Authoritarianism is a form of
government that centralizes power and uses that power to press its will down on
the people. The dirty little secret of authoritarianism,
Shapiro writes, is that they are the minority, not the majority, which is why
they are so loud and require compulsion – they are insecure (22).
The first step is to renormalize
America – that is to change the country by a small, vocal minority pushing its
agenda until the silent majority gives in.
One of these agendas is Critical Race Theory which states that every
institution in America is rooted in white supremacy – racism – through and
through – and, thus, must be rejected and replaced (55).
It is argued that different identity
groups cannot understand other identity groups, and the most victimized groups
have moral authority and need to overthrow “the dominant systems of power”
(62).
Shapiro argues that a new ruling
class is being formed through pure credentialism – college is mainly the
sorting mechanism for this (74-75).
Colleges have been renormalized to promote the idea that expressive
individualism to the end of the self-perceived good life (87). Foundational and historic norms are rejected
for what feels right.
Science has also been renormalized
such that trial and error is no longer science, rather science is whatever the
authoritarian government says is their preferred solution (99). This is ultracrepidarianism – weighing in on
matters outside one’s expertise (103).
Renormalizing and authoritarianism is
found in corporations where producing quality goods is secondary to virtue-signaling
(130). It is most important that corporations
– for example – put the pride flag on their ads during the month of June. Product is secondary.
The entertainment industry has
followed suit and “cancels” any actor who does not mirror the woke authoritarian
mores (150). The establishment media has
likewise altered reporting to support a certain view, rather than reporting as
objectively as possible (163).
Shapiro provides ample evidence of
his arguments in present-day situations that most will be aware of.
Shapiro argues that “our rallying
cry” must be “they can’t cancel us if we don’t let them” (215).
We must renormalize education –
returning to the historic documents, ideas, and beliefs that founded our
country, rather that accept a “reimagining of history” (216).
We must reject the notion that “silence
is violence.” We must reject the notion that speech is violence. We must be cordial, but not afraid to be
offensive (218-219).
If we do not overthrow
authoritarianism through these methods, the answer may be “building alternative
institutions,” which though possibly necessary, will completely divide the
nation (225). Two governments, two types
of news promoters, to educational systems, and so forth.
The place to begin, Shapiro argues,
is to no longer be silent (227). Rather
than allow the authoritarians to cudgel us into silence, we must stand up and
say “no” to their radical renormalizing of the nation. We ought to firmly know the founding principles
of our nation and our history and put them forward with confidence and not back
down. That is how we take back the nation
from the authoritarians.
I have noted key points, but the
book, with its present-day examples fills them out and makes for a much
smoother and convincing read.
I believe Shapiro is right. The authoritarians are in control of the major
institutions of our nation – including the whole of the Federal
Government. To save the country for
ourselves and those who come after us, we must stand up and fight.
Read this book.
[This review appears on my blog, Amazon.com, and
Goodreads.com.]
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