Neoconservatives caused the MAGA movement, even though they hate it.

Okay, it's been almost two months since I posted anything on here again. So I think I need to bring up another essay on American politics. Most notably, why the neoconservatives are basically the same as the MAGAtards. For starters, let me explain that neoconservatism is a branch of American conservatism that began in the 1960s when many Democrats, who were actually Trotskyites, became dissatisfied with the Democratic Party and their increasingly left-wing stance on social issues, but especially their increasingly pacifist slant in opposition to the Vietnam War. Many of them were students of Leo Strauss, a German born immigrant who became a philosophy professor at the University of Chicago and believed that Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" failed because of it's emphasis on liberalism. Strauss argued that very basis of liberalism, the belief in individual freedom, was causing America's problems. These students, who became known as neoconservatives, believe that a society defines itself and expresses its values through forms of culture, such as entertainment and literature. Western (and particularly American) society, they charge, has become amoral, adrift, and degenerate because of the evils of personal liberty. As evidence of the moral corruption of Western culture, they cite violent and sexually explicit books, films, television, and video games, and they point to music that is rife with profanities that have lost their capacity to shock and disgust. Actions once regarded as shameful are now accepted as normal. For example, most people in the West now consider it perfectly acceptable for unmarried men and women to live together and even to have children. These phenomena amount to “defining deviancy down,” as neoconservative sociologist and Democrat(!) Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once charged. Such degenerate behavior, neocons believe, indicates a broader and deeper cultural crisis afflicting Western civilization. They sought to rebuild America in their own image around two ideas: nationalism and religion. They believed that America was better than everyone else and that the USA(and ONLY the USA)is meant to destroy all evil around the world. They also believed that religion was important because people without a sense of something larger than themselves, something transcendent and eternal, are apt to turn to mindless entertainment—including drugs and alcohol—and to act selfishly and irresponsibly and become nihilistic. Neoconservatives also hold that the modern liberal ideal of cultural diversity or mulitculturalism—the principle of not only tolerating but also respecting different religions and cultures and encouraging them to coexist harmoniously—is bad because it undermines the traditional culture of any country that tries to put it into practice. Ironically, many of them were Jewish and supported Israel's plans to exterminate the Palestinians and rule the Middle East, but they presented themselves as a so-called "Model Minority", which allowed them to assimilate into the conservative moment, which unfortunately, leads to unfortunate implications. They also believed in Strauss' idea of a "noble lie", a myth or fabrication created by a group of elites to maintain social harmony. In other words, the unwashed masses are not fit for either truth or liberty, that there is no natural right to freedom and that the natural order is domination by the few and subordination of the many. The only natural right is– the right of the superior to rule over the inferior. Sound familiar?

Anyway, the neocons started to gain power in the 1970s and found their Golden Boy in Ronald Reagan in the 1980s(or so they thought), as they believed that Reagan would confront and destroy Communism. Although he did play a part in ending the Cold War, there were other factors involved. Plus, Reagan, unlike the Republicans now, was willing to work with Democrats if it was for the good of the country, since they controlled Congress for most of his presidency. In any case, the Cold War ended in 1991 and then were totally left out of power in 1992 when Bill Clinton was elected. But the neocons refused to go away. They believed that with the US now being the world's only superpower, they needed to make sure that no other country, friend or foe, would ever challenge America's newfound world domination. This started when the Republicans took back Congress in 1994 as the GOP, under Newt Gingrich, would turn them into the "Party of No", a party that would not seek compromise even if the country fell completely apart. They constantly tried to defame Clinton with stories of corruption and immorality, both real and fake, but Americans, for the most part, did not turn on him. Then in 2000, during that year's election, when Florida's electoral votes(and the Presidency) hung in the balance, Republicans did everything in the power to see to it that George W. Bush would get elected. Most notably, Republican staffers, led by men such as Roger Stone, showed up at a meeting of election canvassers in Miami where they held a protest(called the Brooks Brothers Riot) to stop the recount and "Shut it down."(Again, sound familiar?) Ultimately, the Supreme Court stepped in and stopped the recount, giving the election to George W. Bush, and putting the neocons back into power, as many of them took positions in the second Bush administration.

Fast forward to September 11, 2001. The fiendish terrorist attacks on the United States, (while a side-effect of decades of bad US foreign policy and 100% avoidable, is indefensible), was what the neocons were hoping for, the "New Pearl Harbor" they called it. They coalesced around Bush, who told the world "you are either with us, or against us". The Government(with Democrats' help) ended up increasing its power by taking away many civil liberties and rejecting both US and international law when it came to the rules of war, and also embraced unilateralism, or the belief that America, as the world's only remaining superpower, had the right to police the world. Most notably, in 2003 when Bush illegally invaded Iraq, a country that, though run by a horrible dictator, had nothing to do with 9/11, the neocons appeared on Fox News and other media outlets and said anyone who questioned or disagreed with them was either anti-American, or worse, French. Remember that they cancelled "French Fries" and the "Dixie Chicks"? And they're the ones bitching about "cancel culture", even though they invented it. The neocons of course said that it was America's destiny to bring democracy to other countries; whether they wanted it or not, and that it was right because America is never wrong and if it meant bombing a few orphanages or torturing prisoners, so what? Also, during the Bush years, many views that were considered backwards, especially regarding women, race and sex all started to make a resurgence. Many women started rejecting feminism and returning to traditional gender roles. What counted was women’s admiration of what is termed the alpha male – a white man who enjoys both prestige and power. Also, many whites left the cities for the suburbs because of the old stereotype that "not white=criminal", not to mention the anger towards minorities because of the creation of a diverse middle class that, they believe has deprived the white working class of jobs and the affluence that goes with it. The idea that women and minorities were becoming more and more independent and successful was seen as a threat to white men. Basically, the Republicans started to embrace that idea and told white men to "vote for us and we will make things go back to the way things were". This has gotten worse since the 2000s, of course.

When the 2004 Election came along, Republicans not only helped get Bush re-elected, but ended up increasing the GOP's power by creating falsehoods about John Kerry's service in Vietnam(Swiftboating), and said that a Democrat couldn't protect America from terrorism. In other words, "you must vote for Republicans or you will die." Republicans also created wedge issues to distract from Bush's failures. Most Republicans actually labelled "moral issues" as the main reason they voted for Bush, 9 of the 11 states that banned same-sex marriage went to Bush, and Bush, of course, wanted a Constitutional Amendment to ban it federally. They also flipped out over Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl Halftime Show(she ended up getting cancelled) and also praised the FCC increasing it's power to censor the media more. "Freedom of speech for me, but not for thee" has long been a mantra of the Bible Thumpers.

Fast forward to 2008 and the election of Barack Obama. There was hope that electing our first black President would help bring America together. Spoiler alert: it didn't. The Republicans finally started to embrace the racists and extremists that they had long been holding back at arm's length. Obama was attacked throughout his presidency with lies about being a Communist, not Christian, and even the idea that he wasn't an American and thus ineligible to be President. Conspiracy theories were starting become part of the Republican platform, even though they were rejected by them for years. This all came to a head in 2016 with the nomination of Donald Trump, who helped fuel the birther conspiracy, by the Republican Party. Ironically the neoconservatives, who were both directly and indirectly responsible for his rise of reactionary populism, tried to distance themselves from him and many supported Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately, by then, the damage had been done and Trump was elected. The chickens had come home to roost.

Four years later, when America and the world was brought to a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of Americans finally saw how inept Trump really was. Joe Biden, despite his many, many problems in the past, ran on the promise to help get the country out of the pandemic and get America back to normal. And he won. But by then, denial and egotism had taken firm hold of what passes for American conservatism. Trump knew he lost, but he refused to accept it and the media kept letting him push the idea that he won and the election was stolen from him. Many of his followers believed this as well and ended up embracing the idea that if Republicans lose elections, they're not legit, which led to the so-called "Stop The Steal" movement, very similar to what happened in 2000. Heck, Roger Stone was involved in this new protest as well, and Congressman Paul Gosar of Arizona even planned another Brooks Brothers Riot in Phoenix. This all finally came to a head on January 6, 2021 when Trump's supporters attacked the United States Capitol to stop the election of Joe Biden from being certified, and it had tragic consequences. Although their attempted coup failed and Biden was sworn in, Trump was never punished for his crimes and is again the Republican nominee. This time, however, Biden has stepped aside and Vice President Kamala Harris is seeking the White House and she currently has the momentum and will probably and hopefully win. But as we know, Trump has made it clear he will not accept any results where he loses and his supporters are willing to destroy democracy and freedom itself to make sure he succeeds. A lot of them will probably willing to die for him. Also, a lot of the racist bullshit used against Obama will now be revived and used against Harris. Not to mention attacks on her gender. A lot of Americans don't think women should be independent, let alone be President of the United States. Their belief is "Daddy makes the decisions, Mommy makes a sandwich". The Bible Thumpers are starting to sound more and more like the Islamists all the time, just replace Muhammed with Jesus.

Anyway, the point is, while the neoconservatives claim to hate the MAGA movement, the fact is they helped create it. They longed pushed the ideas of the superiority of Western Civilization, the mixing of religion and politics, the myth that America is better than everyone else and should rule the whole world unopposed and to view anyone who disagrees with them as an enemy. The current Republican Party has taken all of these to extremes and, for the most part, rejects neoconservatism, mainly due to it's original adherents being Jewish and a lot of MAGAtards are racist and anti-Semitic. But the neocons have no one to blame for themselves for it. They made things this way and if the worst happens, they could be responsible for the destruction of the United States of America. At least the America most of us want.

Sorry for the long essay. But sometimes it's hard to stop once I start.