Sorry To Be Political . . .
A Note on Mr. Pelosi . . . also, a sentence of help . . .
If Mr. Biden were a tyrant he would lock up Miss Greene, Miss Boebert, Mr. Carlson, and yes, Mr. Trump for language causing crime and unrest. And he would have far more cause than Mr. Putin does when silencing dissenters.
Luckily, that is not the American way.
One stake of free speech is that we will be offended in the course of debate and culture. Another is that some people will misinterpret what is said and use someone's words to justify violence.
But the benefit is that we get to say what we think.
And . . . and . . . we must live up to the challenge of behaving well.
We get the country we talk into being.
Unfortunately, there is no misinterpreting the calls to violence many on the right have issued. When thousands show up to invade the Capitol you ought to get it that your words move people to act. And when someone takes a hammer to the husband of your political opponent you ought to feel shame and concern, be moved to self-reflection, not to gloating and joy.
To argue that this is the kind of crime we should expect in “Joe Biden’s America,” as so many have been doing on the right, is to say the fire you started in my forrest is my fault.
If you want less crime in the country you might start by stirring up your base to commit unlawful acts less often.
What we see on the right is not just a lack of personal responsibility and disregard for the rule of law, it is confusion between “what I feel” and “what justice is.”
Your hatred of a black person does not mean it is just for them to be murdered on the street.
And your hatred of a woman who has political power does not make it just to break her husband’s jaw.
Justice, like democracy, is meant to curtail, even educate, the worst of our emotions, not to validate them.
A sentence meant to help:
On your next burrito try more than one kind of hot sauce.