Are We Aiding and Abetting Evil?

If you want a simplistic answer to the title’s question, the Left would accuse the Right of empowering evil, as they repeatedly use the word against us. Evil is just another synonym for Nazi, authoritarianism, guns and capitalism. In these times, it’s extremely important for us to wrest back the understanding of evil, and stop the Left from distorting and misrepresenting it, as they try to destroy our country.

Evil can be measured in a number of ways. Some people refer to moral evil, natural evil and metaphysical evil. For this discussion, we’ll focus on moral evil:

Moral evil is evil human beings volitionally and intentionally originated, and its examples are their cruel, vicious, and unjust thoughts and actions, such as murder.

The question for our society is: which are the evils we must fight against, since we can never be rid of evil? The Left has mastered the use of evil tactics. One author discusses these strategies as “Dark Psychology in Politics”:

Dark psychology refers to the manipulation and control of individuals through the exploitation of their emotions, desires, and vulnerabilities. In the political arena, dark psychology techniques are frequently employed to sway public opinion, gain support, and secure political victories. Political figures and parties utilize dark psychology tactics to accomplish their goals, sometimes resorting to fear, persuasion, deception, and even manipulation of existing biases. By understanding the principles behind dark psychology, politicians can exploit loopholes in human cognition to their advantage.

Some people would claim that these are descriptors of the political Right, too, but they would be hard pressed to give examples. But I believe dark psychology describes the Left to a tee. The problem for many of us is that tackling evil is rarely easy. It must be addressed with clarity, rigor, resilience and courage. Since evil is so dreadful, it is often seen as a negative force to be avoided; that we must ignore it at all costs; that we must turn away and complain about its destructiveness, but not take action.

With the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I would like to suggest that his death is a clarion call to every conservative in this country to address the prevalence of evil and reestablish the foundations of our country. We must laud the importance of religion and spirituality, of patriotism, of nationalism, of family and of freedom. But we can’t just speak up. When we hear those on the Left lie, distort, misrepresent the purpose of the Right; when we tolerate their accusations of desires for totalitarian government; when we allow them to distort the curriculum of our schools and corrupt the minds of our children—more than ever, we must act. I have banged on this drum before, but this time our efforts must be powerful and indomitable. We must refuse to be cowed or discouraged. This is not bullying by a schoolyard ruffian, but an attack on the very beliefs we hold dear. But perhaps the most difficult actions we must take must be taken, not from hate or anger, but from the love for country and God.

Isn’t that what Charlie Kirk demonstrated to us, over and over again?

That doesn’t mean we don’t fight fire with fire: it means that we are passionate, committed to being heard. We spend less time attacking them and more time celebrating our causes, and whenever possible, engage in constructive debate.

First, we must face the stereotypes that prevail and know that they trap us into counterproductive responses. Here is an example of those images, from both sides:

Authors Hartman, Hester and Gray point out common stereotypes. We tend to see more liberal Americans highlighting perceptions of conservatives as racist, sexist, afraid of foreigners, closed-minded, or perhaps simply malevolent—attributing greater intentionality. On the converse, conservatives may be construed as backward, ‘unsophisticated rednecks who vote against their self-interest.’ Likewise, views of liberals range from being naïve dupes who buy in to stupid policies with unrealistic idealism to being willing hypocrites in a political system that espouses egalitarianism while surreptitiously driving a more nefarious agenda incorporating horrific charges of supporting ‘death panels’ and ‘baby killings.’

Doesn’t that sound about right, as we review how both the Left and Right perceive each other? But guess what: it shouldn’t matter to us. For one thing, there are myriad reasons why the Left immerses itself in Leftist rhetoric. We can’t possibly eliminate all their reasons. In terms of how the Left refers to the Right, we should ignore the name-calling and focus on our values and goals: we want to be safe in a country where crime runs rampant; we want to engage every person who deserves to be here. We want to protect our children from debilitating ideologies. We want to stop socialism from dominating our economic freedom. Some of you will say that we’ve been taking these steps, but I propose that we must take them on much, much more.

What are the evils that call out to be eliminated? How about transgender education? How about promoting more than two sexes? How about men in women’s sports? How about mental illness? How about the legitimate education of American history and the great men who founded the country? How about the disasters of socialism? On this last issue, when a person says that it will work here because we will enact it, ask the person what evidence does he have that this is true? And ask this in a “Charlie Kirk” manner.

More than those efforts, we must take our politicians to task more than ever. Any Democrat senator or congressman who tosses around descriptions such as hateful, power-hungry, Nazi, totalitarian must be called out in public. Not just by us, but overwhelmingly by other people in Congress. We must tell our leaders that the status quo can no longer dominate. That they are charged with the responsibility to call these actions what they are: evil. We must stop being reticent or apologetic for our words, and we must be forthright about speaking the truth. We must realize that evil thrives outside our country in the forms of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, but it is flourishing in our country, and they must lead the way to stop it.

Where do we start? Get permission to visit your kids’ classes; see what they’re teaching; attend a school board meeting to get the lay of the land; talk to your kids’ teachers to learn more about the curriculum or see if it’s posted online; identify a friend who will join you.

These are just first steps for those of you who are shy about confrontation. But it may not take long for you to realize that you are more powerful and eloquent than you think you are.

Don’t let Charlie Kirk’s life and legacy be in vain.