They shall beat their swords into plowshares,

And their spears into pruning hooks;

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

Neither shall they learn war anymore.

– Isaiah 2:4

Introduction

Political assassinations, war and rumors of war, plagues, natural disasters. Some say that the eschaton is close at hand. Others, that we are witnessing the death of our republic – perhaps even the death of the entire Western civilization that has dominated the world for over five centuries.

Among those they trust, in hushed voices — or loudly, brashly, and militantly in the digital world (and increasingly the domain of one bleeds into the other) – everyone asks each other what must be done, or presents their own theories as to a solution to the American Crisis.

Conservatives, Christians, Western men – men rooted by culture and blood in the European civilization which reconstituted the Romans and then exceeded them in glory – seem to be under attack from a vicious, violent, and barbaric enemy that loathes them for their very identity.

On the Left, the terror of their worst nightmares – the villain against which they have built the entire artifice of their ideology as a deterrence – namely fascism — an evil that was thought to be vanquished and sealed in another dimension of mythical beasts, has, shade by shade, materialized from a phantom into an ever-palpable reality inexplicably, as if summoned by an evil curse.

But, there is in fact no mystery about it. One would only assume as much. Because the allure of fascism — whether personified by virile, dynamic Futurist art, syncopated military marches in impeccable, intimidating uniforms, or by its various evocative runic symbols (ie, the fasces, and even that other, unutterable symbol itself) — expresses an innate and primal masculine force. That is, of the protector, of the guardian. The father, the Fatherland. The sword, the rifle, the fiery bombs of Mars, which turn fields of skyscrapers into desolate wastelands, and by doing so protect the weak, the mothers and children, the land itself by which we are sustained.

This primal force boils in the veins of the men of the West. This force causes in men an inescapable urge to bind themselves together. To become strong. To defend themselves and their kin. Or, if given over entirely to their worst instincts, to go even further and to repay blood for blood.

The source of these sentiments can be understood, but the effects of acting upon them imprudently have not produced much in the way of anything positive. When Americans have attempted to organize on these grounds, they have achieved nothing but embarrassing and incarcerating themselves, and ultimately giving the government further grounds to suppress such organizations in the future. Militia groups, or other far-right groups such as the “Proud Boys” or Oath Keepers, engage in criminal conspiracies or street violence and are crushed by the State. Or, when they fail to do so on their own accord, the State infiltrates their ranks with federal agents, under whose influence they are entrapped and destroyed.

Not a single one of these militias has ever accomplished anything of value. When did they achieve a political victory? Have they overthrown the government — or any municipality, for that matter – and enacted one that is more just? Have they ever changed the policy of the State? The State follows much the same policies as it always has, and to the extent that anything has changed for the better — if indeed it has to any noticeable degree — this has only been achieved through entirely peaceful political means.

It is not 1776 anymore, nor shall it ever be. We will not go out in a blaze of glory, like our ancestors. Such glorious times are behind us, if glorious times have ever existed at all outside of legend. If you, or anyone you know, is entertaining such foolish and deranged fantasies, tell them to lay down their arms. Perhaps they should also lay down the screens that incessantly whisper such schemes into their unfortunate ears, a sort of babbling self-inflicted auditory hallucination of the kind usually only suffered by psychotics.

The way forward will not be violent, nor will it involve goose-stepping armies or rag-tag militias. It will not be through illegal activities of any kind. Although the enemy is violent, although the enemy has organized armies of their own delusional fools, we must follow Our Lord and turn the other cheek. This defeated the evil ruler of this world — that feeble yet noisy old man — in times past, and it is time for him to be defeated once again.

“Turn the other cheek? Have we not already done enough of this?” they say. “Our enemy wields the State, but we cannot wield the State. They riot, but we cannot riot. They can use the full weight of force, but we must restrain ourselves. They shoot their bullets, and we die from them. We want only justice, not malice. We want only our right to self-defense, and to defend those whom we love, and no more. Must we not strike back? Must we die?”

Ye of little faith. You will not die, for Our Lord has granted us eternal life. You will not be denied justice, for Our Lord is the Lord of justice. You will be defended, for Our Lord will defend us. But only if we are righteous, lest we suffer a like judgment. Have you not read of the times when the Lord defended Israel from Her enemies – as well as when He allowed them to fall into their enemy’s hands, and why?

If your loved ones are being attacked, by all means defend yourself lawfully. And if they are attacking you in your places of worship, by all means hire security or lawfully carry a firearm. Learn self-defense. Vote for “law and order” politicians who will protect your communities. Whatever is necessary and lawful — proceed with due prudence. But simply do not form organized groups with any violent or illegal aims. You are under attack from two sides – from the anarchy of an increasingly violent and lawless society on the ground, as well as from a tyrannical State that turns a blind eye to petty criminals while punishing the law-abiding. Be mindful of both.

Additionally, there is a substantial difference between the fascist organizations of the 1930s that so many on the far-right like to romanticize and the far-right of today. The former were the children of World War I. They were military men — fighters and killers. The far-right today are ironically far more like the communist dissidents of the last century – intellectuals and malcontents writing Substack articles and chattering on podcasts. Sure, they may go to the gym or the gun range, but aside from those in the military who happen to have right-leaning politics, this is essentially a performative imitation of a traditional masculinity of the past that is rarely seen today in its raw and organic form. While there is nothing wrong with becoming physically fit and able to defend oneself, and it is perhaps a positive trend to see these notions of traditional masculinity re-assert themselves, it is far more pragmatic to lean into one’s strengths, rather than to imitate something that one cannot be.

“We have done enough turning the cheek! We must get serious! The enemy is at the gate! Now is the time to act!” So they say.

True. You did more than simply turn the other cheek, you cooperated with the enemy. No more. Now is the time to get serious. True. There is no time left for foolishness. Now is the time to act. True. But our actions are only valuable insofar as they actually achieve something towards our cause.

This is our message to the Right. We, as an organization, are not of the Right. God is not of the Right. He transcends such lowly things as Left or Right, this ideology or that, this political theory or that philosophy. Whatever in them is true is of Him, and whatever in them is false is not of Him. This is His relationship to the mundane.

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Nevertheless, this is a specific message for this political faction of the American Crisis in particular that our circumstances necessitate.

The Army of Peace

Here then is our message. Here then is our answer for what must be done.

We – both those on the Right and Left who wish to solve the American crisis – should not create militias, but rather armies of peace. Not war brigades, but peace brigades.

Organized violence, as we have seen, is fruitless. But organized peace can only bear fruit, whether large or small.

What do we mean by this?

We mean that, while organizations of a militant, violent, or illegal nature are of no demonstrable value, this is not true of organization in and of itself. Organization itself is indeed of value.

In the book Rules for Radicals, Saul Alinsky writes:

From the moment the organizer enters a community he lives, dreams, eats, breathes, sleeps only one thing and that is to build the mass power base of what he calls the army. Until he has developed that mass power base, he confronts no major issues. He has nothing with which to confront anything. Until he has those means and power instruments, his “tactics” are very different from power tactics. Therefore, every move revolves around one central point: how many recruits will this bring into the organization, whether by means of local organizations, churches, service groups, labor unions, corner gangs, or as individuals. The only issue is, how will this increase the strength of the organization. If by losing in a certain action he can get more members than by winning, then victory lies in losing and he will lose.

Change comes from power, and power comes from organization. In order to act, people must get together.

Power is the reason for being of organizations. When people agree on certain religious ideas and want the power to propagate their faith, they organize and call it a church. When people agree on certain political ideas and want the power to put them into practice, they organize and call it a political party. The same reason holds across the board. Power and organization are one and the same.

…

Organizations must be based on many issues. Organizations need action as an individual needs oxygen. The cessation of action brings death to the organization through factionalism and inaction, through dialogues and conferences that are actually a form of rigor mortis rather than life. It is impossible to maintain constant action on a single issue. A single issue is a fatal strait jacket that will stifle the life of an organization. Furthermore, a single issue drastically limits your appeal, where multiple issues would draw in the many potential members essential to the building of a broad, mass-based organization. Each person has a hierarchy of desires or values; he may be sympathetic to your single issue but not concerned enough about that particular one to work and fight for it. Many issues mean many members. Communities are not economic organizations like labor unions, with specific economic issues; they are as complex as life itself.

…

Let us look at what is called process. Process tells us how. Purpose tells us why. But in reality, it is academic to draw a line between them, they are part of a continuum. Process and purpose are so welded to each other that it is impossible to mark where one leaves off and the other begins, or which is which. The very process of democratic participation is for the purpose of organization rather than to rid the alleys of dirt. Process is really purpose.

Saul Alinsky was a community organizer during the civil rights movement. He successfully organized campaigns such as mobilizing Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood to win concessions from city hall and later pressuring Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York, to open more jobs to Black residents. In his book Rules for Radicals, he describes effective tactics for grassroots organizing and building collective power, which can be applied to any cause, not necessarily one that is of a Leftist political persuasion.

In this excerpt, Alinsky explains that once an organization builds its “power” – that is to say manpower, infrastructure, experience, etc. — for one purpose (for example, civil rights), this same machine can easily be re-purposed towards another end (for example, climate change). The Left does this without even thinking. This article writer remembers long ago taking an interest in protecting the beautiful natural environment of my state, and someone recommended that I join the Sierra Club, which was ostensibly a conservationist organization. Looking over its calendar of events, I noticed that a large number of them had to do with totally unrelated left-wing causes, such as LGBT rights. They had an organization at their disposal, so why not use it?

In other words, organization for organization’s sake is something that is indeed worth having. Furthermore, it is difficult to determine precisely what the future may hold. One day, the President is narrowly escaping assassination, and everyone believes that we are headed towards Civil War. The next week, Iran is bombed, the Civil War has still not materialized, and everyone believes we are headed to World War 3 instead. The situation is dynamic and unpredictable, so any organization must be flexible in its aims. But regardless of the situation, having a powerful organization will always be an asset.

These organizations should be directed towards immediate activities that are easy to achieve and have low overhead. They should be perfectly peaceful and lawful. They should have a positive impact on the community. Most importantly, they should be religious in nature.

Activities of the Peace Brigades

The exact activities and short-term objectives of the Peace Brigades are secondary to the existence of the Peace Brigades. The primary goal is to form such an organization, and to be an organization, it must organize things – “Organizations need action as an individual needs oxygen.”

In creating these organizations, we are forming from below the political arm of Christianity. We are forming the second head of the Constantinopolitan eagle.

Each activity must have a few essential properties:

First, it must be explicitly Christian. Though it has a political (or perhaps cultural-political) aim – to re-establish America as a Christian nation – its actual activities need not be political at all whatsoever. But they must be Christian.

Secondly, it must increase the size of the organization. Public activities and events, as well as publications, social media, etc., all naturally come to mind. Every event is an opportunity to increase the organization and recruit more Peace Brigaders.

Thirdly, it must be entirely peaceful, legal, and positive in nature. While this may be disappointing to some to hear, debates, protests, and civil disobedience are not good options. Events should not be “anti-” anything. Instead, they should be pro-Christianity. Optics are very important. We want to draw others to what we represent, by offering them things that are inherently good and will improve their lives — the Ultimate Good being a deepening in our life in Christ. Once the organization has developed credibility, then perhaps certain actions of conscientious objection may in certain cases be appropriate. For example, there was a certain case in which a municipal government erected a statue of Baphomet on government property, and it was defaced by a Christian. This was an appropriate act of civil disobedience. But such acts of disobedience, if they are ever to be used at all, should be the exception and done only after the organization is mature and has the manpower, resources, and goodwill of the community to do so, and only if the optics of such an act will be favorable towards the organization in the eyes of the public.

Our contemporary culture has “pride parades” and other such public displays. That is because these events are spontaneous demonstrations of our cultural values. Every society has them. In a Hindu country, there are parades to their various pagan deities. Under Communism, the Soviets had holidays such as May Day, which celebrated their Communist ideals. It is not sufficient to protest these events. Instead, we must offer an alternative.

It is terrible optics to have the dialectic be “angry Christian protestor with a sign board vs. celebrating rainbow person who vaguely supports being nice to gay people,” which has been the dynamic for some time. Instead, it is much more productive to offer our own set of values, ones that are much more virtuous than the celebration of licentious degeneracy. As an expression of this alternate set of values, we must also offer our own alternate set of cultural festivals.

Here are a few examples of what this may look like:

1. Processions. A traditional Christian custom, processions can be held during major feast days such as the Dormition of the Holy Theotokos, the Exaltation of the Cross, etc. Ideally, there might be one once a month. Christians should process carrying icons, crosses, and banners, and singing hymns such as akathists.

2. Christian History Month. As an alternative to Pride Month, Christians could celebrate “Christian History Month” every June. Roman Catholics are already attempting to do this by making June the month of the Sacred Heart. However, since we live in a predominantly Protestant culture, it might be a better idea to adopt an alternative with broader appeal. Since the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul falls in June, and since Protestants obviously take no issue with the apostles, this may be a more successful campaign. It would resemble something like All Saints’ Day, and people might be encouraged to dress up as their favorite saint from history. It is best to look for ways that these events can be festive, lighthearted, and fun rather than somber affairs.

3. Rosary rallies. These events by Roman Catholics are an excellent example of a public display of faith. Orthodox and Protestants can adapt it to their own tradition — for example, akathists for Orthodox or simply singing hymns for Protestants. An alternative to the rosary using the Jesus Prayer would also be Protestant-friendly and is easier to learn than the prayers of a typical Roman Catholic rosary.

Almsgiving is another excellent activity for the Peace Brigades. If indeed America is to continue to spiral down a chaotic path of uncertainty, then there will be many in desperate need: orphans, widows, the sick and the injured, the hungry and the homeless. The Peace Brigades can organize charitable actions that are explicitly Christian.

Most charities, even Christian charities, simply offer material support for the needy, giving them what they need and sending them on their way with hardly a mention of Christ. But man cannot live on bread alone. The Peace Brigades can care not only for the material needs of the victims of the American Crisis, but also their spiritual needs. In their care packages, alongside food, toiletries, medicine, and vouchers, the Peace Brigades can include prayers, verses from scripture, rosaries or chotki, and directions to the nearest parish. The Brigades can also do their best to support Christian-owned businesses, perhaps by creating databases of Christian-owned businesses in their neighborhoods and encouraging others to spend their money there.

Another excellent Brigade activity is evangelization and education. The Brigades can engage in street evangelization, fulfilling the great commission by creating and distributing Christian propaganda. Non-explicitly religious yet still edifying subjects such as history, civics, Greek and Latin, classical philosophy, etc., can also be the subject of such public propaganda efforts. This is fitting especially due to the rapidly declining education standards of the nation. They can even go door-to-door like the Mormons, sharing their faith with as many people as possible while familiarizing themselves with the people in their community. They can also hold screenings of religious movies, such as Man of God.

Ramifications of the Peace Brigades

As the youth spontaneously organizes into these Brigades throughout the country, several benefits will manifest themselves.

First of all, politically, the paradigm will shift from “compassionate civil rights activists who want to help the marginalized vs. angry close-minded Christian conservatives” to “violent far-left terrorists who engage in assassination and menacing vs. groups of peaceful Christians that organize rallies and perform acts of charity.” Obviously, this is a far more favorable political frame for conservatives.

Secondly, rather than creating a cycle of violence, Christians can do what is just, channeling anger and hatred into creative displays of beauty, love, justice, and righteousness.

Thirdly, it will strengthen the community — first among the Christians themselves, and eventually serving as the core of the wider community around them. These Peace Brigades could even become an institution throughout the country, in a similar way to organizations such as the Boy Scouts. This is perhaps an ambitious goal, but it is one well worth pursuing. In a rapidly disintegrating public sphere, in which individuals are becoming more isolated and alienated from one another, which creates lonely and deranged people capable of committing acts of violence, there must be a renewal of some sort of shared community to reverse this toxic trend.

“But, won’t their public visibility also make the Peace Brigades a target for attack by these same violent terrorists?” Perhaps. But if so, this will be a gift of far more value. We will gain the crown of martyrdom.

Even if you do not suffer literal, physical martyrdom, prepare to be martyred in spirit. As things continue to degenerate, material comforts are going to increasingly dwindle. Everyone will be required to work exponentially harder and longer for tinier and tinier crumbs of money, housing, transportation, and healthcare. By directing your activities towards the Peace Brigades, your material deprivation will also accelerate. The precious time you spend on the activities of the Peace Brigade is time that could have been spent working towards these scarce material gains. So prepare to be hungry, poor, immobilized, and sick. And if you want to raise a family under these conditions, then prepare for the same for them. The early Christians were not wealthy. Rather, they “had all things common.” They were mutilated, tortured, and killed in a gruesome and painful fashion, them along with their families. They lived lives that were neither normal nor comfortable. These were, are, the Saints.

But why should you fear this? Were you not so eager to go out in a blaze of glory? Were you not so eager to throw your life away? What happened to your conviction? What happened to your cause? Was it all just shallow virtue signaling? Did you not mean any of it after all? Did you only serve these higher ideals you thought that you had in theory, when the road seemed easy? Did you realize that you had no ideals after all, as soon as there was a cost to pay? The prudent way is full of clenched teeth. The desolation of fools comes easily.

On the other hand, you will gain something that many, despite expending so much of their time and energy into the meat grinder of Capitalist radical individualism, do not have – the security that comes with a community of like-minded people united through the love of Christ.

Finally, once they become large and powerful enough, once the organization has become institutionalized in this way, it will be possible to wield its power towards whatever goal is necessary. For example, they will become a large, organized voting bloc. Because they have helped so many and become a source of community to so many, they will also have a large degree of soft power and influence.

The Acolytes represent the first of these Peace Brigades. But, God willing, we shall not be the last. If you are angry, if you are frightened, if the passions burn inside of you, if you feel the need to join together in strength, then let this fuel your zeal. Go forth, and bear fruit.

Glory to the Prince of Peace!