The Los Angeles riots and the roots of the left’s violence

OPINION:

Study of the Los Angeles riots of 1992 revealed what we now know clearly: Progressive-left social philosophies always cause rampant, anti-communal violence. They do so by nature. Since then, the underlying design of that tragedy has been honed and refined.

Now, Americans are subject to carefully orchestrated violent upheavals perpetrated by elite ideologues invested in carefully forged organizational and funding machines committed to systematically undoing of the ideals of peace and order longed for in all civilizations.

What eventually came to be known about the LA riots of 1992 (and what is known openly and clearly now) is this: The asymmetric warfare currently being waged against America and Americans — against city, state and federal efforts to keep peace — is not coming from actions of a few misguided or malevolent individuals. It is the application of a clearly designed and heavily funded strategic design.

What is less pondered, but critical, is how advocates and leaders of these enemies of America and the West are formed. What causes them to invest in harm against innocents with such casual indifference?

The philosophies and ideologies that have create these bloodthirsty blackguards such as George Soros, Ezra Levin, Leah Greenberg, Jeremy Haile, Angel Padilla and a host of others have been the food of higher education for decades. Only in the last 12 years or so have they begun to show their intrinsic code of determined violence and destructive intent against America and the West.  

It is the worldview that positions human reason as the ultimate arbiter of social order that in all cases engenders conflict, confrontation, violence, destruction and vengeance when practically applied. This is known beyond all doubt in all progressive movements, from Black Lives Matter to Gaza crusaders to environmental defenders to, now, the cookie-cutter, anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests.

The ontological roots of progressive violence

Conservatism and progressivism diverge right at their respective starting points. Views on the right originate in a faith stance, affirming  a transcendent origin to human life and life in the world, and believe social justice arises from realizing original transcendent ideals of care and beneficence.

Views on the left, by contrast, look to human reason as the wellspring for resolving social challenges. Conservatives root the hope for social order in an original divine ideal, base and dynamic of harmony and love for shaping human society. Progressives reject such humility and trust, and instead place human reason as the supreme source for defining and resolving social challenges.

This reliance on reason predicates that existing social arrangements are flawed constructs to be dismantled, and achieving “social justice” requires identifying and eliminating subgroups deemed obstacles to progress. This imperative to uproot perceived injustice inherently licenses and perpetuates violence in pursuit of ideological goals.

This was eventually discovered as underlying the 1992 LA riots, and in the intervening years, it became codified into a highly refined, strategic design to destroy America and the West. 

Contemporary echoes: Violence in today’s LA protests

The seed of violence in the ideologies of 1992 that matured into the woke roots of current savagery has been ignored. The Marines can save some lives and some property, but the roots of this human malevolence must be made barren.

The current LA protests are infused with evil purpose. Rioters there are throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at law enforcement, setting vehicles and buildings ablaze, defacing public property and even driving vehicles into officers, including Border Patrol agents. 

This ongoing violence aligns with the progressive left’s reason-centric ontology and the hubris of its self-crowned elite. This evil is not the result of individual moral failings, but of deeply ingrained philosophies that legitimize forceful upheaval to achieve its aims.

Why conservative social philosophy opposes violence

In contrast, conservative social philosophy seeks to substantiate the transcendent inherent ideals of social harmony, love and community cohesion. The right eschews the instrumental use of violence, instead emphasizing incremental change and respect for established values and social structures as expressions of a higher moral order. Thus, violence is not an inherent or accepted means, but is seen as deviance.

The conservative view accepts societal imperfections but affirms the responsibility to work to realize the ideals of creation that human reason must respect rather than supplant. This framework offers a path to avoid the perpetual cycle of conflict that characterizes progressivist efforts and causes deep human suffering.

•Frank Kaufmann is president of The Settlement Project and a co-author of “Woke Ideology, Critique and Counter Proposal.”