Four Lessons About
the Left from the Violence at the Capitol
By John Horvat II
The Capitol’s violence has now
entered into history as an event of a dramatic and emotional character. The
debate over the details and issues involved still rages. However, in the court
of public opinion, the final narrative reflects negatively upon President Trump
and his supporters.
Independent of the merits of
the issues being discussed, some lessons can be learned about the left from
this incident. These lessons should govern future action since the rules of the
game of the coming administration will require conservatives to act with wisdom
and discernment. The way the left capitalized on this incident should serve to
make the right wary.
The Moral Relativism of the
Left
The first lesson that must be
learned is that the left’s mode of operation is different from the right. The
left’s moral relativism allows it to be selective in calling something wrong.
The radical left has always taught that the end justifies the means. Its
followers believe there is no objective right or wrong. Anything that advances
its revolution is moral and praiseworthy. Anything that hinders the revolution
must be scorned and vilified.
Thus the storming of the
Capitol was a wrong act that needs to be censured. However, do not expect this
censure to be applied to all such acts. It does no good to contrast the Capitol
incident with the hundreds of left-approved “mostly peaceful” riots that caused
an estimated $2 billion in damages over the summer. Conservatives will point in
vain to a thousand inflammatory quotes and videos of liberal politicians
justifying and validating the civil unrest during 2020. It makes no difference
to them since the actions favor their revolution.
This is the left’s mode of
acting. It’s not fair, but that’s the way it is.
Don’t expect leftists to be
consistent because their moral relativism allows them to pick and choose who
they support. Don’t expect them to be moved by the injury and death of
conservative victims since these poor people have no value in their
revolutionary narrative.
Thus, conservatives should
behave knowing their acts will be unfairly scrutinized, and the left will break
the rules with impunity.
Holding the Right Accountable
The second lesson is that the
left’s moral relativism vanishes when judging the actions of the right. Indeed,
the radical left will hold the right up to the highest standards of Christian
morality (which they neither believe nor follow). Its level of moral
indignation at rightist errors will always be in inverse proportion to their
indifference to leftist violence. Not only will the left take note of any
error, but it will make sure not to let a good crisis go to waste.
When the right does something
wrong or illegal, expect the media and cynical left to fall upon these actions
with fury and rending of garments. No number of apologies will suffice to
redeem any person. No amount of pandering to liberal media will ever cause them
to forget.
Leftists know that rightists
are not moral relativists and will admit their errors as wrong. Thus,
conservatives should act knowing that they will be judged by this double
standard. If an error happens, they should calmly admit it but never let it
frame or dominate the debate.
Do not Respond in Kind
The third lesson is that the
right can never adopt the tactics and modus operandi of the left. Such actions
work contrary to its moral convictions and are doomed to fail. Any decline into
moral relativism deprives conservatives of the strength of their cause found in
its strict adherence to the moral law.
Thus, if the left resorts to
lies, vulgarity and insults to vilify individuals or causes, the right cannot
respond in kind. Such means work contrary to the ends that should orient its
actions. Conservatives cannot resort to riots and violence simply because the
left indulges in such crimes.
A contrary policy of civil and
courteous discourse must be maintained. This policy does not exclude responses
that are firm, energetic and even passionate. However, it must be governed by
reason. Indeed, adopting this strong attitude elevates the debate and is
attractive to public opinion.
The Highest Standards of
Behavior
Finally, the best manner for
conservatives to win the debate is to hold themselves up to the highest
standards of behavior. They must give no pretext to the other side to attack
them. The best way to advance the cause is by a reasoned appeal to strong
morals principles. A noble reaction will always impress the public more than a
disheveled rabble.
For this reason, the clearer
the message, the better. The more principled the stand, the greater is the
chance of success. The less personal the attack, the more impact it will have.
There should be no pandering to politically correct nonsense and identity
politics.
The left advances by hiding its
goals and obscuring its nefarious message. The best path to victory is to stay
on message. The left loses when its goals (like defunding the police or
promoting socialism) are denounced. Conservatives must always insist upon
discussing these goals and their hidden doctrines. They must avoid debates that
degenerate into strings of personal attacks or insults.
A Pondered Attitude of
Deliberate Action
What is needed is a pondered
attitude of deliberate action with a George Washingtonian tone. The future
belongs to those who are not afraid to affirm (and practice) Christian
morality, denounce socialist schemes and defy political correctness.
The liberal establishment and
media claim these positions are backward and unattractive. However, when
presented energetically and unapologetically, these positions have immense
appeal since they are based upon human nature and moral law. The human condition
is suited and attracted to moral behavior since it leads to unity and harmony.
Sin and vice work against nature by leading to disharmony and self-destruction.
Amid the crisis America faces, it becomes
more crucial than ever to confide in God. As sin now dominates society, human
solutions will fail. Appealing to God (statement edited by Bob Headrick) is the
only way away from the path to disaster. Any other political strategy that
excludes this appeal is doomed to fail.
