Fools Rush In: Recruiting Resentment for Engineered Uprisings on Campus

It's a well known fact that revolutions are not conducted from below by the people but from above, in the name of the people, by an aspiring elite (Scruton, 2006).

May 03, 2024

"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread'' is a timeless maxim coined by poet Alexander Pope in 1711 enduring to this day as a universal exhortation of the value of prudence, humility, and the counting of the cost of an action before rushing in. Proverbs 14:6 says, "The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence.” A wise man is aware of his limits and the consequences of foolish actions—virtues lacking in the "fools" Pope describes.

Armor of Truth LIVE 310: The Burnout of Manufactured Movements

College students are particularly susceptible to cultural ideological trends. The pro-Palestine/anti-Israel campus protests over the past couple weeks exemplify the foolishness of reckless self-confidence. The popularity of the protests is a cultural response motivated by radical Left social engineering rather than an honorable reaction to injustice rooted in ethical standards or reverence for eternal principles.

At a time when their attention should be focused on commitments to long-term goals and commitments such as final exams, establishing a firm foundation for their lives, and protecting their own right to freedom and opportunity, instead, their endless energy and boundaryless, unprincipled passions have been appropriated by professional activists who see the students as merely a means to an end.

These soft, disillusioned young adults, most of them too immature to realize that they’re merely canon fodder for a much bigger covert war, have been seduced by propaganda and the excitement of the moment into a false sense of security and a militant self-certainty. They’re foolishly rushing into self-destructive movements that will end up causing far more harm than good. It is a shell game of one engineered uprising after another where the issue you see before you is never the real issue. Revolutions are never grassroots, they’re always top-down. This college-aged “higher-education” generation has been weaponized by deception and deployed against their own best interest by unseen forces for causes they do not understand.

At some point, the lights go out, there are no cameras to pose for, and there are no more peers, colleagues, or co-conspirators to stand with. Who are you when no one else is looking? How happy are you? Whose moment was it, really?

Protests and Propaganda: The Burnout of Manufactured Movements

In the summer of 2020, at the height of the “Scamdemic” in the wake of the death of George Floyd, radical Progressive, and Marxist terrorists (Antifa, Black Lives Matter, et al.), burned American cities, vandalized federal buildings, defaced and tore down American symbols of Liberty. It was an attack on the heart of the American Republic and traditional values that continued well into 2021 receiving vigorous encouragement from the newly installed Biden regime, governors, and mayors of major American cities.

The media, corporations, academia, and sold out representatives defended the violent insurgents destabilizing the nation with a wholehearted religious fervor. The general position from the Progressive Left was that the terrorism being inflicted upon America was a righteous cause that must be supported.

This week, in a stunning show of duplicity and opportunistic arrogance, many of these same ideologues are condemning the actions of pro-Palestine/anti-Israel protesters on college campuses throughout America. Protests that are being led and executed by the same radical Marxist agitators that led the charge against America just two short years ago.

New York mayor says the protests are unacceptable:

What are the protesters actually demanding?

CNN Reports: The specific demands of the protesters vary somewhat from school to school yet the central demand is that universities divest from companies linked to Israel or businesses that are profiting off its war with Hamas. Other common threads include the demand that universities disclose their investments, sever academic ties with Israeli universities and support a ceasefire in Gaza (Egan & Maruf, 2024).

One student representative of the protests at Columbia, told CNN,

“We asked that Columbia University pull all investments away from companies that profit off of the genocide of Palestinians or Israeli companies that profit off of the oppression of Palestinians” (Egan & Maruf, 2024).

Here is a brief background and timeline of how the protests began:

January 18, 2023:

Nemat (Minouche) Shafik is appointed president of Columbia University. Shafik, an Egyptian woman with significant experience in global finance (World Bank, IMF, Bank of England), is recognized as the "perfect candidate" by Columbia's Board of Trustees.

Minouche Shafik, President, Columbia University

October 7, 2023:

Hamas militants invade Israel killing 1200 and taking hundreds of hostages.

Fall of 2023:

Allegations of antisemitism arise against university presidents during pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's actions in the Gaza war.

December 6, 2023:

Contentious congressional hearings lead to the resignations of Harvard President Claudine Gay and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill.

April 17, 2024:

Shafik testifies before Congress, receiving criticism from Republicans for not addressing antisemitism on campus. Students set up an encampment at Columbia University the same day.

April 18:

NYPD is called to disband the protest encampment at Columbia, arresting over 100 protesters, including the daughter of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (a Muslim). This arrest sparks nationwide protests.

Isra Hirsi (21), daughter of Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (a Muslim) claims she’s homeless and can’t get food after being suspended from Columbia after being arrested during anti-Israel protests on campus.

April 19:

The University of Southern California disallows its Muslim valedictorian from speaking at graduation.

Protest encampments are set up at the University of Michigan, MIT, and the University of North Carolina.

April 22:

Police arrest dozens of protesters at NYU and Yale. Harvard Yard's gates are closed to the public. Columbia cancels in-person classes. House Republicans call for Shafik's resignation. President Biden issues conflicting statements condemning both antisemitic protests and those who don't understand the Palestinian perspective.

April 24:

Columbia issues a midnight deadline for protesters to clear the encampment. Protesters demand the university divest from Israel-related businesses. At the University of Texas, Austin, law enforcement breaks up encampments, arresting over 30 protesters.

April 26:

Negotiations stall at Columbia as protesters refuse to relent until their demands are met. Reports of antisemitism lead to fears of disrupted graduation ceremonies, prompting school administrators to break up encampments.

April 29:

Columbia issues a 2 p.m. deadline to vacate the encampment or face suspension. Protesters march through the quad, disrupting graduation preparations.

As a mob of protestors threatens to overtake Columbia’s Hamilton Hall, two Christian students block the doorway to prevent the takeover, endure the mob violence, and flip the script of the protest.

Rory Wilson and Charles Beck stand peacefully against the Leftist mob.

The mob that had depended on the public’s sympathy as the bullied group were now seen as the bullies.

WATCH: Doug Wilson & Friends with Nate Wilson and Rory Wilson @joe_rigney

April 30:

A mob of protesters takes over Columbia's Hamilton Hall. Columbia administrators call for police intervention. NYPD clears the protesters, restoring order on campus. At 10 p.m. EDT, NYPD enters Hamilton Hall, clears dozens of protestors, sweeps the encampment, and restores order on campus in less than one hour.

May 1:

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli mobs clash in a violent duel at UCLA. Police in riot gear are called in to quell the violence (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 2024).

WATCH: UCLA CAMPUS LOOKS LIKE A WAR ZONE
https://x.com/langmanvince/status/1786008738161123742?s=61&t=gUzMsUesg5HcGQvp2iHz0g
https://x.com/marinamedvin/status/1785652987076972775?s=61&t=gUzMsUesg5HcGQvp2iHz0g

Those two students who stood firm and peacefully for law and order in the face of a violent mob, changed the narrative of the protest for good, taking the wind out of the movement.

WATCH: The Lone Bulwark: Rory Wilson (by Doug Wilson)

Manufactured Revolutions

The media is driven by narrative not news. A "cultural current" is "a dominant idea promoted by the media and willingly adopted by a critical mass of people who want to believe a myth so badly they will close their minds to all contrary evidence." Such a movement can lead to a situation where "people will stare at facts and filter out what they don't want to believe. Contrary evidence will be ignored or reinterpreted to fit their deepest wishes. And the more people who believe the myth, the more difficult it is for those who wish to counter it. In a spirit of euphoria, all warning signs are brushed aside. Before we know it, we are in a world where facts do not matter" (Lutzer, 2010, as cited in Denison, 2022, p. 18). According to Denison, we are experiencing this "cultural current" today.

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4).

In this context, strongholds can be understood as a mental or spiritual barrier, an idea, belief, or thought pattern that resists, contradicts, or opposes God's truth. Those who are without the peace and strength of God are left to their urges and following cultural movements that feel like just causes.

To make crowds act as one obedient group, they have to be united at the unconscious level. The masterminds of Mass Formation or crowd psychology know this well and have perfected the art. Symbolism is one of the most powerful tools for achieving this end. Similar names and even more similar logos, as well as similar stories, have appeared time and again almost as omens.

The individuals and groups that foment and fund color revolutions have been doing this for a long time. They came in around the issue of propaganda. They studied how to create hot-button topics and have been successful in compelling us to support many things that are not in our best interest. Simple but effective tools like appealing to emotion, appealing to one’s perceived tribe, de-personalizing some individuals, and building personas for others make the masses easier to manipulate, and make it easier to manufacture their consent and approval for whatever intrigue or debauchery the organizers have in mind.

When you follow the money behind the organizations that form the narratives and push movements into the public’s consciousness, you inevitably find names like George Soros and many others who are hard at work to bring about their goals by any means necessary. For example, the color revolutions in Ukraine, the same tactics that were used to run the 2014 Maidan revolution are being employed again right now.

They are dedicated to achieving their goals. They were able to get the American people fired up about Central America back in the 1980s to gain use of the full force of the United States military for their ends. Regime change in Syria, regime change in Iran, and often in places you’ve probably never heard of. They're very skilled at this game and have been applying those same strategies for decades. They have a lot of allies inside the news media and the government, which means that they can do a lot to control the narrative of any story.

In America today, we have convinced ourselves that we are above the kind of manipulation we’ve seen worked out in other countries in South America or Central Europe. We’d do well to check that. We are being propagandized right at this very moment to back a movement that ultimately plans to enslave the entire world in its benevolent despotism if it can. And they are currently winning the information war.

They don't have to argue about policy anymore; they simply run a marketing campaign and the American people become so scared, outraged, or eager to join it that they write a blank check.

It works in the other direction, too. Sometimes, a hero is created for the same reason the villain was created. For the largest operations, sacred victims are needed. Heroes and victims that outrage the public. Martyrs that cause the world to unite behind a cause.

The murder of politician Rafik Hariri led to the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon in 2005. In Ukraine, in 2004, Viktor Yushchenko was mysteriously poisoned before the Orange Revolution. As it turned out, this was the candidate being supported by the Western elites, and his poisoning served to lift him to the position of a sacred victim, which many believe garnered the compassion of the Ukrainian people and led to his Presidency.

Sacred victims can also be civilians, the elderly, or children. In the infamous color revolutions, it was the deaths of so-called peaceful protestors that affected the right attitude in the public to achieve the desired end. Trained agent provocateurs show up and set the protest off with violence, creating the perfect circumstances for the use of a martyr. Sacred victims like George Floyd are vaulted to saintly status almost immediately.

In January 2014, in Ukraine, during the Maidan Revolution, Armenian Ukrainian activist Serhiy Nigoyan was a well-known, well-spoken, non-violent, and even lovable protestor — a perfect candidate for martyrdom for the cause. He read patriotic poems for the cameras, was happy to pose as the face of his cause, and unknowingly became the perfect timely martyr to set off the movement. Serhiy was killed on January 22, 2014, and to this day, the case is unsolved. The Maidan was saturated with thousands of phones and hundreds of surveillance cameras, but somehow, there were no witnesses and his body was immediately moved from the scene of the crime. The police were immediately accused and demonized in the dialectic as his killers and Serhiy Nigoyan quickly became the face of the movement. The conflict very quickly and easily escalated to a violent uprising, which achieved the very goals that George Soros proudly declared in his now-infamous CNN interview.

Recruiting Resentment

Sigmund Freud's concept of repression highlights how societal norms and cultural values shape the psyche. In the sense that societal standards or pressures can shape the behavior of individuals and entire populations, Freud's framework for repression fits like a missing puzzle piece into Karl Marx’s theory of dialectical materialism—the idea that social change comes about by conflict between the ruling class and working class. In short, if Freud’s theory is true, social engineering or controlling the masses to very specific desired results could be easily accomplished.

The Frankfurt School was a group of German intellectuals formed in the 1920s who extended and modified Karl Marx’s ideas on class struggle, the nature of capitalism, and ideology by incorporating insights from psychoanalysis, sociology, and philosophy. The focus of the Frankfurt school was a form of social engineering that positioned capitalism as an ideological system of oppression and those who prosper in it as oppressors.

Herbert Marcuse, a key figure in the Frankfurt School, blended Freud's concept of repression with Marxian Critical Theory that when applied effectively could conjure an egregore of false collective consciousness that would convince a target group that their shared intentions, emotions, and collective energy can change the world in their favor.

In his work, Eros and Civilization (1955), Marcuse argues that traditional values and norms necessarily serve the interests of the ruling class and limit individual freedom. In his 1965 essay, "Repressive Tolerance," Marcuse advocates for the concept of "liberating tolerance," which means actively opposing traditional values and structures that maintain peace and prosperity, particularly those aligned with Christian values.

Marcuse’s wicked spell applied to postmodern America weaponizes students and intellectuals through paradoxical linguistic sorcery that reframes tolerance as intolerance. Therefore, in the name of tolerance, students and resentful intellectuals undermine traditional foundations of morality and prosperity. In a word, it's a revolution. While the intellectuals may or may not know better, it is certainly not the revolution the kids believe it to be.

Armor of Truth LIVE 310: The Burnout of Manufactured Movements

In reality, the values currently being embraced by confused American college students countrywide, necessarily results in ethical ambiguity, spiritual decay, and societal polarization that breaks down the moral and ethical framework that has historically guided American society.

The absurdity of this system is astounding. As Marcuse argues, and our graduating college students seem to believe, progress and true liberation can only be achieved through the dismantling of our existing power structures and traditions.

This folly also breeds a binary view of the world in which progressive ideologies are seen as liberating and traditional values as repressive. Their minds are being infected with an "us vs. them" mentality that necessarily deepens societal divides and impedes constructive dialogue between opposing viewpoints. This causes one to reject perspectives that do not align with the script they've been given, limiting opportunities for critical engagement and preventing opportunities for meaningful debate.

To counter these trends, we must stand firm and insist upon the promotion of open, balanced dialogue that allows for the free exchange of ideas and a society capable of meaningful debate and critical thought.

Sadly, we are witnessing young Americans being coerced by and participating in emotive spell casting that is systematically dismantling the very society that has protected and nourished their rights to freedom, education, and to earn a living free from totalitarian oppression. We are watching the next generation of leaders calling for their own society to be replaced with a fragmented, unstable, intolerant society, that, were it to prevail, would squash their voices first.

Roger Scruton, in A Political Philosophy: Arguments for Conservatism, explains that totalitarian ideologies justify their grip on power by portraying themselves as purveyors of justice, even as a solution to societal problems. The Marxist viewpoint plays a key role here. Despite the lack of logical coherence, many public intellectuals, politicians, and students support it. Scruton notes:

"Marxism owes its remarkable power to survive every criticism to the fact that it is not a truth-directed but a power-directed system of thought." (pp. 149-150)

This highlights the power struggle at the heart of totalitarian ideologies. Such ideologies thrive by fostering resentment and unifying the resentful around a common cause, leading to the abolishment of institutions like law, property, and religion. Scruton elaborates:

"Totalitarian systems arise when the resentful, having seized power, proceed to abolish the institutions... that enable individuals to assert sovereignty over their own lives." (pp. 150-152)

These ideologies create target groups, often seen as guilty of collective offenses. The Jacobins targeted aristocrats; the Nazis targeted Jews; the Russian communists targeted the bourgeoisie and kulaks.

"One function of the ideology is to tell an elaborate story about the target group, showing it to be less than human, unjustly successful, and intrinsically worthy of punishment." (pp. 150-152)

Totalitarian ideologies, particularly Marxism, recruit resentment to create a new ruling class that acts "in the name of the people." Scruton emphasizes that revolutions are often led by elites in pursuit of power:

"The elite derives its identity from repudiating the old order... and casts itself in a pastoral role, as leader and teacher of the people." (pp. 153-154)

Scruton concludes that totalitarianism is a pathological form of a natural outlook, emerging in those who feel entitled yet unable to achieve their goals:

"Intellectuals, it seems, are particularly prone to this generalized resentment, even when they claim, like Nietzsche, to be free of it." (pp. 158-159)

Here, then is the perfect totalitarian ideology: a pseudo-science that justifies and recruits resentment, undermines and dismisses all rival claims to legitimacy, and endows the not-quite-successful with the proof of their superior intellectual power and of their right to govern. The Marxian ideology provides the frustrated intellectual with the power that he needs: the power of his own resentment, which echoes and amplifies the resentment of a victim class.

The French Revolution was the work of lawyers, professionals and minor nobility who desired the reins of power. The revolutionaries acted in the name of the people, announcing liberty, equality, and fraternity. Likewise, in harmony with cultural hotheads of our day, they identified themselves as an enlightened class who had earned, through their superior understanding, the right to use the people for their purposes.

It is a well-known fact that revolutions are not conducted from below by the people but from above, in the name of the people, by an aspiring elite. This movement we have seen on college campuses this week has the same spirit (Scruton, 158-159).

The media plays a significant role in shaping cultural narratives, contributing to "cultural currents" that influence societal beliefs. These currents create situations where facts are ignored or reinterpreted to fit desired narratives. Symbolism, propaganda, and social engineering tools are used to manipulate public opinion, transforming movements into top-down engineered revolutions.

Frantz Fanon: A Radical Perspective of Colonialism

Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants walked unimpeded into Israel and killed 1,200 Israelis, the French-Algerian psychiatrist and Algerian revolutionary, Frantz Fanon, has emerged as an icon of radical wokeness informing the popular Progressive narrative of decolonization and their myopic criticisms of colonialism. A cascade of memes, screeds, and proclamations from Fanon’s controversial theories of violence and decolonization flood social media to explain the Hamas attacks and justify domestic protests such as were seen this past week in the US. In a statement on October 9th, titled Oppression Breeds Resistance, student groups at Columbia University quoted from Fanon’s most popular work, The Wretched of the Earth (1961),

“When we revolt it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe.” “to fight is the only solution.”

Born in 1925, Fanon grew up as a fervent French patriot and studied psychiatry in France. In his first book, Black Skin, White Masks (1952), Fanon describes a pivotal moment in his life when a white French boy on a train in Lyon was startled by his black skin. It was an experience that, Fanon claims, made him aware for the first time of deep-seated racial prejudices and sparked his writing on the psychological effects of racism and colonialism.

Fanon contends that colonialism necessarily victimizes indigenous people and that violence is the only effective method for the reclamation of their identity and agency. Fanon admired the totalitarian theories and practices of Adolf Hitler which called for radical action to reshape society according to one superior ideological vision.

In Mein Kampf (1925-26), Hitler asserts a racial hierarchy with Aryans at the top and other races, particularly Jews, at the bottom. This ideology justified the Nazi regime's policies of racial purity and extermination. Fanon’s application of this approach mirrored Hitler’s positioning white Europeans as oppressors and colonized peoples as victims. As such, for the oppressed to be redeemed, white people must be violently opposed and marked for extermination.

Hitler's ideology sought to engineer a society reflecting his vision of racial purity, utilizing propaganda, censorship, and social control. Again, in a reflection of Hitler’s theories, Fanon advocates for the eradication of white European cultural hegemony and a society where the identity and culture of colonized people can be rebuilt and purified.

Hitler's regime aimed to dismantle existing political structures and replace them with a totalitarian state aligned with Nazi ideology. Similarly, Fanon argues for the complete deconstruction of colonial power structures to establish a new social order. The most glaring fallacy of Fanon’s position, after the racist urge, of course, is the assumption that all instances of colonization are necessarily oppressive and victimizing.

Colonization is neither good nor evil, it is simply a fact of humanity’s existence. As it is with monarchies and the complex dynamics of various forms of government, while history certainly records examples of wicked colonizers, Fanon’s over-generalization of colonization is easily debunked. There are many instances of indigenous peoples benefiting economically and socially from colonization.

Singapore, under British colonial rule in the 19th and 20th centuries, developed as a strategic trading port, fostering economic growth and creating a strong infrastructure for trade and communication. This foundation contributed to Singapore's long-term prosperity post-independence.
Hong Kong, under British colonial rule from 1841 to 1997, evolved into a major financial hub and trading center. This era also saw the development of education, healthcare, and legal systems, contributing to Hong Kong's growth and stability.
Botswana, under British colonial rule from 1885 to 1966, benefited from stable governance in a region of turmoil. Infrastructure development, including railways and administrative institutions, laid the groundwork for Botswana's flourishing economy post-independence.
Canada's colonization by Britain and France led to significant infrastructural, healthcare, and educational developments. Although indigenous communities faced hardships, the broader population benefited from these advancements, contributing to Canada's overall prosperity.
Mauritius, colonized by the Dutch, French, and British, saw economic and social advancements. The British colonial era, in particular, fostered sugar plantations and economic growth, contributing to Mauritius' stable and diverse economy post-independence.

In postmodern discourse, the demonization of white European hegemony is often overblown into a caricature of its true nature. The assertion that a world free from Western influence is the necessary and morally upright circumstance is not only myopic, and misguided, it is the foundation of racist ideology. While we must be thoughtful to consider the negative impacts of colonization, we must not accept the assertion that Progressivism is the final solution. Cultural integration is a positive characteristic of colonization that celebrates distinct identities and narratives. The rejection of white people is a dangerous idea and its consequences are dire, because if the exclusion or extermination of certain ethnicities or people groups is the mandate, once one is gone, who will be next?

Frantz Fanon's writings are deeply flawed and dangerous in certain contexts, especially his radical and polarizing views concerning the role of violence in societal change. However, not one of us is righteous, we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Therefore, Fanon’s ideas should not be censored or banned. We should carefully consider his work and examine our own hearts to consider the flaws in our own thinking.

1 Corinthians 10:12 warns us to be careful, to be vigilant of overconfidence and self-righteousness, because if we think we are standing on our own power, immune to these temptations, we are in danger falling into sin and condemnation.

Armor of Truth

We all face a fundamental choice: the path of wisdom, which leads to life, safety, and prosperity, or the path of folly, which leads inevitably to harm and destruction. Spiritual strongholds are a danger to us all, and they can only be demolished by God's power. Romans 12:2 encourages Christians to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind," which helps us to counter false beliefs and ideologies.

Jesus used Scripture to counter Satan's temptations in Matthew 4, demonstrating the power of God's Word in confronting spiritual attacks. Likewise, our relationship with God in prayer is crucial for strength to overcome spiritual and mental strongholds.

Ephesians 6:10-18 outline the "armor of God," emphasizing how various spiritual resources, such as faith, righteousness, and the Word, equip Christians to stand firm against spiritual strongholds.

“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" is a timeless reminder of the value of cautious wisdom founded in eternal principles and a stark warning of the recklessness of implicitly trusting cultural trends and movements that capitalize on human emotions and the desires of the heart.

May the Lord bless you as you navigate these issues and seek His wisdom.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Notes, References, Sources, and Links:

An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope. (n.d.). Poetry Foundation.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69379/an-essay-on-criticism
Denison, J. (2022). The Coming Tsunami: Why Christians Are Labeled Intolerant, Irrelevant, Oppressive, and Dangerous—and How We Can Turn the Tide. Simon and Schuster.
Egan, M., & Maruf, R. (2024, April 26). What the pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses actually want. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/26/investing/what-pro-palestinian-protesters-want/index.html
Fanon, F. (1952). Black Skin, White Masks. Grove Press.
Fanon, F. (1961). The Wretched of the Earth. Grove Press.
Jay, M. (1996). The Dialectical Imagination: A History of the Frankfurt School and the Institute of Social Research, 1923–1950. University of California Press.
Lutzer, E. W. (2010). When a nation forgets God: 7 lessons we must learn from Nazi Germany. Moody Publishers. Page 80. Quoted in Denison, The Coming Tsunami. Page 18.
Marcuse, H. (1955). Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud. Beacon Press.
Marcuse, H. (1965). Repressive Tolerance. In R. P. Wolff, B. Moore Jr., & H. Marcuse, A Critique of Pure Tolerance (pp. 81-123). Beacon Press.
Scruton, R. (2006). A Political Philosophy: Arguments for Conservatism. In "The Totalitarian Temptation" (pp. 146-160). Continuum.
Wiggershaus, R. (1994). The Frankfurt School: Its History, Theories, and Political Significance. MIT Press.