This past election cycle generally and the events that have unfolded since Donald Trump’s inauguration specifically have made at least six things abundantly clear to me.

First, the left is interested in nothing more or less than total, unqualified control over the lives of us all.

Second, leftists are willing to achieve this end “by any means necessary”—including categorical deception, harassment, intimidation, coercion, and overt violence.

Third, there are hard leftist groups that are, quite literally, terrorist organizations that have as yet to be formally designated as such.

Fourth, some of these militant leftist outfits, particularly those composed primarily of nonwhites and, ostensibly, for the sake of promoting “racial equality”—Black Lives Matter, La Raza, CAIR, etc.—are in fact vehicles for advancing the cause of racial and religious supremacy.

Fifth, by far and away, the largest threat with which the West and, certainly, America is confronted today comes not from ISIS or “radical Islam.”  That threat is posed by the militant left.  From the standpoint of the anti-Western, anti-American ideology of the left, America is every bit the Great Satan that certain Islamic fundamentalists in the Middle East say it is.

Finally, those typically associated with “the right” still have much to learn about how to fight against such a hostile adversary.  Thankfully, some progress on this front is being made. However, by virtue of a habit that has been decades in the making, the right’s first instinct is to go on defense.

To be sure, individually speaking, there are all sorts of exceptions to these rules regarding “the left” and “the right.” There are plenty of left-leaning persons who resolutely eschew violence and are interested in dialogue, and even friendship, with those with whom they disagree.  Similarly, there are doubtless individuals on the right who are tenacious, on the prowl for a fight.

In speaking of “the left” and “the right,” I’m referring to the standard operating procedures of the respective movements and the ideology that underpins the left.

Throughout Donald Trump’s campaign, on literally hundreds of occasions, Trump supporters were viciously, physically attacked for no reason other than that they were Trump supporters. There was not a single incident of Trump supporters crashing a Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders event and so much as harassing, to say nothing of beating, their supporters. The tolerance and civility were not reciprocated, though.

As I (and others) have argued, groups like “Antifa” (“antifascist”) and Black Lives Matter (BLM) are domestic terrorist organizations.  They appropriate violence against innocent civilians for the sake of intimidating the public and its government into implementing policies that their members deem favorable to their interests.

In other words, the kinds of intentions, aims, and methods of Antifa, BLM, and the like are exactly those of ISIS, Al Qaeda, and every other recognized terrorist outfit.

These leftist terrorist organizations constitute the strong-arm wing of the Democrat Party. That’s correct: Although Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Barack Obama, and other Democrat politicians are neither in the streets themselves nor expressly calling for violence, they have refused to take advantage of their abundant media connections so as to openly, repeatedly, and unequivocally repudiate the violence of leftwing fanatics.

Furthermore, leftist politicians have been doing their part for “the Resistance” by cooking up the Vast Leftwing Conspiracy of “Russian Collusion.” And they have been assisted on this front by the Resistance’s Propaganda arm, the Fake News media.  This is a Big Lie that jeopardizes America’s relationship with the world’s second most heavily nuclear-armed power.  In doing so, the Big Lie threatens as well the stability of the planet (By whichever means necessary!).

Patriotic Americans, the heart and soul and engine of the country, i.e. those who, like Hillary Clinton and the Antifa, the left demonizes as “deplorable,” “fascist,” and every other dehumanizing name, have finally started to fight back.

Street and internet activism have reached levels heretofore unseen for those on the right.  A new generation of conservative and libertarian-leaning Americans, as repulsed by Political Correctness as they are tech-savvy, have started to appropriate some of the left’s guerilla warfare tactics—and with remarkable success.

In fact, these millennials and Gen Zers hold their own and then some when it comes to “the meme wars,” successful podcasting, and so forth.  Still others, like the geniuses at 4Chan, have established a face data base for Antifa members.  Recall, the latter hide their faces behind masks and bandannas.  The users of “/pol/,” a politically-oriented discussion board at 4Chan, already managed to track down Eric Clanton, the mask-cladded philosophy professor who assaulted a Trump supporter with a bike lock.  Clanton has since lost his job and been arrested.

When leftists proceeded to target Sean Hannity’s sponsors a few weeks ago, Melanie Morgan and Brian Maloney decided that enough was enough. They founded “Media Equalizer,” a site intended to “fight fire with fire.”  Media Equalizer lists all of the sponsors, with their contact information, of the Fake News talking heads.  It also offers a generic letter of protest that visitors can send to these companies if they aren’t inclined to compose one.  But phone numbers are provided if opponents of Fake News are more disposed to call and register their complaints.

On the streets, the Deplorables have been holding “Free Speech,” “pro-Trump,” and, most recently, “anti-Sharia” marches and rallies all across the country.  Bikers for Trump; the Oath Keepers; the Civil Defense Action; Three Percenters; the Proud Boys; the Alt-Knights—these are some of the groups that have entered leftist strongholds, ready to do physical battle against leftist hostiles, if necessary (as it has been, on far too many occasions). Yet they have marched, spoken, and fought side-by-side with Blacks for Trump, Hispanics for Trump, black Neo-Confederates, Gays for Trump, and LGBTQs for Trump.

And they have been winning the battles that they’ve fought.

As the left radicalizes, which it will, the right will continue to adapt as well.