The power to name is the power to control and the power to rename grants the same power over something or someone. For instance, those pushing for abortion understood how repulsive and evil the practice is so they changed the name from murder to “abortion”. The victim in this barbaric act changed from child to “fetus” giving the perception that this is merely a medical procedure on a bunch of cells instead of cold bloodied murder of a baby. The agents of change have been busy for decades in many areas of our vocabulary as they seek to create the utopian society described by George Orwell in “1984.”
In the last decade the US government has been busy grouping anyone who opposes their move to an all-powerful federal state as “domestic terrorists,” “rightwing extremists,” and “constitutionalists.” However, none of the major online dictionaries list either “domestic terrorist” or “rightwing extremist” with the term “constitutionalist. In fact, in Collins English Dictionary a Constitutionalist is a noun 1. The principles, spirit, or system of government in accord with a constitution, esp. a written constitution 2. Adherence to or advocacy of such a system or such principles. Since we were founded as a Constitutional Republic, wouldn’t someone who believes in adhering to the Constitution be a good person to have in a republic?
Not according to Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich in Spokane, WA in his late June of 2015 presentation he called “The Threats We Face.” This presentation, a 2 hour and 6 minute video, available on YouTube is of the Sheriff laying out the biggest threats we face today. With the riots reoccurring in Ferguson, MO, one might think rioters would be included. No, they are not a problem unless you happen to be one of the businesses burned down. Were the 80 some gang related shootings over the 4th of July weekend in Chicago enough to give gangs more than 3-4 sentences? No. Was there a mention of Sharpton’s “we want dead cops” mob rant mentioned? No, according to Sheriff Knezovich, these are not important threats.
Sheriff Knezovich did take 6 minutes to mention “Islamic extremists” and “ISIS” but gave little detail as he rushed into what he calls greatest threat this nation faces. For the next 56 minutes he attempted to reclassify the Order, Aryan Peoples Republic, Aryan Nations, Phineas Priesthood, Sovereign Citizens, Kevin Harpham, Timothy McVay and Anthony Garver as “Constitutionalists.” Isn’t that as accurate as calling Ed Gein or Jeffery Dahmer “surgeons?” These groups and individuals classified themselves as Nazi’s, not constitutionalists while McVay threatened those who did not follow the Constitution in his way.
It’s interesting to note that all but two of the examples the Sheriff gives happened in the 1990’s; Kevin Harpham’s attempt was thwarted in 2011, and there were 25 supposed sovereign citizen attacks in the US between 2010 and 2014. These are greater threats than the Boston Marathon bombers, Charlie Hebdo shooters, Mohammed cartoon and the July 16 killings of 4 US service men in Chattanooga TN? These are also greater threats than the 33,000 violent street, motorcycle, and prison gangs comprised of 1.4 million members criminally active in the U.S. today? Many of these gangs are sophisticated and well organized; all use violence to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal money-making activities, which include robbery, drug and gun trafficking, fraud, extortion, and prostitution rings. According to the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment report, gangs are responsible for an average of 48 percent of violent crime in most jurisdictions, up to 90 percent in others and murder over 2,000 Americans a year.
Without one shred of evidence tying constitutionalists to the Nazi and lone wolf attacks he mentions, Sheriff Knezovich expects his case to be a slam dunk. Only it’s just more rhetoric from the same SPLC website the DHS and various government agencies use to slander good honest Americans. This practice is not a mere linguistic exercise because words are crucial to peoples understanding of politics and culture. Words are often weapons in culture wars wielded by ideologues to gain the high ground in argument, debate, policy and propaganda. This is called framing a conversation and progressives have done it for decades.
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” – Quote Joseph Goebbels
