For reasons we’ve explored before, modern progressivism is an existential threat to the Republic. Just to cite one data point that illustrates the contention, the 1619 Project is explicitly designed to cast the nation’s founding as an immoral act, and no Republic can long last when its citizens don’t believe in the virtue of the enterprise.
Trump is no conservative, but his term in office has been extremely useful in exposing modern progressivism for what it really wants: to see the imposition of an anti-democratic sociopolitical oligarchy with the goal of enforcing subscription to a broad set of approved beliefs on everything from economics, race, religion, sexuality, education, abortion, and gender to the names of sports franchises. That modern progressivism’s intentions may sometimes have merit doesn’t mitigate the moral bankruptcy of its methods, inimical to the founding principles of the first nation in the history of the world built on the notion that all individuals are created equal before God.
But that was never Trump’s goal; it was only a byproduct. An important byproduct to be sure, but nonetheless Trump is nothing more than a catalyst. He had an obligation both to his supporters and to the nation-at-large to fit himself to the office; this he has stubbornly refused to do. So as we sit on the eve of the election, he is still incapable of doing the absolute minimum to demonstrate his respect and understanding of the office, and by extension, the true miracle of this country’s founding and why modern progressivism needs to be carefully and thoroughly extirpated.
He may have been the right man to drive modern progressivism into a frothy lather and thence out into the open; he is definitely not the right man to battle it into annihilation. Such a man would have an understanding of what conservatism wants to conserve.
Trump, sharing as he does modern progressivism’s predilection for narcissism, has become a distraction to what has become the cause of freedom’s survival. His lack of understanding and his lack of discipline and his lack of genuine love for the country and its institutions give modern progressivism the excuse it needs to continue on its project to destroy America. Trump has squandered any moral authority to lead this existential fight, which is coming to a head sooner than most realize.
This is not a Bill Kristol argument, who would’ve had standing today if he had encouraged Trump to be better even if the advice had gone unheeded. He instead chose the easy path of self-exile. This is not a Lincoln Project argument, advanced by a collection of political con men (and a con woman) who found that it’s just as easy to grift wealthy Democrats as it was their previous Republican marks.
This is an argument that allows for the hope that Trump could’ve found political grace in following the nation’s founding spirit beyond his own self-interest and limitations. He deserves credit for creating his moment of possibility; alas he proved to lack the character to make the most of it for his country.
Modern progressivism is an extremely dangerous and ill-mannered child, and one does hesitate to give in to what it wants and thus encourage its offensive behavior. But in this case, knowing the power that elites have to impose great cost on the nation when they don’t get their way, the best course may well be to let them have their puppet and hope that in their habit of smashing things indiscriminately, they break something that really matters to the American people and they will be driven off for good.
So here’s to Joe Biden, or more accurately, Kamala Harris, inevitably outkicking their coverage so we can clear the decks for an interrupted successor to Trump that will combine his talent for agitating the progressive cockroaches with the moral authority to sweep them into history’s dustbin.
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