1. the act or an instance of subverting or overthrowing a legally constituted government, institution, etc
2. the state of being subverted; destruction or ruin
3. something that brings about an overthrow
A couple of years ago I became acutely aware of a character from the history of the political left named Saul Alinsky. He was a mentor to Hillary Clinton years ago. She wrote her thesis on him. Barack Obama has been praised by Alinsky's son as an exemplary practitioner of his father's methods and strategies. Alinsky's seminal tract "Rules for Radicals" is a stock training manual for leaders and activists in many labor unions. His name is becoming more well known, but not, I fear, well known enough. Alinsky was, if nothing else, subversive. I think it is necessary to unpack a bit of his ideology. Why? Because the political climate in our country has become utterly poisonous and increasingly dangerous. I believe the single most significant reason for the degeneration of our political system is Alinsky.
