Amid ‘wokeness’ and the ‘cancel culture,’ it’s time for us to resist the ‘desecrators’

Too many good people complain about “wokeness,” “cancel culture,” and “white privilege,” but no one focuses on what these have in common — the attempt to destroy all that most Americans hold sacred.

At the sharp edge of this desecration is an attempt to erase all vestiges of the Christian faith in both public and private life. Why? The teachings of the Judeo- Christian heritage are the foundation of our moral lives, how we conceive of virtues and vices, and what gives life itself its meaning.

These “desecrators” do not want us to believe we are creatures of God, a God who revealed the Ten Commandments to Moses and incarnated Himself into human history through Jesus Christ. “Cancel culture” means canceling history. Cancel history, and you erase the revelation of God through the prophets, Christ, and His Church. Catholics believe the Holy Spirit has been present with us throughout the life of the Church.

Thus, Catholics revere the past, the “sacred deposit of faith.” “Wokeness” is nothing other than those congratulating themselves for their scorn toward the people of faith and those Americans who are proud of our nation and its founding.

The desecrators tell lies about American history while using racist terms to accuse people of a light skin color of racism. Such self-contradictory nonsense would have been put to death long ago by an educated and honest media. But our media is the product of an educational system that long ago came under the control of radical thinking.

All people of faith and people of good will must make their voices heard. We can no longer be intimidated by threats of shaming or the fear of being “canceled.”

We ought to use symbols to represent our values to everyone we meet or pass by. For example, what would happen if the millions who vote to protect life put an American flag in the front yard on election day? Imagine the impact if all pro-life Christians wore a cross or crucifix on their clothing whenever they left the house. What would happen is this: the arrogant left, who praise themselves as “progressives,” would suddenly realize they are in the minority. They would also realize that the propaganda being streamed by the media is falling on deaf ears.

There are many reasons for hope for our Church and nation. Despite the attempt at media blackout, we are seeing uprisings against school boards, against unnecessary mask mandates, and against celebrities using their notoriety to spread lies.

Who cares anymore about the Oscars, the Golden Globes, or any platforms given to entertainers to attack the police, the military, the family, marriage, innocent life, our nation, and the Church? CNN has been reduced to a bare blip in the Nielsen ratings. On the positive side, conservative and Christian radio continues to expand its audience. Conservative national gatherings like CPAC and Faith and Freedom are growing exponentially.

We do not place our hope in any one person, political or religious. We know the future will be shaped by the prayers and efforts of a people united by the wisdom and love of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. But this people has only recently been awakened from a slumber, a detachment from the public world where schools and municipalities are managed.

We can no longer think only of ourselves and the well-being of family and friends. That narrow focus has allowed the levers of power to be taken over by the desecrators. We have only just begun the effort to take the power back, and that effort will take years. We urge our readers and all Legatus members to join the resistance to the desecrators.

DEAL W. HUDSON, PH.D., is co-author of The Desecrators: Defeating the Cancel Culture Mob and Reclaiming One Nation Under God (TAN Books, 2022). He also hosts Church and Culture on the Ave Maria Radio Network. Hudson is the former editor of Crisis magazine and former head of Catholic outreach for the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush. A convert to Catholicism at the age of 34, Hudson taught philosophy for 15 years before entering the world of Catholic publishing and politics.