing this ideological battle for the next 20 years.

Marxists and Islamists have always had a long-ball strategy. As a matter of fact, it has been called “the long march through the institutions.” This is not just an election campaign vision. It is a political and cultural strategy first advanced by the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci. His concept of “cultural hegemony” and a “war of position” is exactly what Marxists/Islamists are employing in America. Once upon a time, Muslim armies sought to physically invade the West; now, using Gramsci’s theory, they are surgically employing a new invasion strategy of migration, population, agitation, and domination. Marxists are using Gramsci’s principles to assault societal institutions: the family, schools, and churches. It was Andrew Breitbart who aptly asserted, “politics is downstream from culture.” The rule of law is being transformed into a definition of the rule of an ideology. The law is no longer intended to protect the individual rights of life, liberty, and property. The family has been redefined based upon the leftist ideological agenda. Heck, there is no such thing as two genders. Our children are not deemed OUR children. They are not educated, but rather pawns to be leveraged for the advancement of Marxist/Islamist agendas.

This is the true battle that rages on. It is not about election cycles or even political parties. This is about what America is and shall be fundamentally. There has to be a strategic vision of the battlefield. There has to be a Brig. Gen. Buford for America who will identify the enemy, seek out and secure the high ground, and fight a delaying action until the main force can arrive.

This battle is not about one individual, a candidate, or elected officials. America began with a vision: individual liberty, the rejection of collective subjugation by a repressive monarch or government. The foundation of America has always been freedom, and free stuff ain’t freedom. The Marxists/Islamists have always been the enemies of individual freedom: Islam for nearly 1,400 years, Marxism since 1848. They have used the principle of incrementalism to do as Gramsci envisioned and Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna desired: “It is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its [Sharia] law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet.”

Too often the fault and failure of conservatives is that we ramp up for an election cycle, then withdraw from the battlefield. The Marxists/Islamists do not operate in election cycles. They stay on the battlefield and continue their long slow march. The battle rages on, and we must stay vigilant, resolute, courageous, and faithful, just like the patriots who believed in the “Cause” 250 years ago.

And we must secure the high ground for our future generations, just like Buford did at Gettysburg.

Steadfast and Loyal.

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