“...we must examine how anarchy is lying in wait to feed on our constitutional rights, and on our naiveté about our own vulnerability.”
“In an earlier blog I emphasized the importance of moral clarity for an effective protest. The case of George Floyd dripped with moral clarity — so much so that 78% of the country agreed that Derek Chauvin … should have been arrested immediately. However, such a national consensus and borderline unity was intolerable for the anarchists. It was necessary for them to muddy the moral waters to accomplish their objectives. And so they began to divide us.” - Carl Ellis
I believe these riots are a fascinating and horrifying amalgamation of a host of factors. I recall reading a precis of the Webster report, which was issued in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Opinion was divided over whether this was mere lawlessness, or about class, or about race, or about long-simmering social inequalities, or a combination. My instinct is that it’s too simplistic to say these riots are about one thing, like critical race theory.
This entire episode will be fodder for a host of sociologists in the decades to come. If there ever is such thing as an independent report on this entire episode, a la the Webster report or similar inquiries that have occurred after other events of national note, I doubt it will come from this Administration.
What does seem to be unique today is the political correctness and enforced group-think in the media and among our politicians. This is pretty terrifying. Have we reached a point where a lifetime of living according to subjective feelings and pampered privilege make one literally insane?
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
Discussion