BY TAYLOR FARNSWORTH
Staff Writer
Chief White House Strategist Steve Bannon. It may not be a name familiar to some, but it should be. That “alt-right,” Anglo-American, conspiracy theory ideology is exactly what President Donald Trump appears to seek when searching for political advice, and who better than Bannon to give it to him? While others may have discouraged Trump’s rhetoric, Bannon urges him to use it to his advantage.
Bannon’s involvement in politics started long before Trump decided to run for president. He’s been an avid political voice for those who firmly believe in the corruption of politics, through the Breitbart News network.
Breitbart News is infamous for its white-nationalist propaganda, but it wasn’t always that way. After the death of Andrew Breitbart back in 2012, Bannon became the executive chairman. He used his new position to turn Brietbart News into a platform to share his radical ideology.
It was no surprise when Trump announced that Bannon would be his chief executive officer during his presidential campaign. Brietbart News was often critiqued for favoring Trump during the Republican primaries, as well as during the presidential campaign. The website was clearly in favor of a Trump presidency, while targeting his followers and bashing anti-Trump Republicans.
Bannon shares his conspiracy theories with those gullible enough to believe anything semi-related to government corruption. But one of Bannon’s most radical, and troubling, theories comes from a book called “The Fourth Turning: What Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny.” The book discusses the layout of American history, and the inevitable pattern.
Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe argue in the book that history is defined through 80 to 100 year cycles called “saecula.” It’s believed that at the end of each “saecula” there is a “cataclysmic” event that destroys the old laws, thus forcing the creation of a new way of life. In the book, this event is referred to as “the Fourth Turning,” which Bannon believes we are experiencing right now.
According to the book, the last “Turning” occurred during the Great Depression and World War II. The authors argue that during these periods of time, people were forced to unite after experiencing a great conflict by designing a new governmental structure for themselves. Bannon believes that the only way we can get into the “new world” is going to be by experiencing events similar to that of WWII, and the Great Depression.
“Trump is a blunt instrument for us… I don’t know whether he really gets it or not,” said Bannon in an interview with Vanity Fair about Trump being exactly what we need to witness a “Fourth Turning.”
But instead of uniting Americans, as the theory suggests, the Trump administration is only dividing us further while tip-toeing around our constitutional rights.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Given the policies Trump promised to enforce once in office, his opinions on uniting with those who disagree with anything he stands for should have been clear. Bannon and Trump play on this concept of fear and immediate action. They lose sight of logic and sensibility while trying to write up executive orders that lack constitutionality.
Although it is easy to sit and point fingers at Trump, Bannon’s role in his presidency should not go unnoticed. He’s already assisted in writing Trump’s inaugural address, as well as the most recent executive order on travel and refugees, referred to as the Muslim ban.
Protests against the Trump administration have occurred in numerous locations across the country since Trump took office, and will continue as more executive orders similar to the Muslim ban are enforced. But the chaos is exactly what Bannon wants—it’s exactly the type of event he believes must happen in order for his theory of a “new political order” to advance. Trump is merely a tool he is using to push everything into place.
“If nobody is disagreeing with what you’re doing, then you’re probably not doing anything that really matters in the scheme of things,” Senior Adviser to Trump Stephen Miller said.
Miller is right, Trump is doing things that matter. He’s doing things that are unconstitutional, and jaw-dropping. He’s continuing to prove to us that his ideology is similar to that of Bannon’s, and that isn’t something our country should be governed based on.
I may not believe in a “Fourth Turning” of the type Bannon is adamant on executing through Trump, but I do believe we are witnessing something historical. I only hope that these events are one day looked at as being a pivotal point in history due to its unity of diversity, rather than for the continuing divide.
