To unite a nation, its people must share common values and traditions deemed vital for the preservation of society.  This bond ignites a sense of patriotism and duty to protect and defend these fundamental values and traditions.  When a united nation faces an enemy, its people are willing to make tremendous sacrifices to ensure peace and prosperity for future generations.

To divide a nation, its people must be convinced or manipulated into believing that the values and traditions deemed vital are actually flawed and obsolete.  To achieve this division, one must examine the foundation on which these values were built, identify the cracks, and exploit them until the foundation becomes compromised.  Then sit back and watch your handiwork as everything collapses.  Once the dust settles, a new foundation can be built.

This divide, destroy, and transform strategy is the methodology of an enemy from within.

The challenge is to convince or manipulate people into believing that the real enemy, the enemy from within, is bravely leading the charge to save a nation from some evil.  It makes no difference whether this so-called evil is real or fabricated.  Be it a person, group, or something intangible, convince people that it threatens their way of life and seek to destroy it by any means necessary.  With the help from mainstream and social media, this playbook can be ruthlessly executed.  The only wrinkle in this strategy is when the people you are trying to manipulate truly value faith, family, and freedom.  Such a people is a formidable opponent.

Some evil people have spent years identifying and exploiting cracks in America's foundation.  Our faith in God, the nuclear family, and the freedoms we cherish are being plucked away brick by brick.  With the mainstream and social media companies providing cover, these people are able to unleash their narratives and use the weapon of words to divide us.

Words have power.  This is undeniable.  The grouping of specific words at a specific time have convinced men to brave unimaginable horrors with the hope of preserving peace and prosperity for future generations.  Words have also convinced men to commit atrocities never thought possible.  Words can inspire hope or sow the seeds of discontent.  They can be used to move a nation forward or help plunge it into darkness.

We as a nation must wake up and stop falling prey to a controlled narrative, where Americans are being lumped into pre-defined groups.  This completely subjective system of judgement grants tacit permission to appease or harass, reward or punish, praise or prosecute.  When those in power and the media define the criteria and control the narrative, we the people find ourselves at its mercy.  One only has to read history to understand the inherent danger in this.

This article is not meant to argue the merits of a particular narrative.  The point is that regardless of your political position, race, sex, or religion, this country was founded on the principles of free speech, freedom to practice your faith, and freedom to raise your family with the values you hold dear.  Nowhere in the Constitution was it written that your freedoms are based on the narrative of the times.

Unfortunately, there are people in power who do not believe that your rights are inalienable.  They manipulate with false narratives and fuel a mob mentality to strip them from you.  This mob mentality is destroying individual thought and common sense — not to mention causing rampant crime, violence, and destruction of private property and businesses.

If you sit back and honestly assess what is happening, what thought comes to mind?  Do you feel disgusted or a sense of justification?

It is time for us as a nation to stand against the tyranny of these narratives.  Today, the narrative of a particular group has been quite clear.  The circles of judgment have been formed, and this group has been put on notice.  Repent, comply, and be silent, or you will be silenced.  How long before you are associated with a group that is deemed irredeemable?   This goes far beyond Santa Claus's naughty list.  It is a coordinated effort to marginalize and criminalize a portion of the population by any means necessary.

Why have the American people let it get to this point?

I constantly hear people say they no longer recognize their country.  Have you been in a coma?  This country has been under siege for years.  People have been sounding the alarm, but unfortunately, many did not take the warnings seriously. This is America.  We have the Constitution.  We have rights.

How are you feeling now?  Did you honestly believe that preserving freedom involves no effort on your part?  Until a significant percentage of Americans truly understand this, the ability to consolidate power, strip away rights, and force a country into submission will become not just possible, but inevitable.

We are beyond the point of sitting on the sidelines and watching this play out.  It is time to choose a side.  There is no way to reconcile the current political philosophies.  One will win; the other will lose.  If you think this can play out any other way, you are gravely mistaken.

The battle for the soul of the nation is real, and one side is definitely playing for keeps.  If you love this country, look deep in your heart and find the courage to defend the values, traditions, and freedoms that have made America great.

Image: Don Hankins via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.