Stages of a communist takeover: (borrowed from a comment I read)
1. Demoralization – This process occurs over many years. The media and institutes of education manipulate and undermine the moral fiber and integrity of the country. Perception replaces facts. Ridicule of “old ways” is a weapon in the propaganda arsenal. As the younger generations embrace the illusory promises of secularism and Marxism the influence of the older generations slowly declines.
2. Destabilization – The process of replacing individual liberty and responsibility with new arrangements of centralized power accelerates. Massive government programs and regulations now intrude in the lives of everyone, permeating society, including churches and synagogues. Those who protest the encroachments on individual liberty, responsibility, and traditional morality pay a heavy price.
3. Crisis – The nation now demoralized and destabilized, a crisis is short-lived and involves a revolutionary change of power. A catastrophic event overpowers and splits the country. The Constitution would be circumvented by force—using violence as necessary.
4. Normalization – The final stage comes when the populace gives up and begins to assimilate the revolution. A combination of stifling bureaucracies and the threat of terror (economic or political) brings the populace to its knees. The appearance of peace and security disguises the bitterness of tyranny. We are between the destabilization phase and the crisis phase.
Now we wait for the “trigger” event.