Cannon Fodder for the Culture Wars

In the old days, generals were less concerned with the welfare of their troops than they are today.  Few had compunctions about sending thousands of soldiers to their death; that is, as long as this sacrifice contributed to a subsequent victory.

By and large, the combatants they we most willing to forfeit were the least well trained and lowest in status.  These expendables were frequently peasants and/or foreign contingents.  They would be hurled en masse at the enemy so as to open opportunities for the elites.

The Spartans did this when they lined up warriors from other city-states against the most formidable contingents on the opposite side.  Napoleon did it when he sent battalions of his allies into the teeth of cannon fire.  That’s why we call these sacrificial lambs “cannon fodder.”

Today we are witnessing this strategy in the political arena.  In case you haven’t noticed, we are in the midst of ferocious culture wars.  Liberals and conservatives are arrayed in massed formations in a battle to the death.  At the moment, this melee is being fought over the political survival of Donald Trump.

One of the main skirmishes is about whether our president is a racist.  He has been called a white supremacist, a bigot, and a fraud.  It is even alleged that he encourages white police officers to assassinate unarmed black men.  To hear his enemies tell it, he wants to put every African-American in chains.

At the forefront of these accusations are battalions of enraged black partisans.  Whether they are football players taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem or congresspersons pressing for impeachment, their goal is to portray Trump as an evil creature who must be overthrown.

Just how far these protagonists are prepared to go was demonstrated in the kerfuffle about whether Trump was insensitive during a condolence call to the widow of a Special Forces soldier.  The worst possible interpretations were placed on words he intended to be sympathetic.

In any event, this policy of slander has been more harmful to blacks than the president.  Many whites won’t say it, but they have become less sensitive to the plight of minorities.  As a recent NPR poll demonstrated, a majority now believes that reverse discrimination is rampant.  They feel disrespected and don’t like it.

So how does this help blacks?  How does it enlist whites as allies in the battle against racism?  In fact, it does not.  Instead of creating bonds of friendship between the races, it polarizes them.  One side becomes the innocent victims, while the other is scorned as closet bigots.

From whence does this caustic gambit derive?  The answer is that it is a standard Neo-Marxist ploy.  The idea is to find a grievance and then use it to discredit the foe of the moment.  Once upon a time, capitalists were in the crosshairs.  They were routinely depicted as selfish monopolists intent upon squeezing every once of life out of their workers.

Today it is women, gays, and minorities who are purportedly abused.  They are the alleged victims of rapacious elites.  So dreadfully have these guiltless souls been exploited that it is essential their oppressors be overthrown.  These vicious tyrants must be tossed on the ash heap of history so their targets can prosper.

Because there is some truth to these allegations, it is possible to magnify them out of all proportion.  Caricatures substitute for honest appraisals, while hyperbole takes the place of measured discussion.  Even egregious lies are told if they further the cause.

So whom do these methods hurt?  Why, it is those at the tip of the spear.  Because they are at the forefront of the battle, they sustain the most injuries.  Meanwhile, their puppeteers stay out of the line of fire.  They remain safe in their bunkers.

This, to put it mildly, is cynical!  Liberals allege that conservatives exploit blacks, but it is they who are doing so.  They are allowing their African-American associates to sustain the casualties, while they reap the electoral rewards.

Liberal compassion is thus a sham.  It is a Trojan horse that must be recognized for what it is.  If not, people may be fooled into allowing these mean-spirited demagogues to undermine our nation.

Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.

Professor of Sociology

Kennesaw State University