I have been thinking, and reading, a lot over the past several months, about freedom, liberty, order, orthodoxy, and personal character. I have been watching how public discourse has descended into cancel culture and attempts to react to cancel culture, as well as seeing broader evangelicalism slide into cultural conformity. This combination convinced me that I need to solidify for myself, and for those whom I lead, the principles upon which I will interact with my community and culture. Some of the influences have been Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Jocko Willink, Rod Dreher, Dan Crenshaw, Edwin Friedman, Thomas Oden, Archbishop Chaput, and Peter Toon.
This list began in a comical way - a brief Facebook conversation about Anglican “tribes” with some friends and colleagues. The accusation of one was that some 400-year-old tradition was bad, because the guy who instituted it had some moral issue (I can’t remember what precisely, or who, it was). This generated my response, “I refuse to conform to the modern trendy behavior of claiming that some person or event, which happened to be followed sometime later by negative consequences beyond the good it established, must be tripped over and surrounded with disclaimers when we celebrate a good thing.” One of my friends responded with, “you are the anti-woke candidate we all need”. Perhaps I am.
So, I copied and pasted my comment onto a blank MS Word document. A few days later I had a much more contentious conversation with some USMA classmates over public policy surrounding religious liberty and public policy. The conversation generated the first three lines of the list below, which I added to the document. Since then I have added other, related, principles to the list, and I wanted to go public with it.
I am not a public figure, and I am not a person of significant influence. Perhaps, if I advertised some Bang energy drinks while wearing skimpy clothing that could change, but I suspect the audience for that particular type of marketing is pretty limited, given my physique. So, I’m sharing it here in my little-read blog: for myself and those with whom I am connected. I hope it’s not just a head-nodding exercise, but one that causes people to think deeply about themselves, what they do, why they do it, and if they should reassess their own principles. I have to admit that I did not always conform to these in the past - my desire for comfort and approval have led me to compromise these principles on many occasions. Lord willing, I will never do so again.
…
I refuse to apologize for what others have done unless I am their authority or leader.
I refuse to pretend that punishing people today fixes the sins of our fathers.
I refuse to pretend that “microaggressions” are no different from real racist oppression.
I refuse to believe that victimhood is currency.
I refuse to conform my language to the prevailing changes driven by moral agendas I cannot affirm. Words have meaning.
I refuse to conform to the modern trendy behavior of claiming that some person or event, which happened to be followed some time later by negative consequences beyond the good it established, must be tripped over and surrounded with disclaimers when we celebrate a good thing.
I refuse to affirm that all offenses, even offenses of the same kind, are equal and thus demand an equal reaction.
I refuse to believe that an emotional reaction of another demands a change in my beliefs, understanding, or behavior.
I refuse to pretend that a mental psychosis demands an affirmation from me. Furthermore, I refuse to believe that a mental psychosis has any meaning beyond that person’s personal interpretation of him- or herself and that it has any relevance to the beliefs and actions of others, aside from pity and a desire for that person’s recovery.
I refuse to affirm that the existence of an evil means that everything that happens must therefore be related to that evil.
I refuse to be cowed by the shrieking cries of the hysterical offended. A person’s emotional reaction is his or her choice and deserves no response.
I refuse to pretend that hearing words from others causes actual harm. An adult’s reaction to those words is the choice of that adult.
I refuse to compromise with extreme positions. The fact that others have a position that is wrong does not mean I have to alter mine one bit. Peace is not worth giving an inch to evil.
I refuse to affirm that human beings do not have personal agency, responsibility, and power to make their own decisions. Everyone’s decisions are limited in some way – the question is, what are you willing to risk?
I refuse to depart from the faith of Christ and the apostles, from the understanding of ordered liberty laid down in our Constitution, or the clear dictates of natural law, no matter how many are offended or disagree with them. Furthermore, the existence of despicable characters who also claim to uphold those foundational principles in no way reduces the value of those principles one single iota.
I refuse to participate in chronological snobbery, which claims that because something is old, or from an era in from which we may have progressed in some way, then those ideas are now no longer relevant. The most relevant ideas are not the newest, but the most enduring.
I refuse to give anyone more or less respect for their opinions because of their alleged ‘privilege’. Everyone has more of what is called ‘privilege’ in some area than someone else. We have no control over our ‘privilege’, but we have complete control over what we do with what we have.
I refuse to pretend that an attack upon my intentions, which the attacker fabricates in the first place, deserves any attempted defense.
I will stand upon these principles and upon objective truth because I refuse to, as Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, “live by lies.” This does not make me brave, though many will not want to risk taking these stands publicly. This also does not make me persecuted or oppressed, though it seems likely that refusing to compromise these principles will lead to professional and personal consequences given the current culture and trajectory of public discourse.
I invite you to join me.