The Cultural Marxist Assault on America’s Foundations
By Bobby Darvish, Iranian-American Ex-Muslim, Former Vegan, Former Democrat, Former Socialist, Former CAIR-Columbus Executive Director, Former Muslim Forum of Utah President, Christian Conservative LDS
In the years since I left Islam and socialism behind, I’ve had the opportunity to reexamine what truly threatens the moral and cultural fabric of America. One of the most insidious forces eroding our society today is what many call “cultural Marxism,” a school of thought that took shape with the Frankfurt School and thinkers like Herbert Marcuse and Theodor Adorno. These theorists brought Marxist principles to new levels, reframing “oppression” in a way that would strike at the heart of Western society, making this ideology an effective force even where traditional Marxism had failed. Their goal was never just economic control but complete cultural transformation.
Marcuse and Adorno, alongside thinkers such as Max Horkheimer and Erich Fromm, recognized that America’s strong middle class, freedom, and family values would resist traditional Marxism, which focused primarily on class struggle. Instead, they devised a broader framework that went beyond economics, framing almost every aspect of society as a battleground of “oppressors vs. oppressed.” Through this lens, cultural Marxism transcends economic class and extends into race, gender, religion, and sexuality, creating endless grievances and conflicts. This shift laid the foundation for what we recognize today as “woke” ideology, which treats every perceived inequality as systemic oppression that must be dismantled. In short, cultural Marxism has given rise to a new moral order that views American values not as strengths but as forms of oppression.
One of the key ways cultural Marxism has reshaped American discourse is by branding oppression as “systemic.” Rather than addressing the injustices that do exist with practical, unifying solutions, this ideology views the entire American system as irredeemably flawed. Marcuse’s 1965 essay, Repressive Tolerance, argued that tolerance should only be extended to leftist views, effectively calling for censorship of conservative or traditional voices. In the same spirit, today’s woke culture promotes cancel culture, silencing those who deviate from its orthodoxy. This is no accident; it’s an intentional undermining of free speech, which the woke ideology views as a tool of the “oppressor.” Rather than celebrating America’s exceptional freedoms and encouraging open dialogue, cultural Marxists aim to instill a deep cynicism toward every American institution.
The cultural Marxist redefinition of morality extends into realms where it was never meant to go, exploiting genuine societal issues but twisting them to fuel resentment and division. The goal here isn’t to resolve these problems or even to provide justice. Instead, the agenda is to erode traditional American values like faith, family, and personal responsibility, which are viewed as relics of “oppressive” systems. Adorno’s work, for instance, in The Authoritarian Personality, pathologized traditional authority and family structures, casting them as breeding grounds for fascism. This work is at the root of today’s attack on the family unit, as cultural Marxism encourages individuals to define themselves not by responsibility or heritage but by identity markers that fit the “oppressed” mold.
It’s crucial to understand why cultural Marxism took root in America in ways that traditional Marxism never could. The American spirit, deeply tied to individual liberty and opportunity, stood resilient against classical Marxist appeals to class warfare. But by framing cultural institutions themselves as sources of oppression, the Frankfurt School’s intellectuals found fertile ground. This ideology, repackaged as “wokeness,” shifts the focus from economic redistribution to cultural control. It seeks not just to change laws or policies, but to transform our entire way of life, values, and beliefs to suit its agenda. In this new order, virtues like hard work and personal accountability are recast as tools of an oppressive system, while grievance and victimhood are elevated as moral ideals.
As a former executive director of CAIR in Columbus and president of the Muslim Forum of Utah, I’ve seen firsthand how these principles have infiltrated various communities and institutions. Cultural Marxism preys on minority grievances, using them as tools to further its agenda, not to actually improve conditions. It promotes division rather than unity, encouraging groups to identify as victims first and foremost. While this may temporarily unite disparate groups under a common banner of “oppression,” it leaves these communities fractured and disconnected in the long run. This division is precisely what cultural Marxism aims for, because a fractured society is one that can be more easily controlled and reshaped.
The new moral order imposed by woke ideology presents itself as morally superior, yet it denies the very foundations that have made America exceptional: faith, family, freedom, and personal responsibility. In Christian teachings, personal responsibility and repentance are central to growth and change; in contrast, cultural Marxism offers endless grievances and blames systems rather than individuals. The result is a culture of dependency, where government and elite institutions assume roles traditionally filled by families and faith communities. The woke movement’s underlying hostility toward religion is no coincidence; it’s a deliberate attempt to replace the Judeo-Christian values that have historically underpinned America’s success with a secular, authoritarian framework.
What we are witnessing in America today is nothing less than a moral and cultural revolution. The woke agenda, steeped in the teachings of cultural Marxism, seeks to dismantle the very values that uphold our society. It rejects the sanctity of the family, scorns personal responsibility, and rewrites morality to suit its own ends. For those of us who cherish America’s foundational principles, now is the time to stand firm. We must resist this new moral order and defend the values of freedom, faith, and family that have always made America a beacon of hope.
Citations
Marcuse, Herbert. Repressive Tolerance. 1965.
Adorno, Theodor W., et al. The Authoritarian Personality. Harper & Brothers, 1950.
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