Hattie’s Hangout: The dust on the history books lead to severe consequences

Cancel culture is nothing new. History is repeating itself. 

But I am not surprised. Generation Z threw aside history books for their phones, and we are now reaping the consequences.  

 Politics flows downstream from culture. Policies and executive action often happen in response to the rising wave of culture’s screaming demands. If you want to influence the world, you must siege control of the culture. 

Communist leader Mao Zedong knew this when he launched the cultural revolution in 1966, looking to reinstate his power and pedestal in the Chinese government. The influence of Mao on the youth of China charged them to exonerate the resistance against his communist regime.

Staunch supporters of Mao and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution grew, forming a military-like group called the Red Guards. Their goal – suffocate the “four olds: Old customs, old culture, old habits and old ideas.” This group of extremists attacked and terrorized China’s elderly population and the intellectuals opposing a totalitarian rule over China. 

The effects of Mao’s cultural revolution dug deep roots into the culture of China and is still seen as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) remains in control.

Silencing. Lambasting. Canceling. 

Why does this behavior sound familiar? The history books give us the answer, but many refused to read and learn from the past.

Now we see a strong wave of cancel culture on almost every social media platform, performing egregious acts of bully-like behavior that scarily mirrors the motives of the Red Guard movement. Many business owners have felt the heat of this vocal brigade as they see several supporters turn their backs and make extreme claims on their character because they disagree with the person and their values.

Recently, the company TakingCaraBabies is one example out of many that faced numerous threats against her character and her years of reliable service. Based solely on what was said against her, one would presume she committed murder and got away with it. However, Cara Dumaplin, who has spent her career devoted to neonatal nursing and helping new parents get their babies to sleep, faced character assault when one blogger noted she donated to the Trump campaign.

Don’t like who they voted for? Canceled. Disagree with how they use their own money? Canceled. Disappointed in their refusal to bow down to your ideals? Cancel them. 

Many times, “accountability” is cited as the reason for their canceling tactics. But now I must ask, who are they holding them accountable to? Christians must be discerning of the secular world using biblical language to twist their own agenda, for God is the only one we aim to be accountable to – not sinful man. Unfortunately, people use the term accountable as a means to control and convince that cancelling them is the only way to find unity and peace.

For those wanting to preserve democracy, cancel culture feeds totalitarianism, which ultimately destroys freedom. Silencing one side because you disagree will never provide liberty – all it does is stir up tyranny. This wave in culture of repressive tolerance suffocates the idea of free thought, simulating the behaviors of Mao’s regime that looked to expel those who they deemed “impure.”

There is no tolerance and unity in cancel culture, in fact this spurs a greater intolerant society dogmatically opposing other voices, blotting out their names and defacing their character. 

C.S. Lewis writes in the Abolition of Man, “In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are hacked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.” 

When a culture roots its virtue in man and not God, the fruit will not be nourishing, and the consequences are lethal.

Hattie Troutman is the Editor-In-Chief. Follow her on Twitter at @hattrout.