America Unspun

The Inquisition, The Salem Witch Trials, The Red Scare, and now Cancel Culture are seemingly unrelated, yet all have something in common; Fear and pressure to conform, at least publicly, with popular or populist ideas. Additionally, they have something else in common, they require an unwavering acceptance and support of a particular dogma and rely on revisionist history.

The Inquisition, which in various forms spanned several centuries, was an attempt by the Roman Catholic Church to maintain its orthodoxy in the face of various heresies and the Protestant Reformation. The inquisition began innocuously enough, usually meting out smaller punishments like penance and pilgrimages. As the Reformation grew however, and all new ideas and science were suspect as heretical, the inquisition became more prominent and powerful. As time progressed, the simple threat that the inquisition might condemn one was enough to generate fear, and almost certainly accusations were made about enemies who might or might not have been heretics. No initial proof was needed, the accusation was enough.

The Salem Witch Trials began with a series of accusations of witchcraft in a time when there was much to fear in everyday life. The omnipresent threat of disease and hostile Native American tribes along with a fear of corruption by the devil was compounded by mundane jealousies and rivalries. There were a series of trials conducted by jurors and local magistrates, who listened to evidence, including “spectral evidence”, and some 150 were accused and 20 executed. Eventually, cooler heads prevailed and a new court was assembled. This court required concrete evidence rather than the spectral evidence used by the previous court, the result being that all awaiting trial were released and those already condemned were pardoned. The crimes of the accused? They were accused and found guilty of practicing witchcraft by young girls claiming they were wracked with pain caused by the powers of the devil. It may seem ridiculous today, but, as evidenced, in 1692 this was a deadly business. The issue here is that there was really no proof required. The accusation was enough – just like an accusation of racism today.

Much more recently, post World War II concern about growing Soviet influence in the world and fear of growing sympathy in the United States spawned the second Red Scare. In response to increasing Soviet success and the spread of communism across Eastern Europe and into Asia, The United States government took an unprecedented action. President Truman signed an executive order requiring the analysis and examination of every federal employee to gauge their loyalty to the government. As the anti-communist fervor grew accusations of communist infiltration increased, and absolutely anyone could be accused of being a communist sympathizer. Fear of being accused kept people from speaking out, and indeed many who did question the sanity of what was happening were themselves accused. The results ranged from public censure to outright financial ruin in a weaponized process dictated by a relatively small number of elected elites. No real proof was needed – The accusation was enough.

In today’s cancel-culture, wherein we see selected scrutiny of actions performed years, decades, even centuries ago, historical and contemporary figures are demonized for actions or words that form(ed) a minuscule part of their public (or private) lives. For this, outraged masses of “the woke” demand that they be canceled, that is publicly shamed, and made pariahs with no regard to any other factors other than their contemporary attitudes, often judged by today’s context rather than by the context of their times. The source of the moral outrage and fear may have changed, although this time it is couched in inflammatory terms such as “nazi”, “racist”, “anti-democratic”, and “social justice”. The terms may have changed, but the methodology remains much the same. Stoke up moral outrage over very real and egregious transgressions and use the momentum to prosecute the real agenda – power. Accusations are enough, no real proof is needed – simply unwillingness to agree to the progressive revisionist agenda is enough.

Revisionist history serves no one except the revisionists who wish to rewrite history to support their narrative. Now, I understand as well as all of you that history is written by the victors, or at least by those who were the most tenacious over time. That being said, as the old saying goes, never waste a crisis. Cancel-culture, the culture of outrage, and revisionists have seized the day and are busily presenting their agendas while accusing anyone who disagrees with them as nazis, racists, and anti-democratic.

Make no mistake, this is not solely an exercise in social justice, righting the injustices of the past, and rewriting history. This is a naked grab at political power to shape a progressive agenda and redetermine the course of the political and social life in the United States. Rather than going through the normal political processes as laid down in both written law and legal precedent, the outraged mob uses intimidation, fear, accusations, and divisiveness because they simply cannot win any other way. If you can’t win, simply make accusations – they are enough.

Unspun 1966