Marxism has fully infiltrated our society. Many areas of American society are at risk — from the security of our streets to the education of our children. The progressive communist Left is capitalizing on the complacency of conservatives who, for the most part, have been sleeping on local community involvement. This is especially common in “red” states that have long enjoyed Republican leadership and conservative values. Spoiled by a society that’s free from progressive chaos, they grow lax in terms of voting and vetting their elected officials, and they even support organizations that do very little to fortify our neighborhoods and protect them from harmful policies.

We are witnessing elections in which candidates are too timid to reveal their ideological leanings, leaving much to be desired by their constituents. We are appointing school board members who may play the politically neutral card and then bait and switch upon accepting their roles. We are seeing institutions like Planned Parenthood quietly infiltrating urban and low-income communities under the guise of “women’s healthcare.”

But it isn’t enough to show up at school board meetings to loudly express concerns. It isn’t enough to stand in the street and protest. Instead of being reactive to the influx of far-left voters moving to red states, we need to be proactive by protecting our communities in these ways:

1. Vote. Actually vote. I’ve spoken with too many conservatives who say they support a local candidate then fail to make it to the ballot box. They get complacent with the status quo and can’t fathom the idea of their neighborhood changing due to demographic shifts. Then they wake up one morning with a leftist mayor because the only candidate that mattered to them is the one vying for the White House. This is a poor way to think. Everyone who is able to vote should wake up and never assume that a red state will always stay the same.

2. Support Conservative Businesses and Organizations. Too many of us complain about this sort of “enterprise takeover” as these large corporations put their allegiance to the Left on full display. While I’m not a supporter of cancel culture, I do believe that conservative consumers should be conscious on a local and national level about the organizations they support, but also the initiatives that these organizations fund. If we want to see conservatism praised and elevated in our society, we need to be the ones praising and elevating companies that embrace these values and not wishing for someone else to do the uplifting. This is why I support local conservative media platforms across my beautiful state to ensure those voices are never silenced.

3. Be Active in the Education System. When I first ran for the county school board, I met with parents who were greatly concerned about student outcomes. My question to them was, “How involved are you?” Sadly, many parents have work and life obligations that make educational involvement a difficult if not impossible task. So my message for able-bodied parents is to design life in a way where a child’s education isn’t an afterthought. Because, sadly, leftists have been thinking long and hard about your kids and how they’ll mold their minds. While I know plenty of excellent educators in my community, it doesn’t hurt to become familiar with the origins of every curriculum and then decide if this approach is right for your child. These considerations should certainly apply to school board elections, most notably before the elected official takes seat — not after. Lack of parental involvement in public school is exactly how concepts like (Marxist) Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project proliferate. That said, I’m grateful for the families who care enough to prevent this from emerging in our education system. Fortunately for my family, we live in a state that has banned CRT in school curriculum. Unfortunately, other states won’t be so lucky — largely due to progressive takeovers of their local communities.

Ultimately, we can’t sit by and hope that Marxism and socialism won’t reach our regions. As people across the U.S. flee their states for more prosperous ones, we must stand firm on our values and teach these transplants how to treat us. As in all things, we must set healthy boundaries so that our local communities continue to thrive while cutting out the weeds from the garden before they destroy the fruits of our labor.