Liberalism in America is all but dead. Not the “liberalism” of Elizabeth Warren, but the liberal principle of civility in which decisions are based on honest facts and open discussions without today’s ever-present sense of emergency. In the last 30 days, the Left’s hawkish mindset has been exposed: proving its illiberal bias has gotten the better of it.
As proof the Left is on wartime footing, a black-gay celebrity staged a hate crime in order to frame whites as racists and homophobes. And, just as with the Covington Catholic “smirk” video, the Smollett “hate crime” ignited a mad-liberal dash to remind Americans we are on the eve of destruction. Now, that is the real crime: i.e. attacks upon our national sanity.
After Jussie Smollett, the black, gay actor, told Chicago police he had been the victim of a hate crime at the hands of two white supremacists, mad-lib disease swept the nation. Ellen Page, the gay actress, weepily urged Stephen Colbert’s audience to “connect the dots” between conservative Christians and hate crimes. Oops – there were no dots.
Presidential hopeful Cory Booker tweeted: “The vicious attack on actor Jussie Smollett was an attempted modern-day lynching.” Not to be outdone, House speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed “the racist, homophobic attack on Jussie Smollett [was] an affront to our humanity.” Just in case we the people did not understand, CNN’s Brooke Baldwin proclaimed, “This is America in 2019.” Yikes – it was just propaganda.
Apparently, America in 2019 is so gullible it believes two MAGA-hatted goobers roamed icy-cold Chicago at 2:00AM with a noose and bottle of bleach. Sadly, America in 2019 is too impatient to question why Smollett picked up his Subway sandwich, walked home to eat it with a noose around his neck, and refused to cooperate fully with the Chicago police? I hate being Brooke Baldwin’s bias buzzkill, but “my America” is not gullible and impatient.
Upon watching both the Covington Catholic video and news of the Smollett attack, I did not conclude racism was an impossibility. Rather, I concluded there was irrational whitelash from celebrities, politicians and the press. I am a father who resents any grown man – regardless of ethnicity – getting in the face of a boy. I also have enough common sense to question Smollett’s post-attack behavior.
Smollett’s hoax was staged propaganda, plain and simple; and Chicago’s black prosecutor is appropriately outraged by the use of a noose as a prop, because it so frightened black Americans. Smollett hoped to incite anger against white Americans with traditional values, but what if the Left’s knee-jerk reaction had been fiery attacks upon white Southern Baptist congregations?
This is America, where two wrongs still don’t make a right. Therefore, patriotic conservatives should express outrage for criminal bias equal to patriotic liberals’ outrage for criminal hate. In my opinion, the US judiciary should borrow from biblical law and punish the false accuser for the hate crime he alleged, because Smollett did subvert justice and game the Chicago police department.
Right on cue, after the Smollett fiasco threatened the left’s narrative of widespread white supremacy, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) reported hate groups have increased 30 percent since 2014, claiming the increase “dovetails with Trump’s campaign and then his presidency.” This SPLC report is so full of holes, it reeks of propaganda.
According to the SPLC report, the number of hate groups peaked in 2011 (three years after Obama was elected) and the current rise began in 2015 (two years before Trump took office). Furthermore, the SPLC reports KKK chapters have actually decreased from 130 in 2016 to 51 in 2018. The SPLC’s own data weakens their anti-Trump conclusion – and so they conjecture:
“The KKK has not been able to appeal to young racists, with its antiquated traditions, odd dress and lack of digital savvy. Young racists prefer Fred Perry polo shirts and khakis to Klan robes.”
Mothers, don’t let your sons grow up to be frat boys or work for a business-casual employer! Perhaps hate crimes are up, but FBI statistics don’t support the left’s conclusion. White Americans comprise 61.3% of the US population, but committed only 50.7% of the hate crimes in 2017 (down from 58.6% in 2010). In comparison, black Americans comprise 12.1% of the US population, but committed 21.3% of the hate crimes in 2017 (up from 18.4% in 2010).
Let’s get real here. I don’t believe black Americans are on a hate-crime spree, and I oppose the iota of white supremacists in America. I just don’t see evidence that white Americans are on a hate-crime spree. Benjamin Franklin left the USA with a cautionary thought: we have a wonderful Republic, if we can keep it. And, because Franklin wanted women to vote and negroes to be free, his words should mean something to today’s so-called liberals.
The US is a constitutional republic with more diversity and equality than mankind has ever known. Still, 250 years ago, Franklin was aware that partisan bias could amplify iotas of identity hatred into widespread political division. America is advanced civilization – with social media that can spread the lies of a “smirk” and a “noose” faster than the truth can be proven. Such times call for patience and optimism.
The center-right needs to demand patient self-regulation of the press, celebrities and politicians. The center-left needs to express optimism in the current state of the union. Let the Smollett hoax serve as a wake-up call: that was a make-believe America staged by a man with demons inside his mind.
Think about it: the Smollett believers were just as deceived as the Hitler believers. This is true, so why aren’t Republicans worried that brown-shirted goons will launch widespread attacks on gay and black Americans? Because – – Republicans are patriotic guardians of this constitutional republic, and they know the USA will never sink to Nazism or Confederate revival. It is about time Democrats shared this faith and optimism.