In the last few years, some people have feared that the nation is in the early stages of a civil war. I hope they are wrong. Yet I have thought the same in recent days. While claiming civil war is around the corner may be strident, the violence we have witnessed recently has shaken people to their core.
The gruesome murder of Charlie Kirk by a hate-filled young man is the most recent assault on the nation’s psyche. The assassin’s hatred was stirred up in him by woke-saturated propaganda that fuels so much of what is wrong with our society today. There are consequences to embracing the vices that are part of the woke agenda. Traditional values that have their roots in faith, family, and freedom are viewed by the left as a threat to their happiness. And their pseudo-happiness actually undermines the “pursuit of happiness” our founders envisioned.
When our founders shaped our nation, they were correct in embracing the Enlightenment view that our rights come from God in the form of natural rights. And from natural law, they derived the language of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. The left now despises both as obstacles to developing a new society, never envisioned by our founders.
The radical left’s new agenda is one where free speech and debate are a threat. Consequently, they seek to silence those with whom they disagree, even if that means murder.
Consider how extreme they have become. The far left would suggest that socialism, not free enterprise, should be the basis of our economy. That the right to possess private property is evil and that the state should retain for itself the “means of production,” not entrepreneurs and those who risk their own wealth and livelihood to create industry and jobs for people. This message has gained alarming momentum. Even now, New York City is on the cusp of electing an unabashed communist as its mayor to preside over the symbolic center of capitalism in the world, Wall Street.
Traditional values, including marriage between a man and a woman, are somehow aberrant. Same sex marriage and having children out of wedlock are hailed as new and desirable building blocks for the foundation of our civilization. Millennia of experience clearly suggest otherwise. Indeed, the long traditions of common law recognize the value and order that traditional marriage brings to society.
The left’s infatuation with the politics of transgenderism, despite the unavoidable realities of biology, has now been elevated as the civil rights issue of our age. Such thinking would confound our founders even as it does those of us who understand the realities of human genetics. The notion of people changing their biological sex is an affront to the Creator, who we know brought us into this world.
Moreover, the rule of law is under constant assault by the left, who now take the position that if they cannot win at the polls, they have the license to riot, disrupt the everyday lives of Americans, and undermine the foundations of a civil society by eliminating the police who protect all of us.
Most disturbing is how the left is racializing our troubles in America to the point that relations between cultures and people are as divided as they have ever been. That’s not only sad, but also a besetting sin in our nation and an offense to God who loves all of us as we were created.
It is true that everyone, the left and right, has a responsibility to discuss and debate our differences in ways that are respectful of one another, even if we profoundly differ in our views. The violence we have witnessed in recent days demands that we stop, think, and adjust our behavior. However, we must be truthful. And the truth is, there is much to address in this regard.
For those who adamantly insist that both sides are inciting violence in equal portions, it is not so. Democrat pollster John Zogby concludes in a recent poll, “that the left needs to do a lot more soul-searching, has to tone down its emphasis on the things that shut people out and shut people down. It is, in its most benign form, a poison within.”
So, when people engage in “whataboutism,” suggesting that both parties are equally guilty of spreading violent rhetoric, they would do well to consider Zogby’s conclusions thoroughly, to wit, “It’s liberals who have to make the biggest change, starting with ending efforts to silence those they disagree with.” That is a fact.
Nonetheless, we must—all of us—do our very best to contain our emotions and yield to patience with one another. Violence must be eschewed. Listening must prevail. And more importantly, a return to founding values, virtues, and principles.
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