Opinion: The immigration protests are a catalyst for the Lunatic Left to win the bigger battle
By Gary Abernathy
The nation is at a tipping point. The traditional America we have long cherished is in danger of being lost forever.
It is not hyperbole to claim that our country has reached a tipping point. The recent events involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) attempt to enforce the law, and the opposition resistance trying to stop it – shockingly led in many cases by high-ranking elected officials – is approaching anarchist revolution territory.
The shooting of resistance participant Renee Good in Minneapolis has brought the current state of affairs into sharp relief. While some state and local officials are attempting to blame President Trump and/or ICE for her death, the fact is that when elected officials encourage aggressive resistance against law enforcement officers – while at the same time portraying such officers as masked invaders – the responsibility is theirs.
“We had whistles. They had guns,” complained a woman involved in the protests identified as Good’s wife. Yes, and the average person would conclude that using whistles to confront and agitate people who legally carry guns for law enforcement purposes is a bad plan.
Good’s death is a tragedy for herself, for her loved ones, for her children, for everyone really. Some will empathize with her because they are in agreement politically, while everyone else will empathize because we are empathetic people.
But she would be alive today had she not been misled into thinking that protecting illegal immigrants and obstructing law enforcement was some kind of noble calling. She would absolutely be alive today.
Equally tragic, nationwide, is that the far-left (formerly mainstream) media has finally succeeded in normalizing the Lunatic Left. Their decades of treating the positions, statements and actions of the Lunatic Left as a legitimate philosophy to be taken seriously has finally paid off and contributed more than any other factor to the tipping point we have reached.
“Lunatic Left” might at first seem like a harsh phrase. There are in our society both liberals and conservatives, and each side has their extremists. Most mainstream liberals are not socialists or lunatics. Most mainstream conservatives and Trump supporters are not Nazis or racists.
My definition of “traditional America” encompasses a wide range of people and beliefs — right, left, all races, different faiths, different viewpoints within a reasonable spectrum of common sense. Most Americans live within that common sense spectrum.
But the faction of liberals who behave as though they have lost their minds, thrown common sense to the wind, abandoned logical thinking to indulge in behaviors seemingly designed only to agitate and create chaos can accurately be described as political lunatics. Their influence — thanks to the far-left news and entertainment media, which I criticize so often because they are more powerful than any political party — is outsized compared to their numbers, but their numbers have grown to startling proportions.
Who makes up the Lunatic Left? They are mostly Democrats, of course, but, as noted, far from all Democrats. While polls may show most Democrats don’t favor ICE’s aggressive enforcement (mainly because Trump is behind it), they’re not out protesting or risking their own safety to protect illegal immigrants. Most Democrats are not part of the Lunatic Left, which at one time was a small, mostly harmless club.
Its leading proponent and most visible representative was Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. When it was just Sanders, it was almost cute. Crazy Bernie. Smart guy, sometimes entertaining, but a socialist to the core, although he and his media allies prefer to brand it as “democratic socialism,” as though that takes the edge off.
Far-left dogma run amok
But Sanders’ brand of far-left politics began to spread, with the media’s help, increasingly coupled with other far-left nonsense from the whacko left, things like:
insisting on usage of someone’s preferred pronouns despite clear evidence of which one should apply, and pretending a boy can turn into a girl and a girl can turn into a boy;
the notion that the United States is “stolen land” occupied by the evil white race whose modern-day members must live in shame and a state of constant apology;
using gibberish like “birthing people” to describe pregnant women;
directing trillions in tax dollars to trade our most reliable, effective and affordable energy sources for weak “alternatives” in the name of saving humanity from destruction by a moving-target climate catastrophe direly predicted but never materializing.
referring to the enforcement of immigration and deportation laws as “bigotry” and “terrorism,” and comparing ICE agents to Nazis.
Most Americans know those ideas are ludicrous. The news and entertainment media, however, repeated them over and over, normalized them, produced sympathetic stories about them and shamed anyone who refused to wear the crazy hat. Far-left elected officials have made these Bizarro World ideas their political platforms.
This is insanity. This is not normal. But when America finally falls off the tipping point, we could well end up landing in their direction. How? Because stirring up passions about the enforcement of illegal immigration laws is designed to drive people to the polls in November — the beneficiaries being far-left candidates who will reinstate and implement the entire radical left agenda far beyond immigration issues.
The cult of elected officials sharing this madness has grown far beyond Bernie Sanders. Other members of Congress, governors, city officials — while not all share every belief, they share enough political insanity to qualify as part of the Lunatic Left.
Beyond them is a collection of hand-picked appointed officials — even in law enforcement in certain “sanctuary cities” — who, when they carry out or enforce the law, are apologetic about doing so.
Countless radical-left true believers in the news and entertainment media fuel the fire daily. They are using their considerable weight to tip the country in their direction.
Why are they platformed by our huge media conglomerates? This is not about free speech – let them rail away on X and other social media sites. But corporate America is selling ad time to provide the Lunatic Left with platforms to reach millions, stir rebellion, celebrate resistance against the government and law enforcement, and divide a nation.
In recent years, the consequences of living in this Lunatic Left fantasy world were mostly annoying. Now, it’s turning deadly. Our media outlets produce multiple stories repeating organizers’ instructions on how to evade ICE, how to “peacefully” protest, how to impede their efforts. They portray them as brave Americans standing up to authority. Trump-haters susceptible to the unhinged rhetoric swell the ranks and take to the streets.
Rebels in search of a cause
What’s happened is at least partly due to this: Most of today’s media members have long idealized the civil rights movement and anti-war protests of the 1960s. They romanticize the reporters who covered Watergate and brought down a president (the fact that he was a conservative Republican was the icing on the cake!).
Many of the older ones were themselves part of the hippie culture and yearn for the days when big things happened to change the world. Many of the younger ones want to be like the older ones. They’re liberals without a cause, desperately seeking their life-fulfilling purpose.
For a while, it seemed like maybe the alphabet soup LGBTQ movement might suffice, but the general public really didn’t get excited about it. That wasn’t going to lead to a tipping point. Then came the “trans” craze, but most people were even less moved by those stories than the LGBTQ narratives. No tipping point there.
The “No Kings” protests never made sense. Everyone, left and right, agrees that we don’t want a king, and Trump is not one, regardless of what his opponents say. Not the stuff of tipping points.
Now – finally – they’ve found a cause that might do the trick. Protect the illegal immigrants!
Legal immigration is a beautiful thing, something all Americans should support. Legal immigration is a bedrock of this nation. Illegal immigration is an affront to all who have gone through the legal process, a drain on our resources and a danger to our communities, not because they are all bad (most are not) but because we have a responsibility to our fellow citizens to vet everyone who wants to live here.
Past administrations, but especially the Biden administration, policed the border with all the effort of a scarecrow guarding a cornfield, allowing millions of illegal immigrants — whom the media merely calls “immigrants” or “refugees,” without the crucial and accurate “illegal” qualifier— to pour into the U.S. and take up residence, invitation or not.
Still, ICE was allowed to do its work, as evidenced by this 2016 story below by CNN — yes, CNN — on ICE carrying out its mission in a so-called sanctuary city. It’s an amazingly positive and flattering story about ICE doing its job.
What changed? Well, what changed is the rise of the Lunatic Left. Now that we finally have a president who is carrying through on his promise to enforce the law, the Lunatic Left thinks it has found its 1960s-style cause, the movement that could lead to the tipping point.
Never mind that the civil rights movement was a case of fighting for legal citizens who were being denied their rights. The anti-war movement also involved legal citizens demanding an end to a long, costly, dead-end war in Southeast Asia. This is not remotely like either situation, as clear-thinking people know.
Protecting illegal immigrants and opposing the enforcement of laws passed by Congress is not the hill to die on. It is not akin to the civil rights movement, Vietnam war protests or Tiananmen Square. It is tragic that so many Americans have been so easily and tragically misled into believing that it is.
In addition to the far-left media, the Lunatic Left is led by members of Congress, governors and mayors who themselves are products of Lunatic Left indoctrination.
But elected leadership at the state level and in many blue state cities increasingly represent the radicalized far-left/socialist movement in the U.S. After the Reneee Good shooting, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz threatened to call in the National Guard. To do what? Go to war with ICE? It sounded like it.
“We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed if necessary,” warned Walz. “I remind you, a warning order is a heads-up for folks. Minnesota will not allow our community to be used as a prop in a national political fight.”
Some illegals have done the right thing
Finding a way to assuage the white guilt they’ve been shamed for years into carrying, far-left white women in particular seem to be leading the charge to protect illegal immigrants — tracking ICE as it moves from place to place, warning illegal immigrants of ICE’s whereabouts, impeding the ability of ICE officers to do their jobs, blocking traffic, blowing their car horns, tooting trombones, beating drums and so on.
Throngs have attempted to force their way into hotels where they think ICE agents are housed. Moms in SUVs are blocking the road so ICE vehicles cannot proceed. Protesters are confronting ICE and other law enforcement agencies, attempting to provoke them into behavior that can be recorded on their ever-present smartphones and posted immediately to social media.
The result? Surprise, surprise – people are getting hurt! Whistles versus guns is a loser! But common sense is a rare commodity. The tipping point is here.
One might think that among illegal immigrants, watching their legal citizen neighbors put their lives on the line to guard their secrecy, some might say, “Hey, wait. I appreciate the thought, but I don’t want you to put your freedom or even your life on the line to protect me. I’m in this country illegally. I’ll do the right thing and turn myself in. Don’t risk yourself or your family for me. What’s happening is my fault, not yours.”
Perhaps there are those who have said such things. Good for them. Homeland Security says that about 1.9 million illegal immigrants self-deported in 2025. That’s encouraging. But others are apparently willing to stay in hiding and try to avoid detection, protected by foolhardy legal residents risking arrest, injury or even loss of life.
Self-deportation is a positive sign, but it is not keeping pace with self-delusion. Over the weekend, tens of thousands protested in cities and towns around the country in support of illegal immigrants and in opposition to law enforcement. Most normal thinking people living in cities racked with crime would welcome outside help, be it from ICE or the National Guard. What we are witnessing is not the result of normal thinking.
Take a few minutes to check out this list of just some of those who have been taken off the streets by ICE in Minneapolis. Included are people convicted of murder, manslaughter, rape, child rape, various drug crimes and much more. No, most illegal immigrants don’t commit such crimes. But those who do are mixed into the general population. Asking for a show of hands from the worst offenders doesn’t work.
When people claim that illegal immigrants are being arrested who have not committed crimes, that is incorrect. To be clear, entering the U.S. illegally and overstaying visas are crimes, despite what some try to say. Proving additional criminal activity is not necessary.
Christians and law enforcement
Some pro-illegal immigrant advocates cite Christian values as part of their defense. It often seems that those who spout such theories are less concerned in practicing Christianity themselves than they are in trying to play “gotcha” with Christians who believe in law and order.
Often cited is Deuteronomy 10:18-19: "He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.”
And Matthew 25:35: "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me."
Indeed, there is nothing contradictory about loving “foreigners” but believing that laws should be upheld. God loves us all. He does not condone all behavior. We can love, feed and clothe illegal immigrants as we arrange for their transportation out of the country.
As for the Matthew verse, it’s a stretch to say the “stranger” cited is akin to an illegal immigrant, but even so, there’s no contradiction — yes, we humanely care for them, and even visit them in prison, as the law is carried out.
What many Christians who cite the Bible seem to miss are biblical admonitions to submit ourselves to earthly authorities.
Romans 13:4-5: “For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.”
In other words, don’t impede or resist ICE agents or any other law enforcement.
An excellent article by Kentucky Pastor Bob Russell (shared with me by Daryl Mount, minister at the Pricetown (Ohio) Church of Christ) examining biblical teaching as it relates to the current chaos can be found here.
A generation of socialists
Through years of our most-read and most-watched media outlets becoming infiltrated — that’s the word — by far-left political activists wearing “journalist” labels, a growing number of Americans have grown up being indoctrinated by the following beliefs:
Capitalism is bad, socialism is good.
It is unfair that some people have more money or material wealth than others.
White people are racists and enjoy unfair advantages.
Patriotism is misguided because the United States is inherently evil.
Let’s examine what Marxist socialism believes, because “democratic socialism” is just a meaningless phrase to cover for socialist beliefs:
Society evolves from feudalism to capitalism to socialism to communism, meaning that right now the U.S. is ready to move from the second step to the third, on the way to the fourth.
There are currently those who own production and those who are employed by those owners, but eventually the employees will stage a revolution against the owners.
Private business ownership should end and businesses should become collectively owned by society, eliminating profit motives.
Ultimately, former owners and capitalist structures will be suppressed and dismantled, and society will be reorganized into a system of “class rule.”
Goods and services will be distributed under the philosophy, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”
You can hear all or parts of these beliefs expressed every time you hear Sanders and his acolytes as well as most of the Lunatic Left discuss their vision for America.
The protests raging in Minneapolis and around the country are not going to be quelled by the Lunatic Left suddenly coming to their collective senses and returning to their homes and lives. Our far-left media is not going to help quench the fire. Instead, they’re filling their tanks with more gas to ignite more blazes.
It is ironic that the left sometimes complains about Trump ignoring norms, or Trump himself being normalized. For all his annoying and often counterproductive personality traits, Trump’s core actions represent longstanding norms:
Secure our borders.
Enforce the law.
Adhere to traditional views of men and women.
Encourage capitalism.
Beat back the “woke” indoctrination of schools, universities and society in general that attempts to quell free speech and thought and replace them with the language and thoughts of political correctness.
Salute the flag and encourage patriotism.
Those are our longstanding norms. Those are historic traditional American values. When people discuss the MAGA movement and phrase their complaints in the form of accusations that Trump is “trampling norms” or “gutting institutions,” what they’re really upset about is that Trump is returning to a pre-progressive/liberal takeover of America and turning back the clock to eliminate bloated bureaucracies designed to administer progressive social programs.
Prelude to a bigger fight
Part of the Lunatic Left’s motivation is their hatred of Trump. But the other part is the opportunity to fulfill their dream of turning the U.S. into a far-left progressive/socialist society. They realize that part of the population is filled with Trump rage fueled by the far-left news and entertainment media, and that hatred can be played upon, nurtured and channeled into a revolution.
Through the misguided devotion to defending and protecting illegal immigrants, the Lunatic Left has found the fuse to ignite the bigger battle.
What the Lunatic Left seeks is a revolution that topples traditionalism once and for all. That might happen through surrender. It might happen at the ballot box. But if it requires actual war, that seems to be fine with the Lunatic Left. They are angry and they are violent. Let’s be clear: Physically interfering with the legal activities of law enforcement is not peaceful protest.
Violence should not be what anyone wants as an end result of all this. The Lunatic Left might not care, but most Americans across the normal spectrum should, and will. But the only way to avoid such an otherwise inevitable result is to stand up for our communities, line up (vocally and spiritually) beside law enforcement when they are conducting lawful activities, and show up at the polls in November to douse this fire.
The worst outcome is that America’s day in the sun may be coming to an end, destroyed from within as long predicted. A series of Lunatic Left victories this November could be the last barrier to fall before the America we have known turns into something unrecognizable.
In July, Americans will observe 250 years since declaring our independence and freedom. One of two things will happen:
Citizens will stand proudly together to salute our flag, marvel at the fireworks, celebrate our freedoms, and unite in prayer and gratitude while asking for God’s blessings in the coming years.
We will be a nation torn asunder by the Lunatic Left’s determination to harass our law enforcement and endanger their neighbors and communities in order to aid and abet millions of people who ignored our laws, illegally entered our nation (or overstayed their legal visit) and refuse even now to leave, despite their presence roiling the country — all in pursuit of the larger objective of installing the far-left liberal/socialist agenda and destroying the last vestige of traditional America.
We should hope for the former, but prepare for the latter. The tipping point is here.
Yep. Thanks!
I hope never ever to hear or see you, an apologist for a demented fascist, on PBS News Hour.