To conquer a nation, first rob it of its history and heroes. That's a quick summary of Marxist strategy.
President Donald Trump used the 250th-anniversary celebration of our nation's independence to call out communism as the gravest threat we face, and to warn that Marxists are trying to cancel our heroic Founders and attack our longstanding values.
"You can be loyal to Karl Marx, or you can be loyal to America. You can be a communist, or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both," he told the Mount Rushmore audience.
He's right. Under communism, there are no heroes—only oppressors and oppressed groups.
More than the threat of any foreign power or global pandemic, the gravest danger America faces is the ideological takeover of our institutions and the minds of our young people. The Fourth of July was a call to action to tell the American story and ensure younger generations embrace the values that have made this country free and prosperous: individualism and respect for property rights, not group identities and utopian collectivism.
The mainstream press ridiculed Trump for taking aim at "communism," suggesting he was intentionally deceiving the country. These critics are wrong. Marxists have taken over almost all the cultural institutions and universities in this country. They preach class warfare but have Americanized the doctrine by adding sexual and racial oppression.
Following up on the weekend's festivities, the White House issued an official report blasting the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian, for its refusal to "celebrate the Nation and its history." The report claims the museum instead tells a story of "regret, tragedy and shame."
When you strip a country of its heroic past, you limit its future aspirations and achievements. Ordinary Americans get it.
Every state was invited to outfit a booth on the National Mall to celebrate its distinct contributions to America. But 10 governors, most suffering from Trump derangement syndrome, refused to participate. They played right into the hands of the Marxist nihilists.
Undaunted, patriots in these states took matters into their own hands, traveled to Washington, D.C., on their own dime, and outfitted the booths rather than allow them to sit bare.
Donna Festinger, a retired teacher from Greenfield, Massachusetts, drove nine hours to D.C. with, among other local products to showcase, 300 miniature maple syrup bottles donated by a bottler in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.
Ari Hoffman, a radio host from Seattle, handed out American flags and copies of the U.S. Constitution, stepping in when Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson and Lt. Gov. Denny Heck refused to do anything. "They claimed they didn't have a booth for budget reasons, but they spent $5 million on trans surgeries for convicted felons," the infuriated Hoffman said.
When Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont also boycotted the event, I had large portraits printed of Roger Sherman, Oliver Ellsworth, and William Samuel Johnson, all signers of the U.S. Constitution, plus the celebrated war hero Nathan Hale. On July 3, I drove down to D.C. and filled Connecticut's otherwise bare booth with these heroes.
Then I joined Reese Hopkins of WTIC radio to broadcast that afternoon in the shadow of the Washington Monument. The next day, two state lawmakers, Rob Sampson and Gale Mastrofrancesco, joined the effort, manning the booth and greeting fairgoers.
At a rally in North Dakota on Sunday, Trump accused the far Left of hiding their Marxist agendas by calling themselves "social democrats." "Doesn't that sound pretty?" Trump asked. "They're actually communists."
Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) dodges the issue, falsely claiming that "how a person identifies in their economic view of the world is less important to people than if we're making their groceries more affordable."
Don't buy that dangerous argument. The survival and prosperity of our nation hinge on perpetuating our values, particularly free markets, individualism, and property rights. Values and affordability go hand in hand. The wealth of the average adult in the U.S. is eight times that of the average adult in collectivist China, and four times that of the average adult in the highly regulated economies of Western Europe.
Candidates labeling themselves democratic socialists have scored victories in New York City primaries, unseating influential incumbents, and more victories are expected in upcoming contests across the nation.
Young voters are the most receptive. A Cato Institute survey released on Sunday shows that a staggering 58 percent of Gen Z voters choose socialism over competing economic systems. Vying for second place is communism, favored by nearly as many Gen Zers as capitalism.
That is a call to action—to rout out the far-left indoctrination from our education system without delay.
America has a great story to tell. Tell it well, and the Marxists will lose.
Betsy McCaughey is a former Lt. Governor of New York State and Chairman & Founder of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths at www.hospitalinfection.org. Follow her on X @Betsy_McCaughey.