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Totalitarian Ideologies 101
American Thinker ^ | 19 Aug, 2026 | Sheldon Bart

Posted on 08/19/2026 4:29:56 AM PDT by MtnClimber

While we were looking the other way, it seemed, a new version of an old, toxic ideology drifted out of certain academic circles in Europe and into faculty lounges on this side of the Atlantic. In due course, it spread from the universities to K-12 schools. Now, a couple of generations later, candidates infected with the contagion have, with alarming frequency, been seeking and winning elections to municipal and state offices as well as the Congress of the United States.

Like the shapeshifters of science fiction, the scourge of communism has returned in a new and possibly more virulent guise, emphasizing race and gender rather than class. The ultimate goal remains the same—totalitarian control, this time around by the “woke” in place of the vanguard of the proletariat.

The equivalents of Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin are with us today, in the committees of the Democratic Socialists of America and among the acolytes of Zohran Mamdani, biding their time. Given the clear and present danger, how can we protect ourselves and preserve our republic? And nothing less is at stake.

One thing we can and should do is inoculate the next generation against the contagion. Teaching civics is a good first step. But, in addition, every high school and college student should be required to take a course on totalitarian ideologies so they can recognize one when they see it.

Such a course would isolate the elements common to these ideologies and put them under a figurative microscope. Instructors today rely on what’s called a “teaching module.” I offer the following as a preliminary “teaching module” for Totalitarian Ideologies 101.

My “module” starts with some general considerations about human nature:

1. Human beings are capable of the most magnanimous acts of generosity and benevolence, as well as the most horrendous

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Education; History; Society
KEYWORDS: leftism
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1 posted on 08/19/2026 4:29:56 AM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

But, the public schools have become indoctrination centers of the left. So how do you change that?


2 posted on 08/19/2026 4:31:19 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

bfl


3 posted on 08/19/2026 4:32:50 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Enoch Powell warned us about Rivers of Blood. Well, I sure hope they're coming. It's the only fix.)
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To: MtnClimber

Whatever pisses them off the most is probably the way to go.


4 posted on 08/19/2026 4:51:23 AM PDT by Track9 (Liberal tears make me smile. Thank you DJT! ABM = anything but muslim )
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To: MtnClimber

At the top of Totalitarian Ideologies is Islam. All others are subservient. Totalitarians without borders. Soldiers without uniforms. Brainwashed without a mind of their own. Inhumane barbarians.


5 posted on 08/19/2026 5:02:41 AM PDT by PGalt (Past Peak Civilization?)
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To: MtnClimber

Vouchers and Academic Savings Accounts are a good first step.
Abolish colleges of education on all campuses.
Homeschool, if you can.

Immediately, require all government school teachers to take and pass calculus with a C or better. Yes, it is not needed for the job but it would eliminate the dumbest, and those who do pass can think somewhat reasonably in a logical manner.


6 posted on 08/19/2026 5:11:05 AM PDT by wintertime ( )
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To: MtnClimber
Good article.

Totalitarian ideologies typically divide a complex world into two simple factions: a malevolent, controlling group and the suffering victims. All the negative aspects of human behavior are attributed to the victimizers. Victims are considered fundamentally just and noble. These beliefs are irrefutable, because if you question them, you will be consigned to the malevolent group, and your views will be discounted.

7 posted on 08/19/2026 5:36:06 AM PDT by Sicon ("All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." - G. Orwell)
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To: MtnClimber

“””In due course, it spread from the universities to K-12 schools”””


On separate occasions I recently asked a couple of my 35 year old family members about their thoughts on the invasion of illegals into the USA.

Their response: “We were all immigrants at one point.”


8 posted on 08/19/2026 5:39:04 AM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

That’s what they say.

To me, that’s the equivalent of discussing a criminal like Charles Manson or Ted Bundy and having someone shrug and say, “We all make mistakes”.

It’s a fundamental error in category. Serial killing isn’t a “mistake” and legal immigration is not a criminal offense. These things are not the same.


9 posted on 08/19/2026 6:05:37 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Enoch Powell warned us about Rivers of Blood. Well, I sure hope they're coming. It's the only fix.)
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To: sauropod

.


10 posted on 08/19/2026 6:11:08 AM PDT by sauropod (Make sure Satan has to climb over a lot of Scripture to get to you. John MacArthur Ne supra crepidam)
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To: MtnClimber
the scourge of communism has returned in a new and possibly more virulent guise, emphasizing race and gender rather than class.

And they've defeated the writer as evidenced by the use of the word "gender" instead of "sex".

11 posted on 08/19/2026 7:42:35 AM PDT by libertylover (The HBM (Has Been Media) is almost all AGENDA-DRIVEN and HATE-DRIVEN, not-truth driven)
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