By Jim Killebrew
Send a link to a friend
[February 28, 2014]
history there have been despots and tyrants who have taken over
countries or large people-groups. When the take-over was complete
the person in charge had achieved almost absolute power to impose
personal will over the majority of people in that country or
people-group. We call them by various names like Czar, ruler,
dictator, Chairman, Chancellor, Führer, King or Supreme Leader.
Governments created by these types of people are referred to as
totalitarian, Monarchs, autocracies or Realms. These types of
leaders and governments were formed in many different ways;
sometimes by quickly using force to topple those in power. The least
violent way has been the gradual changing of the government by
working through the government process from the inside to accomplish
the goal of complete take-over.
The coup d'état: This is simply a strike against the state to
displace the government with another force, usually from forces,
sometimes military if they are willing and complicit, but more
often, political, inside the current government. Either way, these
following steps are usually similar steps that have been observed
throughout history that paves the way for these takeovers. A look at
those past countries and their leaders has displayed a pattern.
1. They implemented a new Ideology. Generally the first step was the
establishment of an ideological premise that seemed logical and
offered solutions to the problems outlined in the society or current
government. This helped people get on board with new ideas to accept
the fundamental change that was to come. Generally that new ideology
contained some target group who had to be eliminated from society
because they were blamed for the ills experienced by the society.
Those groups have generally been religiously oriented groups whose
allegiance is directed toward God rather than man. The most recent
example of that was the Jewish culture in the 1930's under the Nazi
2. They used Policies, regulations and laws: A flurry of new
regulations help set the pace for a set of new policies that would
change the way people lived and did business. Policies, regulations
and laws had a tendency to set the standards and bend the practices
into a direction the leaders wanted the people to travel. This was
especially important in the beginning as the new leadership
implemented the policies and laws that would ultimately disarm the
population from any weapons they may have had.
3. They issued Executive orders from the established leader. This
served to circumvent any competing pushback from anyone in authority
who attempted to go a different direction or stand firm on the
status quo. It also helped to deflect any inquiries from other
government officials with their questions about changing practices
that may have been occurring.
4. They created dependent populations. This was a tremendous help in
countries where the people had a part in selecting the government
officials. If the new leader could keep them dependent either at or
below the poverty level they would be beholden to the new leader and
continue to vote for transformation. For longevity rule, it became
necessary for generational poverty with government dependence with
allegiance to the ideology sponsored by the government.
5. They created crisis situations. This was essential; people became
much more compliant when they were in crisis. They grasped
leadership, any leadership that would change or remove the crisis.
6. They controlled crisis through imposed restrictions. Of course
the freer a people had been living; the more difficult it was to
take those freedoms. However, crisis caused people to spend their
capital and freedom was a type of capital they would give away if
the crisis could have been removed from them personally and placed
on the backs of others.
7. They took control of financial institutions. This was a two-edge
sword. They believed all financial institutions like banks and
investment firms had to be castigated in order to become the enemy
of the people. If the people could have been taught they were the
victims of the richest citizens of the country it was easier to
bring the institutions under control. Class warfare was a favorite;
pitting the poor against the rich. When the rich land owners and
industry lords were seen as taking the wealth illegally or unjustly,
it gave the poor the authority to move against the rich with
justification for redistributing the wealth.
[to top of second column]
8. They used existing government agencies as
political instruments. This was especially true if the government
agencies were the law enforcement agencies, or the tax collection
agencies. They were ones with specific powers that ultimately
controlled the population that could have been more easily brought
under control if individual assets were confiscated. Through
regulations and special taxes imposed on the people, the government
agencies responsible for implementing the laws and collecting the
taxes became legitimate tools to control the people and their
9. They took control of media outlets to control their message. This
was essential for a less violent take-over. If the media could
become a chorus in-synch with the leader's message, it was easier to
discredit the dissenters' voice as the transformation proceeded.
Tied to that control of media was the redefinition of proper
language. A filtering process for "news" disseminated to the
people-at-large was used to make sure the "right" message was
delivered. That message had to be controlled through "talking
points" issued from the leaders so the message was consistent and in
line with the ideology.
10. They established an internal communication monitoring system. It
was essential to know what people were saying and doing; it made it
easier to know what they were thinking. If every form of their
communication could be monitored to find the trends of dissention,
it became much more flexible in deflecting all opposition.
11. They took over the education system. For sure the new leader had
to re-brand the elementary, secondary and university learning
environments. Curriculum had to be rewritten to conform to the new
message of transformation, teachers and professors had to be
on-board to preach the message and reshape the minds of those who
were in their prime socialization years.
12. They made alliances with outside countries whose ideology was
consistent with the new leaders. It made it much easier for
assimilation, especially as the immigrating groups from other
countries were migrating to the new leader's country.
13. They marginalized or eliminated Christianity from the citizens.
Karl Marx called religion the "Opium of the people."
Judeo-Christianity offers the antithesis to totalitarianism and
teaches love, peace, tolerance, forgiveness and allegiance to God
alone; this life-style is practiced by Christians. Judeo-Christians
look beyond the political structures of the day and place their
faith in Christ alone, looking to Him and the work He did on the
cross regarding their personal salvation. Their world-view moved
beyond the current events while they focused their eyes and hearts
toward eternity. For that reason, among others, Christians were more
difficult to control and generally were eliminated as much as
If we look at the history of the world we find these steps have been
systematically implemented as the new leaders took over. This was
especially true when the take-over was meant to happen without
outright fighting in the streets. This pattern can be seen in all
the great historical empires of the past: Greece, Rome, and Europe.
More recently, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Soviet Union, Cuba
and many of the Middle Eastern and African countries. There is a lot
to be gained from a study of history.
[By JIM KILLEBREW]
Click here to respond to the editor about this