J’accuse!
The title comes from an open letter written by Emile Zola in defense of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French Army unjustly convicted of treason. Directed toward the French President, Zola led with his heaviest weapon, the public denunciation “I accuse!”. The phrase was freighted with greater meaning than simply charging someone with an offense, it carried with it the stigma of having acted unjustly, with malice or prejudice toward the innocent in service to one’s own gain. Such strong words demanded a response from the accused, else they forfeit their honor before the public.
The French Army was indeed wrong in what came to be known as the “Dreyfus Affair,” and Zola suffered a year in prison (which in 1898 France, was no easy feat) along with a substantial fine, however his gambit worked. The wrong was put right and the unjust properly shamed. An interesting story to be sure, but you might be wondering why I would choose to lead an article with it.
In the plainest of language, I have an accusation of my own to make, and with it, attaches every iota of meaning carried by the original.
J’accuse!
Our nation is experiencing an upheaval with implications that exceed even those faced during the Civil War. Amidst that orgy of bloodletting there yet remained a common bond between the warring sides; both believed in the promise of America, in the facility and elegance of our founding documents and in the rightness of their continued application. True, the savagery of the conflict belied the underlying foundation shared by each side, but at no time were the political concepts of self-government and individual liberty at stake. It was not as if the victory of either side meant the abandonment of our form of representative government; at stake was the question of degree, and the applicability of these concepts to the whole, or just a part of our population.
The cause was worthy. Slavery stood in abhorrent defiance of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and it ought to be an eternal credit to the United States for having paid such a blindingly steep price to achieve the eradication of that stain.
However, today’s upheaval is demanding an even higher price. The aim of our present antagonists is the abolition of everything we have fought to preserve in all previous wars combined - they have come for our freedom.
The outcome of the Civil War would determine the shape and size of our nation (larger or smaller) but did not threaten to transform the fundamental framework between man and his duly constituted government. The principles evinced in the Constitution would remain, irrespective of the victor.
Not anymore. The rebellious of our era seek to eradicate all that came before them, indeed, all that isn’t them, declaring the whole of history to be unworthy of remembrance. They are nihilists of the first order; self congratulatory destroyers immune to context and devoid of conscience. They are the threat of which I speak, but they are not whom I accuse. That denunciation will be far more broadly cast.
I accuse (and denounce) the Democrat voters of the United States, without whom the threat we face would be rudderless, powerless and toothless. Instead, these openly seditious traitors infect our institutions, universities and schools, popular culture and elected office. Decades of left-wing indoctrination via the public school system has finally produced a generation of voting age wholly unmoored to our founding principles, and trained to oppose every facet of our nation’s greatness.
Freedom is exploitation. Individual liberty is weaponized selfishness. Success is a sure sign of manipulation of the rules (always at the expense of those with less). On and on, truth is labeled lie and any attempted defense is treated as affirmation of guilt. They have gone a step further than their predecessors in weaponizing the charge of racism against political or ideological opponents. Where it was once taught that blacks cannot be racist because racism requires the power to oppress the targeted race - ergo, only whites can be racist, they now claim (and demand we accept!) the notion that whites are racist at a genetic level, racist in our DNA, and unable to recognize it within ourselves because…yes, you guessed it, those same racist genes also prevent self-awareness of our malady.
As circular arguments go, this is a remarkably obtuse one, and despite being easily debunked it resurrects immediately, reanimated by mindless repetition at ever-increasing volume.
Our nation is eroding from within, and roughly half our population is responsible. I know many Democrats who claim to be appalled at the behavior of the BLM and ANTIFA rioters, yet contentedly go through each day with a “D” on their voter registration, and even intend to cast their ballot in accordance with that scarlet letter, as if they cannot see the direct link between their enabling behavior and the corrosive acts of those they empower.
It is true, many Democrat voters are indeed oblivious to the rot suffusing their party. They do as they always have, letting others tell them what and how to think, trusting in a compromised media to bring them truthful news, and repeatedly failing to offer a glance toward a differing view. They are wholly allergic to any dissonance in their worldview and have grown adept at employing the same mindset that once said in mid-century Germany, “We didn’t know it was happening! No one told us this was happening!” It’s truly remarkable how much someone can ignore right in front of their eyes.
The repulsive behavior of House Democrats during the recent “hearing” with testimony from Attorney General Barr is a moment exposing the “man behind the curtain,” if you will. The rude, resentful and tyrannical interrogation of a witness appearing willingly before a once-respectable House Committee, will not soon fade from memory. Not a single Democrat permitted an uninterrupted answer from Atty Gen Barr.
They made mini speeches interspersed with questions so dripping with bias as to leave a trail of vitriol like blood spatter across the chamber. When the Atty Gen attempted to answer, they rarely permitted more than two words before screeching, “I reclaim my time! Reclaiming my time!” in order to prevent Barr from responding at all. If you think I exaggerate, I invite you to watch a recording of the hearing for yourself, if you have a strong enough stomach to bear it.
These Pol Pot wannabes are only there because you, the Democrat voter wants them to be, and for this J’ACCUSE! Blue cities in multiple states are burning and collapsing under the stomping boots of the paramilitary wings of the Democrat party, because you, the Democrat voter insist on electing and reelecting seditionist traitors, and for this J’ACCUSE!
Does the one who hires the assassin not bear as much guilt as the killer who acts at their request? Did the people of NAZI Germany not share responsibility for the slaughter of millions in their own backyard? Were they unaware of entire neighborhoods disappearing, even after they themselves stole the items left behind and appropriated the property for their own use? How can you cast a ballot for ANYONE who associates themselves with a party that openly seeks to destroy the nation they were elected to serve in order to rebuild that nation based on principles antithetical to the one that elected them?
You, Democrat voter are responsible. You bear the weight of every sin committed in your name, under your approving gaze, with your electoral imprimatur. The businesses destroyed, the lives ruined, the careers shattered and the mournful cries of those stricken families grieving for their wounded and murdered loved ones. For this J’ACCUSE!
There are more like me than you know, good Americans who have grown sick of your deflections, your mad dash away from the guilt you have earned and the scorn you deserve. As of now, you are protected; not by your pathetic thug-life soy boys, or their Marxist collaborators preaching revolution under a false banner of racial equality. You are protected only by the restraint of the side you despise. A restraint wearing perilously thin with each passing day filled with your petulant nonsense and cowardly shirking of responsibility for that which you have wrought by reflexively voting for anything with a “D” following their name. You are no longer blameless. You are complicit in the attempted overthrow of our government, and no amount of media spin will be able to conceal your role in this insurrection.
If it is true, as some of you claim, that your party has been hijacked by an extremist element you do not support, then prove it by abandoning that wretched cabal of treasonous miscreants and aligning yourself with those your party has targeted for destruction. Do so now and do so publicly, because, if you do not, and the insurrection finds success, the restraint of the American people will no longer protect you, as restraint is the first casualty of war.
Democrats, you stand accused, charged with malfeasance and misdoing. You are the only thing standing between peace and war. Choose your side carefully as there are no second chances in a fight to the death, a fight initiated by you, and for that J’ACCUSE!