Political ideologies in America are “at war with one another,” says Ben Varlese, a military veteran and global security expert, who blames the news media for stirring up that hate. That happens, he says, because the left-wing media delivers a one-sided view in which "right-wingers" are blamed for everything bad that happens.
He tells American Family News the news media, including social media, are at the center of "driving opposing viewpoints" and this, he laments, is “driving radicalization to a degree.”
That stinging observation is categorically denied by the Left, which would never accept responsibility for the actions it causes, he warns, and that denial is part of the complicity that spurs "radicalization," including domestic terrorism.
“Everything they told us to stop saying against Islamic extremists," he observes, "is what they are now doing to their political opposition.”
One example, the security expert says, is how violent the Left has become over the transgender issue.
“Look at the verbiage used: the trans community is 'under attack,' " he says, which AFN has pointed out after the Covenant School shooting in Nashville, Tenn. In that tragic shooting, the news media twisted the attack by a transgender killer to accuse others of wrongdoing and make the killer a victim.
Such verbiage is used to shape people’s thoughts, Varlese explains, and the result could incite violence because there is a feeling of "victimhood" that actually ratchets up the violence.
"We’re definitely seeing more and more mass shootings by so-called trans or non-binary individuals, aren’t we?” he says.
The Left is “fueling the fire” to illicit a negative response to conservatism, he concludes, because conservatives are the ones who are allegedly promoting violence.
“By their own definitions of what constitutes domestic terrorism,” he argues, “the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Department of Homeland Security need to take a hard look at the other side.”
There are other ways to promote aggression towards other people, he recognizes. The 2020 riots in U.S. cities were perpetrated by the Left but were blamed on right-wing extremism. In 2021, the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol convinced the Left that conservatives were violent and dangerous, and had attempted an "insurrection" against their own country.
"Everything surrounding the events that unfolded on January 6," Varlese points out, "were grand attempts to publicly change people’s perceptions [of conservatism]. If you’re a certain political ideology, you are now a dangerous threat, right?”
So where does this ideological split, driven by the news media, leave us in 2023? The cycle will go on and on, he predicts.
“It’s only a matter of time before something resonates with one of our disenfranchised youths, or someone suffering from a mental disorder or depression,” he warns. “And when it does, the results will be used to vilify the other side and the cycle continues.”
Unless both sides of the political spectrum are held to account, Varlese questions whether this cycle will ever end.
