By Laurence F. Sanford

Anarchy slouches towards America.

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born.

The above closing lines are from “The Second Coming” by Irish poet W.B. Yeats. Published in 1919, after World War I and a worldwide flu pandemic, Yeats believed the Christian epoch in world history was ending, and another unknown epoch was about to begin.

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world …
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

World War I was followed by the rise of totalitarian communism, fascism, and Islamism; the Great Depression; World War II; the Cold War; the rise of the Soviet Union and China; and the fall of the Soviet Union, British, and French empires. The anarchy continues.

Anarchy is a beast that upends society, creates misery, and unleashes societal chaos upon the world. Without order, there is no law. The people demand order over chaos and willingly give up their freedom to strong leadership providing security. Great revolutions occur during times of chaos and anarchy — the Nazis in Germany and the communists in Russia and China.

Leading causes of anarchy include:

• Hyperinflation is brought on by proliferate government and personal spending. Excess government spending leads to hyperinflation, with too many dollars chasing too few goods. This leads to social stress, particularly among the middle- and lower-income groups. The elite do not suffer as much as their hard assets, and incomes rise with inflation. But, for the poor and elderly, their purchasing power shrinks. The federal government can not default since it owns the printing presses that produce currency. If it needs more money, it just prints it. U.S. debt is mainly in U.S. currency. Other nations, such as Argentina, have problems since their debt is not in Argentine currency.
• The diminishing role of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency has national security ramifications. Communist China is waging unrestricted warfare on the United States to cripple America’s economic clout in the world. U.S. trade deficits, foreign ownership of Treasury notes, and trillion-dollar annual budget deficits weaken the U.S. dollar. Instead of trading with the dollar, more foreign nations are now conducting trade with the Chinese Communist renminbi.
• National debt — History is replete with examples of nations declining due to wasteful spending, poor leadership, corrupt societies, and changing world circumstances. The United States is not gradually increasing its debt; it is rapidly increasing its debt. The U.S. National Debt Clock provides a comprehensive overview of all debt in the country. It includes federal, state, and local government debt and personal debt. The federal debt is $35 trillion, but total U.S. debt is $102 trillion, including state, local, and personal debt. Medicare, Social Security, and debt interest payments all exceed defense spending. Unfunded pension liabilities are $220 trillion.
• BLM, DEI, and the 1619 Project are Marxist programs to sow division within the U.S. based on racism. One of the strengths of the American Dream was meritocracy. A person could get ahead based on his/her abilities regardless of skin color, religion, or nationality. Now, jealousy and white privilege are the excuse for failure. If skin color is the determining factor, why are the most successful ethnic groups in America “people of color” from Asia?
• Islamic influence in America is rapidly growing due to mass immigration and billions of dollars from Islamic countries funding American universities and Islamic organizations. Islam is fundamentally opposed to Western Civilization and seeks world domination.
• TikTok and other Chinese media organizations are sowing anarchy in America by steering followers down rabbit holes of anti-Americanism and lauding Communist China.
• Crime in major U.S. cities is demoralizing the population. Roving gangs are taking over apartment buildings, robbing stores, and raping and murdering citizens.
• Justice is no longer “blind justice.” Violent criminals are released from jails, yet 70-year-old non-violent protestors are sentenced to jail. Free speech is under assault. College campuses are nests of anti-Semitism and filled with Marxist professors teaching hatred of America.
• Illegal immigration is bankrupting states and cities with multibillion-dollar social support costs. Chaos in schools and housing is the new norm.
• Transgender mutilation of children who are not old enough to vote but who are supposed to know their true identity brings shame on the medical profession, parents, and enablers of such atrocities.

Summary

The century-old words from “The Second Coming” are eerily familiar to today’s world of anarchy, with the best lacking conviction and the worst full of passionate intensity.

The United States is under attack from the Red/Green evil alliance of Marxism and Islamism. Both totalitarian ideologies are bent on destroying Western civilization. Yet our leadership fails to identify the dangers or to propose solutions.

• Instead, the elite are quibbling over whether men should compete in women’s sports or whether schools should have tampons in boys’ bathrooms.
• The defense budget is reduced when inflation is factored in, while the threat from China, Russia, Iran, and Islamic terror groups is growing.
• Military recruitment levels are below needs because of low morale caused by Wuhan Virus shot mandates, drag queen shows on military bases, DEI-based promotions, and the lowering of standards.
• The federal budget continues with trillion-dollar deficits. Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and debt interest are on track to overwhelm all other spending, including defense.
• The borders, north and south, are porous, resulting in millions of unvetted persons illegally entering the country.

Ernest Hemingway’s character Mike Campbell in “The Sun Also Rises” describes how he went bankrupt — “two ways, gradually and then suddenly.” It was brought on by “friends, a lot of friends, false friends, and I had a lot of creditors.” The federal government will not go bankrupt, but the rest of American society is well on the way to “suddenly.”

Action

1. Recognize that the United States is under attack from Communist China, Russia, Iran, and assorted Islamic terror groups.
2. Reciprocity should be the basis for American foreign policy. Our goal should be “We win, they lose.”
3. Increase Gray Zone activities that occur between peace and war. These include non-kinetic tools such as economic coercion, cyber operations, media exploitation, and disinformation campaigns.

Laurence F. Sanford is a senior analyst at the American Security Council Foundation.