Monday, July 20, 2020

We're no longer talking to each other, but over each other


In these increasingly polarized United States, the very name of our country increasingly appears to be a misnomer.  In so many ways, we are no longer united.  Instead, we are polarized.  We are no longer listening to, or talking with, each other;  instead, we are shouting louder and louder, seeking to drown out the voices we don't want to hear, and trying to ensure that our voice dominates over all others.  The situation is getting worse on an almost daily basis - so much so that many of us, including yours truly, fear that we cannot remain a united nation for very much longer.  Far too many Americans appear to believe that unity is no longer possible, or even desirable.

The violence last week in Portland, OR is a very clear illustration.  To conservatives, President Trump's deployment of Federal law enforcement agencies and officers is praiseworthy, upholding law and order.  To left-wing progressives, it's tyranny, using strong-arm tactics to suppress free speech and the right to assemble.  (Note that the constitutionally guaranteed right of "peaceful assembly" is not at issue here:  the assemblies of rioters in Portland were anything but peaceful, so that description simply doesn't apply.)

For example, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi referred to federal officers in Portland as "stormtroopers".  Senator Chuck Schumer called the actions of federal officers there an "abomination", and demanded an investigation.  In one of the more crassly stupid references to the street violence there, the New York Intelligencer proclaims:

A showdown in policing philosophies is taking place on the streets of Portland, Oregon, where federal agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are working to suppress unrest following the death of George Floyd. In response to President Donald Trump’s directive to federal agencies to step up their efforts to protect federal properties from protesters, rapid-deployment teams of federal agents wearing camouflage uniforms and tactical gear have expanded their efforts from defending a U.S. courthouse to arresting protesters on the streets.

No, the federal agents are not "working to suppress unrest":  they're defending federal property against violent rioters who are actively trying to damage or destroy it, as innumerable video clips demonstrate.  No, they haven't "expanded their efforts":  they're arresting violent rioters on the streets, because that's where they can be stopped before they damage or destroy federal property.  Those arrested have been caught in the act - they're not innocent little baa lambs!  Again, there are plenty of video clips out there.  The truth is self-evident.  However, that's not acceptable to the progressive left.  As far as they're concerned, "protest" has become synonymous with "violence against the system".  Anyone trying to suppress the latter is automatically seen as trying to suppress the former as well.

At the same time, there are those on the right wing of US politics who condemn and reject all aspects of the current protests/riots, arguing that "law and order" must take precedence in order to ensure the stability of society.  This ignores the reality that in many places and agencies, law enforcement has long since overstepped the boundaries of legitimate policing.  I've discussed many examples on this blog over the years:  to name just one example, the maiming of an infant during a SWAT team raid.

In 2015 I wrote:

The reality is that American law enforcement officers and agencies in general have to an ever-increasing extent forfeited the trust of the people they're supposed to 'protect and serve'.  They are no longer seen as impartial and fair in their approach.  I find this very sad indeed, given that I've served in two law enforcement agencies;  but even I now automatically trust only those officers whom I've come to know personally.  Those with whom they associate, and their agencies, also get a pass from me on the basis that I don't think honorable, upright peace officers would be part of an organization where they could not be true to themselves.  Others, however . . . I'll adopt a 'wait-and-see' approach, and exercise due caution.

When you add those two elements to the 'Ferguson effect', you get a picture of a law enforcement function that's in widespread disarray nationwide, across many agencies, local, state and federal.  I don't pretend to know what the answer might be . . . but the problems are far more widespread and far deeper rooted than mere public distrust of police.  The rot has set in very deep, and to excise it might take more will and determination on the part of police and political leaders and administrators than their conduct to date has demonstrated.

There's more at the link.

Fellow blogger Divemedic has written extensively about the same problem, including these three recent articles:
I recommend all three articles to your attention.

This is a side of US law enforcement that's too seldom recognized and/or debated by conservatives and constitutionalists.  It's a blind spot that significantly weakens their arguments for "law and order".  It also confirms that the death of George Floyd, which precipitated the current civil unrest, was merely the latest manifestation of a long-standing problem.  Because we failed to address that problem earlier, we're being forced to address it now, whether we like it or not.

Both sides in the current impasse are no longer listening to each other, and no longer talking to each other.  Both sides are refusing to admit or to recognize that the other may have a point.  Each side is rejecting the other side without bothering to debate or discuss the issues involved.  It's become a "knee-jerk" reaction, unthinking, emotional, reflexive.  In fact, the "other side" is no longer seen as even being human.  They're simply "the enemy".

This extends to our tolerance even for those whom we presume are - or are supposed to be - on "our" side.  I've had messages from long-time readers accusing me of becoming more "liberal" or "left-wing" or "progressive", because I won't unilaterally condemn all the current protests and demonstrations.  To those individuals I can only say:  I'm sorry, but you're wrong about me.  My positions haven't changed over the years, as I can illustrate through the archives of this blog;  but yours have.  You've become more radical and dogmatic in your views on what's right and what's wrong, and you're condemning me because I haven't allowed my attitudes to harden in the same way.

I can only remind you that I'm first and foremost a pastor, responsible to God for trying to live as I believe He wishes.  That's been my calling for decades.  I've had to minister to people on any and every side of the political spectrum.  (I still do.  You'd be surprised how many people get in touch with me to help them deal with issues confronting them.  I guess a pastor never truly retires.)  I try to analyze every situation through that lens, applying Christian principles to what I see and hear.  That upsets some people (sometimes, a lot of people):  but that's who I am.  If that offends you, I'm truly sorry.  On the other hand, I have to remind you of Cromwell's Rule:

I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken.

We can, all of us - any of us - be wrong (including me).  If we proceed under the absolute conviction that we're not wrong, that we have the truth but our opponents don't, we will increasingly trend towards single-minded obsession and paranoia.  Too much of our world is already like that, and too many of its people.  We don't need to add to that problem.

After the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, France, I wrote these words.  If you substitute "left-wing" or "right-wing", "conservative" or "progressive" for the word "Muslim" in this excerpt, you can see how directly it applies to our present situation as well:

To me, the worst [aspect of violent conflict] is what it does to the human psyche.  You become dehumanized.  Your enemies are no longer people - they're objects, things, targets.  You aren't shooting at John, whose mother is ill, and who's missing his girlfriend terribly, and who wants to marry her as soon as he can get home to do so.  You're shooting at that enemy over there, the one who'll surely 'do unto you' unless you 'do unto him' first.  He's not a human being.  He's a 'gook'.  He's 'the enemy'.  He's a thing rather than a person.  It's easier to shoot a thing than it is a person.  So, right now, our boys are 'in the sandbox' shooting 'ragheads'.  Their boys - those in Paris yesterday - were 'in the land of the infidels'.  Those in this country on 9/11/2001 were 'in the land of the Great Satan'.  They were - and still are - killing 'kaffirs', unbelievers . . . not human beings.

. . .

I've written before about how blaming all Muslims for the actions of a few is disingenuous and inexcusable.  I still believe that . . . but events have overtaken rationality.  People are going to start relating to 'Muslims' rather than to 'human beings', just as the extremists label all non-Muslims as 'kaffirs' or 'kufars' - unbelievers - rather than as human beings.  For the average man in a European street, a Muslim will no longer be a 'person'.  He's simply a Muslim, a label, a 'thing'. He's no longer French, or American, or British, no matter what his passport says. He's an 'other'. He's 'one of them' . . . and because of that, he's no longer 'one of us'.

. . .

We cannot 'kill them all and let God sort them out' ... There are too many of 'them' to kill them all, just as 'they' can never kill all of 'us'.  We cannot kill our way out of terrorism.  We cannot kill our way out of the dilemma of being human, with all the tragedy that entails.

May God have mercy on us all.

Again, more at the link.

I believe we're terrifyingly close to endemic violent conflict - a complete meltdown of civil society - in our cities.  The attacks on federal property in Portland, OR, and the reaction of local authorities there to federal intervention, remind me very much of what happened in Charleston, SC in 1861.  The Battle of Fort Sumter precipitated the American Civil War.  It seems to me that if things go badly, the Federal courthouse in Portland might become a modern equivalent.  I hope and pray I'm wrong.

We're rapidly approaching a situation where men and women of goodwill will be forced to choose a side.  No matter how we might wish to be even-handed, to preserve our society, to acknowledge that there's good and bad in everyone and that each side may have at least some truth in its positions, events are overtaking us.  Our society is becoming increasingly polarized, to the extent that mutual tolerance is becoming harder and harder to maintain and/or to justify.  May God forbid that we harden our hearts even further . . . but I fear that's probably a pipe dream.

Kevin Williamson points out:

In our team-sports era of politics as tribal warfare, we’re expected to be all-in for one side or the other.

. . .

We say that we cherish moderates and independents and prefer them to mindless partisans, but, in reality, we punish them. Why? When it comes to our own preferences, we prefer vehemence to moderation and loyalty to independence. We are all Barry Goldwater now, insisting that moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.

. . .

Thinking for yourself? That’s not independence, but blasphemy.

More at the link.

We're living in the midst of a national flashpoint.  All I can say is, prepare as best you can.  Stock up on essentials, prepare to defend yourself, your family and your property, and try to stay away from extremists on both sides.  If violence erupts, they'll be the instigators.  Remember, too, that they'll be fanatical in their insistence that you support them.  "If you're not for us, you're against us!" will be their watchword.  It'll be better to steer clear of them, rather than be put on the spot and forced to choose.  If that comes, all I can say is that you'll have to do the best you can under the circumstances.  You might want to consider moving yourself and/or your family to a more peaceful and/or secure area for the short term, while things are at their worst.  It'll be inconvenient, sure, but it may be a lot safer than staying put!

I have my own bottom line, of course, as do we all.  My faith doesn't mean I have to "roll over and play dead".  I won't submit to those who reject what I hold to be true.  There are lines I've drawn, and positions I hold, and things and people I will defend, no matter what.  Anyone trying to push me too far is going to engender whatever response may be needed to stop them.

I hope and pray it doesn't come to that.  Right now, though, I'm not very hopeful.

Peter

13 comments:

Tom said...

Worth noting is that radical political polarization is nothing new--in the 1800 election, Federalist newspapers were predicting that if Jefferson were elected, there would be a guillotine outside the White House the day after the inauguration, while the invective hurled about in the Gilded Age made today's environment look downright familial.

That having been said, while ACW 2.0 is not a certainty, or even a probability, it is certainly a possibility--and if you live in a blue city in a blue state, the prospect of being caught up in a Bleeding Kansas scenario is a very real one.

Don't panic, don't live in fear, don't start it. But be ready for it.

John said...

America has a Republic as its political system. It worked well and allowed for the
peaceful transfer of power. (The slavery based Civil War was the exception) The Left
is in so much of a hurry to gain power over everyone and everything that it uses
"shortcuts" spelled out by Saul Alinsky who devoted his book to "Satan". His acolytes
despise the Republic and the Constitution and will not wait to change it through the
legal means spelled out in that same Constitution. This makes them enemies of anyone
who anyone who took the oath to "protect and defend" it and all Americans true to the
Document that established the foundation of everything we are as a Nation.
Now they have decided to use violence to further their aims. There can be no peace
until they stop their illegal and criminal actions. This is on them.

7916 said...

Is there anything from the marxists that I need or want to hear? Anything that would convince me that God does not exist, my ancestors were the purest evil on earth, and that all aspects of civilization are considered to be properties of my skin color, and therefore evil?

Is there anything I could say that would convince the marxists/BLM/progressives that their SJWism is a mental disorder? That they fundamentally desire the power of life and death over all creation? That they are wicked servants of Satan and God hates them?

That is the distilled essence here. You can reasonably argue that BLM is merely acting in their own nature, but Antifa, the global sexual predator elite, the marxist NGO's, SJWs everywhere, and those that support them are not. All of them are wicked. There will be no redemption for them. No dialectic will change their minds. I remember your quotes from your prison ministry stories. How many truly repented?

I had thought that there would never be enough police or government agents to try to enforce the laws and regulations that drive perversion, marxism, and outright population control. However I see that the virtue signalers happily will be the NKVD and try to enforce "rules", no matter how destructive to their civilization. Is there anything that can be said to these people to change their mind?

The only effective things to change such minds in the course of human history have been saturation bombing campaigns, starvation, enslavement, and thermonuclear weapons. Not much else will open the virtue signaler's mind to the horrors of those who desire governance.

I understand that most people will not want to fight. There are those who will, and the best thing to do for those who won't is to support those who will.





Sam L. said...

I used to live about 120 or so miles from Portland. I'm not certain how far I am now from there, but I plan to stay away.

Roy said...

"This is a side of US law enforcement that's too seldom recognized and/or debated by conservatives and constitutionalists."

-------

I hate to criticize someone on their own blog, but Peter, where the hell have you been for the last few years. The criticism of police and police agencies on conservative and libertarian sites has been going on at least since the Ruby Ridge and Waco fiascos - over 27 years ago!

Now, the police are being criticized for just the opposite - holding back and not responding to violence by the so-called "peaceful" protesters.

The irony is that just yesterday, in Denver Colorado, Michelle Malkin was physically attacked by antifa goons while attempting to address a "Support the Police" rally. Meanwhile, the Denver PD stood by and did NOTHING because they were ordered to stand down by the DEMOCRAT city administration.

NO! I am NOT going to stand by pacifically and listen to these assholes while they attack me and mine.

The Democrat party as a group have gone completely insane. The last time they rejected the peaceful transfer of power in a presidential election, they were the proximal cause of a very costly civil war. It's looking more and more like they will stop at nothing until they have instigated another one.

Retired Mustang said...

I am reminded of an editorial from one of the (at that time) two Little Rock daily newspapers back when I lived in Arkansas. The problem, said the editor, is not simply the tendency to say "God is on my side." Equally destructive, but far more insidious, he noted, is the tendency to say "God may not be on my side, but surely the devil is on yours."

Peter said...

@Roy: You're correct that overreach in the political sense - i.e. curtailing of individual rights and freedoms - has been protested by conservative and libertarian sites for years. However, that criticism has seldom extended to the way in which day-to-day policing was conducted. How many conservative and libertarian sites pilloried Chicago PD for its excesses at Homan Square, compared to those who criticized Ruby Ridge and Waco? There's a stark difference.

Roy said...

Peter, I can not tell you exactly how many conservative sites criticized the Chicago PD for Homan Square. But I can tell you that it was greater than zero.

Peter B said...

Reason had a series of articles.

Oh, and the last Republican mayor of Chicago was elected in 1927.

Chris Nelson said...

I second everything Roy said.

The folks in charge of the media and the Democratic party know what they are doing isn't virtuous, it's an evil grab for power. They really don't care if the world burns, as long as they win.

Peter B said...

The real lesson of Homan Square is that regardless of the intentions and the integrity of individual officers, the police serve their political masters.

That is also the lesson of the BLM assault on Michelle Malkin at a "we stand with the police" demonstration as the Denver Police stood passively by. They were certainly doing so under orders from their chief, who marched arm in arm with BLM a few weeks back.

The Mayor of Portland ordered his officers not to cooperate with federal law enforcement officials who came to town to protect federal property under occupation by the insurrectionists. The governor, who a few years back called for federal intervention to end the Malheur Refuge occupation, backed the mayor.

Michael said...

Rome did not fall to the Visigoths, they only ate the rotten corpse of a strong Republic brought down by traitors and Bread and Circuses Demagogue lead Mobs from with in. The Media, the Socialist-Democrats, their Antifa-BLM foot soldiers and the 3 letter agencies (aka Deep State) are doing a CIA handbook Color Revolution.

The goals of a Color Revolution is to discredit and drive out of power the previous government to install your own folks AND leave enough of the country worth "winning". Never Trumpers sound familiar?

Thus I doubt that the "Burn it all" revolutionaries (paid and Protected by Politicians and DA's) will target the power grid although less controllable Mobs might do damage. I note that when the less controlled Mobs threatened Seattle Mayors multi-million dollar home that the Police OBEYED their orders to clear out CHAZ-CHOP in less than 24 hours. Amazing eh?

The COVID plague's timing and modest death tool seems ODDLY useful for the Deep States need for mail in voting Fraud eh? As a medical professional this man made bioweapon was tailor made for a Color Revolution.

Prepare for more troubles as our House Divided fights it out for the "Election" of a puppet for the Deep State. I wish I was wrong but it walks like a Duck...

McChuck said...

There are no "peaceful protests" by the Left. There are only demonstrations of power. Our silence, to them, is consent.

As far as policing in black neighborhoods goes - Blacks simply don't want to be policed. It really is that simple. Why do you think there are all the calls for "defunding" police departments in black areas? Cops have to treat blacks aggressively because blacks have a long, established history of attacking the cops. When a mob of 60 people surround a cop after he arrests a black, that isn't a "peaceful protest", but a threat of violence.