"Know your history or be doomed to repeat it."
After months of radio-silence, cryptic signs and a full-fledged alternate reality game (ARG), Activision finally broke its silence about the next entry in the Call of Duty franchise with a brand-new teaser released Aug. 19. A full reveal is coming on Aug. 26.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Titled “Know Your History,” the trailer features an ex-KGB agent by the name of Yuri Bezmenov, delivering a disturbing warning about espionage that’s as relevant today as it was in 1984. Taken from an interview with author and filmmaker G. Edward Griffin, the new trailer details Bezmenov’s “The Four Steps for American Subversion.”
The Four Steps for American Subversion
Psychological warfare, active measures, ideological subversion – the means goes by many names, but the ends are always the same. The goal of “ideological subversion,” according to Bezmenov,
Is to change the perception of reality of every American to such an extent that despite of the abundance of information, no one is able to come to sensible conclusions in the interests of defending themselves, their families, their community and their country.
There are four necessary steps to this “great brainwashing”: Demoralization, Destabilization, Crisis and Normalization.
Demoralization is the slow exposure of an enemies’ ideals to generations over 15 to 20 years, minimum. These ideologies are “pumped into the soft heads of at least three generations of American students without being challenged.” Thanks to a lack of Americanism in higher education, much of this demoralization is done “by Americans to Americans.”
The end result is a person unable to tell fact from fiction. Despite overwhelming evidence and authentic proof, he won’t change unless he gets a kick in his “fat American bottom,” – and perhaps not even then.
Next comes Destabilization, whereby the foreign ideals influence “essentials” like the economy, foreign relations, and defense systems over a period of two to five years.
Then comes Crisis, which can take as little as up to six weeks. Bezmenov used Central America as an example, thanks to the Guatemalan, Salvadorian, and Nicaraguan conflicts that were ravaging the region. These crises lead to a swift and usually violent shift in hierarchies and economy.
Then comes Normalization, a “cynical expression born from Soviet propaganda,” according to Bezmenov. This occurs when “benevolent dictators” take political power right before or during a crisis and install an oppressive, surveillance state government. This stage can last indefinitely.
Bezmenov’s interview evokes an eerie sense of déjà vu when compared to the state of modern American politics. “Fake News,” accusations of Russian interference, rampant tribalization of the American populace, and rising hostility between authorities and civilians harken back Bezmenov’s warning:
The time bomb is ticking, but every second, the disaster is coming closer and closer.
