DR BEN CARSON: The woke machine is lying in wait for a political comeback

We all remember how bad it got.Just a few short years ago, it felt like every major institution — from corporate America, to media, to universities, to Hollywood, to our own government — had decided that half the population was the enemy.

Speech was policed, businesses were pressured, and ordinary Americans found themselves locked out of basic services for holding the wrong opinions.A lot of people are now saying that chapter is closed."Woke 1 was crazy," Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez said recently, laughing.

Others have triumphantly declared that "woke" has been defeated.I understand the desire to move on.

But those of us who lived through the mayhem shouldn’t be so quick to agree.Here’s what actually happened, and why the danger hasn’t disappeared.The woke ideology that pervaded nearly every aspect of public life did not conquer American institutions by force of argument alone.

Rather, it spread so rapidly because corporate America, in particular, became a willing and enthusiastic partner.GOP FRESHMAN FIREBRAND TARGETS GLOBAL CONSULTING GIANT OVER 'PLAINLY ILLEGAL' DEI PRACTICESTechnology companies censored ordinary citizens for what amounted to thought crimes, major financial institutions stopped doing business with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, de-banked Donald Trump, and refused to serve lawful gun manufacturers."Green" initiatives became official policy, with nearly every major financial institution committing hundreds of billions to pursuing renewable energy, and refusing to do business with coal companies and others that were on the "wrong side of history."Public displays of progressive orthodoxy became the price of admission across large swaths of the private sector.

Companies understood that those then in political power were prepared to make life difficult for any entity that refused to fall in line, to say nothing of their own employees who could cause immeasurable headaches if executives strayed from the progressive worldview.What we...