IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray
# 314
June 30, 2025
“The 4th – Creeping Danger”
Perhaps no day is more seminal to this discussion as “The 4th of July.” The fireworks, parades and allegiant celebrations aside, nothing is more tentative than the freedom that Americans take for granted every day. Every day, you ask? Yes.
Daily plans vary among us, but no entity places unreasonable limits on our activities. We work, take care of our homes and children, travel for leisure, and save for retirement. Nothing out of the ordinary for us.
Yet, if you contrast today’s atmosphere with that of my generation, the stark differences defy logic. This did not happen by accident. This happened by design. The ugly truth is that it was forecasted the same year that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The date was November 23rd. The year was 1963.
Yet the groundwork was shouted out in public barely three weeks before Kennedy’s election in the fall of 1960 — before an international audience. This is how it went down.
On 12 October 1960, head of the United Nations Filipino Delegation to the Lorenzo Sumulong spoke in defense of “the peoples of Eastern Europe and elsewhere which have been deprived of the free exercise of their civil and political rights and which have been swallowed up, so to speak, by the Soviet Union.”
Research affirms that, upon hearing this, Nikita Khrushchev (First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union) quickly came to the rostrum, being recognized on a point of order.
There he demonstratively, in a theatrical manner, brushed Sumulong aside, with an upward motion of his right arm—without physically touching him—and began a lengthy denunciation of Sumulong, branding him (among other things) as “a jerk, a stooge, and a lackey”, and a “toady of American imperialism” and demanded Assembly President Frederick Boland (Ireland) call Sumulong to order. Boland did caution Sumulong to “avoid wandering out into an argument which is certain to provoke further interventions,” but permitted him to continue speaking and sent Khrushchev back to his seat.
According to some sources, Khrushchev pounded his fists on his desk in protest as Sumulong continued to speak, and at one point picked up his shoe and banged the desk with it. Some other sources report a different order of events: Khrushchev first banged the shoe then went to the rostrum to protest.
In any event, the scene brings to mind a quote from Shakespeare. “Me thinks thou dost protest too much.” Actually a misquote from Hamlet, this statement is widely used to criticize someone whose words defend an indefensible position.
Why take this up in anticipation of July 4th? I do so due highlight the dangers that began to infest this nation more than 60 years ago. Oh, I can hear the flippant comments from many. They will brush off my statements, yet a glaring danger is among us. Consider the facts below.
In 1963, the Communist Party set goals for the USA.
Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.
Get control of the schools and teachers’ associations. Soften the curriculum.
Gain control of all student newspapers
Infiltrate the press.
Gain control of key positions in radio, TV and pictures (movies).
Eliminate al laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and press.
Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography, degeneracy, and promiscuity as “normal, natural and healthy.
Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion.
Eliminate prayer or any phrase of religious expression in the schools on the grounds that it violates the principal of “separation of church and state.”
Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate and old-fashioned.
Discredit the American founding fathers as selfish aristocrats (and racists).
Belittle American culture and discourage the teaching of American history.
Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
Infiltrate and gain control of big business and unions.
Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as mental health or social problems.
Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents.
Repeal the Connally Reservation, allowing the World Court jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
Take in sum, these goals are not only sobering, but they also invoke a visceral reaction in those of us old enough to remember life before the 1960s. If many of them sound familiar, it is because —- day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year — they are recognized as current conditions today.
From experience, I can tell you that accurate American history has not been taught in American high schools for decades. If you doubt me, dig up a history book used post-World War II and see for yourself.
President John F. Kennedy was a patriot, a veteran, a war hero in World War II, and a staunch defender of American liberty. Sympathetic to the underprivileged and underserved, he voiced an interest to remedy the shortcomings of government. Once feared because of his faith, he stepped forth to stand for America, not the Catholic Pope, as many had feared. Sadly, his hopes were not to be.
When President Lyndon Johnson ushered in his “Great Society,” women were financially compensated for having children without a husband. At that point, what had always been a strong family unit in the black community began to slide into what we see today – the majority of black homes without a father. There is no way to sufficiently describe the damage wrought by the absence of a father in the home. The goal of dismantling the family unit? We are seeing it witness the results today.
This is just one example of how the Communist Party continues to chip away at America. Like a beaver, it takes a bit over time. Akin to Frank Sinatra’s song, “High Hopes ‘Just what makes that little old ant think he’ll move that rubber tree plant…’” Unlike the ant, the Communists embrace Low Hopes.
Will we, as individuals, recognize what is happening and thwart this ominous plan? To negate decades of teaching lies and bring truth to Americans is a tall task. Sadly, as much as I want this to happen, it will take more than one person to begin to counter the damage already done.
This list gives voice to the dangers posed by today’s left. No matter the arguments from the apologists and the leftists, it is what it is. I encourage you to read the list again. Share it.
As you prepare to celebrate the 4th of July, remember that freedom – while precious – is not free. A view of Arlington National Cemetery or the Normandy American Cemetery only gives a glimpse of the numbers who died defending freedom. Truthfully, it is impossible to fully appreciate the losses.
Recently, a veteran made a statement that said it all. “If we let Communism take over this country, then every soldier died in vain.”
Pay attention. Fight back against the have systematic brainwashing of our young people to hate their country. A daunting task? Yes But, in sum, there are more of us than them. Defend your country. Defend your schools. Defend your places of worship. Defend your family. Complacency is our dangerous mindset.
Do more than think about it.