Totalitarianism (soft or hard, or neither)

At https://lawliberty.org/book-review/soft-totalitarianism-coming-or-going/ James M. Patterson points out the following: “(Toma) Križka admits, ‘With our eyes fixed intently on the West, we could see how it was beginning to experience the same things we knew from the time of totalitarianism… Once again, we are all being told that Christian values stand in the way of the people having a better life. History has already shown us how far this kind of thing can go.’ (Rod) Dreher is more optimistic” Patterson quotes Dreher in the interview with Križka, as he affirms, “‘The culture war is largely over—and we lost. The Grand March is, for the time being, a victory parade. But then, so were the May Day marches and pageants in all the cities and towns of the late Soviet Empire.’ The era of soft totalitarianism may soon be ending”  This assessment is a bit flippant and flies in the face of the commonalities between the Soviet Revolution and the impending revolution, if not an actual revolution, in the West. Many are being forced out of their convictions about ideas that have been long held and legally and politically fought for in the past decades.  Križka’s observation indicates what is more likely going on in the West.  On that point, I must beg the question of whether or not there is such a thing as soft totalitarianism. This cute construct takes the punch and unction out of that which is going on in the West.  We have not lost; such an admission implies that we must hang our heads, but remember, we will not cave.  The totalitarianism that Križka notes is certainly held by one who experienced or has descended from those who experienced the development of the “freer(?)” state in former Czechoslovakia.   Patterson continues, about Dreher’s wishy-washiness, “conclusion is surprising. In the closing lines of Live Not by Lies, Dreher speeds up the timeline. In the first part of the book, the present moment foretells the coming of soft totalitarianism. Now, in the closing pages, the present exists under the victorious reign of soft totalitarianism, which is already in such decline that conservative Christians can hasten its collapse by becoming ‘saboteurs for the Kingdom of God.’” This ambiguity in Dreher leaves open the continuation of the conversation in my last post.  However, I must first continue to insist that the “soft totalitarianism” is neither coming nor going(?)   This gentle construct misses the point I made that many have lost freedoms in the West, and many more freedoms to come are on the table right now. Religious liberty is on a thread, family values are on a skid,  and people in the West no longer believe in God, family, or nation.  These ideas are being attacked and pushed into non-existence, oblivion of what the media creates about them.  As elections loom for the West, we must decide if it is fascist to believe in these things or if we will let them loose into nothingness.  Let us not forget George Orwell’s observation that even Buddhist in Burma in his day and time would just soon thrust a sword into one’s gut than look at them.  In those times, Orwell knew the gravity of the Raj Empire’s, the Buddhist nihilism’s, and the Imperialist British Empire’s abilities to shape the individual and the nation. So the question becomes, “who is the fascist?” Is the fight in the new Italian prime minister pumped-up by fascism or will that Western country fall into a Mussoliniesque mode of operations, hence ridding it of all that is good, i.e. equity and inclusion?  Will the stand for family, God, and country continually be plagued by episodes of demolition by the Left until they exist no more? We are moving beyond anything soft or hard in terms of totalitarianism.  To totalize and to atomize institutions to mere points of dismissal is the totalitarianism we face, and wewillnotcave; at least, we must be more than Christian dissidents or saboteurs of the soft stuff.  As Christians, we are clearly in/on the right side of history (HIS-story).  We are doulos, slaves (against our will) to Christ, and must diligently act for our Master. We will be meek in Jesus’ sense of the word or shrewd in His sense. To be a doulos we must give up our own will in submission to the mission of the Gospel.  Let us not forget the Savior who died for us and be of like mind (Philippians 2, read it all, not just the kenotic gospel piece).  Consider all excellent things (Philippians 4, read the text). We must not cave on the excellence of family, faith, nation, or convictions.