Charlottesville, Trump, and Hate in America
…as He died to make men holy,
let us live to make men free,
While God is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on!
-“Battle Hymn of the Republic”
The events that transpired in Charlottesville are a national disgrace. The violence that left a young woman dead and many others seriously injured — all over the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee — highlight a deep anger boiling throughout our country.
This anger is complicated. Our assessment of Charlottesville need not be. Holding one position on an issue does not preclude you from holding another. Here are a list of points that some consider to be mutually exclusive; they are not. Perhaps, if we can avoid placing ourselves wholly into Point 1 versus Point 2 boxes, we might uncover the bedrock at our shared moral foundation, and cast out the hate that serves only those who seek power through division.
Point 1: Freedom of speech is the bedrock of our democracy. We must be cautious before calling to prohibit any form of speech — even speech we consider to be hateful.
Point 2: Neo-Nazi and White Supremacist ideas should be smothered out by the sheer weight of dissenting voices.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes argued that the freedom of speech guaranteed in the First Amendment facilitated a “marketplace of ideas.” In this marketplace, those ideas worth their salt will rise to the top, and those ideas that are weak and baseless will be left unsold. It is only through a free an open marketplace that a democracy can be sustained.
We do not protect hateful speech because we approve of it. We must protect it in order to protect all speech. The same laws that would silence bigots would be used to silence you. We cannot allow one person or majority the power to stifle the speech of a minority. Minorities of all stripes deserve the opportunity to have their ideas become the ideas of the majority. But if those ideas are baseless, as are those of white hate, then our job is not to cast them out of the marketplace, but instead to expose their rot so that they remain unsold.
Point 1: Left-wing political violence is both real and bad.
Point 2: There is no moral equivalence between the anti-racist protestors in Charlottesville and the killer (and his ilk).
Credit for this point goes to J.D. Vance, author of The Hillbilly Elegy, who first expressed it on his Twitter. Our nation has witnessed violence by left-wing protesters on many occasions. Property has been destroyed and people have been seriously injured by those claiming the banner of various groups. The chaos perpetuated by those who don Guy Fawkes masks only does damage to our political system.
But make no mistake: the man who drove his car into the anti-racist protesters last week is a coward and a killer. Further, he and his ilk that wear Nazi and KKK symbols are indicating support for groups that have caused some of the worst suffering this world has ever known. There is no moral equivalency.
Point 1: Many Confederate Generals were complicated and captivating individuals.
Point 2: All Confederate Generals were on the wrong side of history, and if statutes depicting them are destined to become rallying symbols for Neo-Nazis and Klansmen, the public should insist on their removal.
The Civil War is a fascinating historic event that has captured the imagination of many Americans. It was also definitively about slavery. Those southern states that seceded did so out of fear that recently elected President Lincoln would abolish the institution. Slavery is America’s original sin, and those who rose up against the union did so to protect that sin. It is that simple.
Now, if there need be a debate to decide if Robert E. Lee was the moral equivalent of Nathaniel Bedford Forest, founder of the Klan, then it should probably be left for another time. Setting historical debates and moral dialogues aside, if these statutes and flags are going to become rallying symbols for hate groups in the present, then they should be taken down. No one should have any problem with upsetting these groups.
To address the slippery slope argument, understand this: Washington, Jefferson and the rest are revered for what they accomplished and despite their obvious faults, i.e. owning slaves. The Confederates causing the recent controversies are revered, it appears, because of their faults. That is the difference.
Point 1: The media dislikes President Trump and are inclined to work themselves into a frenzy at his every move.
Point 2: President Trump bungled his reaction to the Charlottesville violence, and that is inexcusable.
Let’s face it — you cannot turn on CNN for five minutes without the talking heads addressing something President Trump said or did. Some issues, like his campaign’s clear connection to the corrupt Russian government, must be delved into further. Other items, like his apparent fear of stairs, or his less-than-refined palate, perhaps should not be. As has been written before, President Trump should be supported when he is in the right, and corrected when he is wrong.
That said, President Trump totally dropped the ball in his reaction of the Charlottesville violence, and did real damage to the moral authority of his office. He was wrong. Claiming that the Neo-Nazis are only 50% to blame is a victory for the Neo-Nazis. It is hard to quell suspicions that, really, the President does not want to upset a radical part of his base, mustered by his shadowy and recently excused advisor Steve Bannon. Further, the way in which he doubled-down on his statement in that bizarre press conference only reinforced the perception that he is nothing more than bluster and gas.
Mitt Romney said it best in his recently released statement: “Whether he intended to or not, what he communicated caused racists to rejoice, minorities to weep, and the vast heart of America to mourn.”
Finally, let’s put a finer point on something mentioned earlier: The song quoted at the beginning of this piece — “Battle Hymn of the Republic” — was written and popularized during the American Civil War. Many thousands of men died fighting to deliver on that message of freedom in America. During the Second World War, Americans fought and died for that same message when they rid world of Nazi fascism. These actions are among those that should make us most proud of our country.
In Charlottesville, unfortunately, white nationalist protesters elected to brandish symbols from the old Confederacy and Nazi Germany. These symbols are an important part of American history, but their relevance stems from their ultimate defeat. White hate is not only immoral, but completely un-American.
