How to Survive in Leftist-Controlled Institutions
Operating Wisely behind Enemy Lines
An audio narration of this article is available here.
Introduction:
Last week, we discussed why white male leaders will foist “diversity” on the institutions they lead. We concluded that it was primarily out of self interest: They get to appease the left while screening out people who could compete with them. But this raises the next logical question: “What should be our response?” Put simply, it depends. There are numerous possible strategies to navigate institutions controlled by the left. So while this article can’t advise your particular situation, hopefully it can provide some more general principles.
The Importance of Institutions:
Historically, and even to this day, conservative Christians are downright irresponsible and reckless in how they deal with institutions. First, they underestimate the value and necessity of institutions. Rather, they tend to gather around high-profile individuals they deem to be on their side (think Donald Trump). Second, they frequently succumb to what I call the “Circle of Institutional Decay”:
Almost invariably, when conservatives build institutions, they are subverted by the left. Conversely, when the left builds institutions (or captures conservative ones), the right is forever shut out of power. And third, even the institutions conservatives build after they retreat from a hostile leftist takeover tend to be small and rather niche, a shadow of their former selves (think Westminster Seminary). They seem completely unable to build and maintain an institution that isn’t explicitly conservative, and whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, it’s a fact.
The right (both political and theological) has no shortage of brilliant people and talented leaders. And ideally, institutions are a way to preserve the talents and strengths of an individual and/or team out into the future, and to cultivate the skills and knowledge of their successors and students. If we want a way to preserve our past and secure our future, we need to be building strong institutions.
Crafting a Strategy:
Now, despite the importance of building, owning, and preserving right-wing institutions, the reality is that we currently have very few, and virtually all of us are dependent on a leftist institution for something. Furthermore, many of us are members of leftist institutions. So what should we do about that? Well, perhaps we should begin by discussing what not to do.
Right wingers should not attempt subversion. Many people on the right recognize that the left invaded right-wing and even politically “neutral”1 institutions by subversion, and thus conclude a similar strategy will work for them. However, this rests on a false fundamental assumption of symmetry between right and left. Any example of an adversarial relationship will serve to illustrate the folly of this. Take two opposing armies: Will the same strategies work equally well for both of them? Almost certainly not; each one has different equipment, different terrain, different goals, different leaders, different strengths, weaknesses, etc. Just imitating the left’s strategy of subversion is frankly silly.
The right is naturally suited to open, honest confrontation where the best man wins. We think it’s wrong to lie about our beliefs, cowardly to hide them, and dishonorable not to resolve conflict directly and publicly. These virtues prevent us from using subversion, both morally, and internally, as we won’t be very effective in executing a strategy which nags at our consciences. Furthermore, since the left’s primary strategy is subversion, they will be better than us at stymieing such attempts. Every time the right seizes power, it comes via top-down, aggressive enforcement. This holds true both politically (think Augusto Pinochet or Francisco Franco) and in religious institutions.2 Might there be some instances in which subversion can be successful? Perhaps, but I can’t endorse it.
Assessing Your Situation:
Now, I said earlier that how we should respond and interact with leftist-controlled institutions depends, and it depends on two primary factors: How much control the left has over the institution in question, and how much control you have in the institution. From these simple factors, we can create a simple matrix which will tell us how capable we are of making changes in an organization. The terms and categories I’ve used in this example are taken from the professional and educational world, but if you’re applying this to a church or some other organization, just follow the same type of pattern. On the vertical axis, we have your potential levels of control in ascending order. On the horizontal axis, we have examples gauging how far left the organization in question is. In each cell, a value between 0 and 10 is assigned, a lower value indicating lower ability to enforce reform on the organization and vice versa.
Based on this matrix, you should be able to quickly determine your ability to enforce positive reform on your organization. There is no one uniform course of action that fits each individual score. You have to make wise and thoughtful decisions. However, I would offer these general pieces of counsel for you to take under consideration based on where you scored.
If you scored on the lower end…….
Network closely with as many likeminded peers as possible.
If there are likeminded managers, can you move to their department?
Begin looking for a backup position, even if it’s within another leftist organization.
Ideally, look to join (or form) a less dangerous workplace.
Realize that if you want to retain your position, keeping your head down is a must.
Standard measures to increase your job security are always helpful.
If you scored on the higher end……
Network closely with as many likeminded peers as possible.
Develop simple, concrete steps as a part of a larger strategy.
If there are likeminded managers, can you coordinate strategically with them?
Whatever it takes, get control of HR and Marketing.3
Identify your friends and enemies; then help your friends and weaken your enemies.
Be prudent in calculating risks as you do this.
I realize these pieces of advice are quite general (as intended). But if you’ve understood this post and the last, I think it’s safe to assume that you can take it from here and apply them yourself.4
Conclusion:
As we seek to operate wisely within leftist institutions, it’s imperative that we create our own in the meantime. Understanding the true evil and duplicity of the left should prompt us to sever our support (be it our time, dollars, eyes, etc.) from the left’s institutions, build our own, and implement intense screening to prevent leftists from reentering. The right is good at building institutions, and we should pursue that strategy in accordance with our natural strengths. But we need to sharpen our other skill: Recognizing threats from outside groups and preventing them from infiltrating.
Author’s Note: The thumbnail image was taken from this article. The infographic illustrates how many organizations we frequent lean heavily blue. Despite the left bent of Bloomberg, it’s actually an informative article and utterly destroys the left’s narrative of being the “little guy” or the “underdog.”
True, complete neutrality is impossible, but I’m using the term in a relative sense here.
A prime example of the right winning a religious, institutional battle was the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod defeating the liberals in their seminary.
By “HR and Marketing,” I mean whomever is responsible for hiring/firing and public image; “HR and Marketing” are simply the most common designations. These are two chokepoints: HR controls the inflow of people to the organization, and Marketing controls the outflow of your organization to the public. Not only are these two functions crucial, but the left tends to gravitate to those departments when infiltrating a company.