The operations of Russia’s intelligence organizations seeking to entangle their propaganda efforts into our political discourse does not begin and end with whether or not their influence in the 2016 election altered the outcome.

Ultimately, Russia is not interested in any single election result. Their goal is to undermine the institutions of our Republic, the people’s faith in their form of government, the brotherhood of citizenship between fellow Americans, and ultimately to erode American moral authority and political leadership in the world.

Too many people concede the existence of Russia’s efforts but then dismiss it as a non-issue because they don’t think it had any ultimate effect on the outcome of the 2016 election. They need to broaden their gaze.

The reality is that Russia’s involvement has had a significant and damaging impact on our society as a whole. What we know of Russia’s efforts suggests they have poked and prodded in every way possible to inflame the issues that are already dividing us.

I firmly believe that Russia has thus far considered their efforts a victory, but not because Trump sits in the White House. They feel victorious because America has become a nation divided against itself in nearly every sense.

If Hillary had won, the Russians would have felt no less victorious. This is because her actions would have been no less divisive, and her detractors would have been no less apocalyptic in their opposition against her.

It is comforting to talk about the Russia situation in a manner that suggests only one man and his followers have been duped, even if that man occupies the White House. However, the reality is that a large portion of the country, left and right, have been duped into civil disorder and conflict reminiscent of the early embers of internal strife and civil war.

The idea that the political opposition in your own nation is an enemy, and that their ideas are existential threats is not new. But the adoption of the idea wholesale by a majority of Americans is very new. And, it is an idea that actual enemies, such as Russia’s intelligence organizations, have endeavored tirelessly to introduce and inflame.

In recent years there’s been much talk about patriotism, and which side of the aisle currently stands as true patriots of the American Republic. As a final word, I’d like to point out that if you are engaged in efforts to undermine American institutions because of short-sighted political expediency, you are playing into Russian hands . That goes for such things as the President discrediting the FBI and attacking the free press. And, it goes for angry protesters and their cheerleaders in Congress protesting the reasonable efforts of local law enforcement or agencies like ICE.

Do you have a response to this article? Would you like to offer your own take on this topic? Feel free to submit your own article or offer a comment below.

Justin Stapley is the owner and editor of The Liberty Hawk. As a political writer, his principles and ideas are grounded in the ideas of ordered liberty as expressed in the traditions of classical liberalism, federalism, and modern conservatism. You can follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.

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