We’ve seen our cities destroyed, statues defaced, and narrative flipped—just in a matter of weeks. And what has been the brazen, conservative response? Simply put, there hasn’t been much of one. Even from our supposedly right-wing leaders in the government, appeasement and cowardice have marked the pushback against irrational criticism of police and America’s history. We already know that the foundational idea behind the Black Lives Matter movement, that all police officers are supposed “racists” continuing the cycle of “institutional racism,” is blatantly incorrect. Why then, are regular conservatives refraining from pushing back? In two words, cancel culture.
Clearly, conservatives are different from the left-wing mob. Not only in ideology but also demographics. Want evidence? Look at the population of CHOP, Seattle’s three-block anarchist paradise. You’ll see Black Lives Matter banners, LGBT flags, all accompanied by masked, gender-confused millennials. Most unemployed with little to no actual skills, they mainly rely on extorting local businesses and importing “foreign aid” from organizations stationed in the United States. Point being, conservatives have better things to do than protesting against things like CHOP. Conservatives have jobs, responsibilities, families to support, and moral backing for their political views. On the other hand, they also have more to lose.
That’s exactly how cancel culture developed. Conservatives, too busy keeping up with their daily lives, forfeited ground to a left-wing with unlimited time and no limiting principle. Conservatives, worried about losing their social standings or professions, have let the mob walk completely over them, propagandizing their children and slandering their peers. On rare occasions when conservatives do speak up, they’re often “canceled,” usually by rage mobs doxxing them or contacting their workplaces. Can you really blame them? There is almost no incentive to challenge the mob, especially when they know where you live.
Today, liberals control our institutions. Despite their cries of “institutional racism” (ignore affirmative action) and “evil corporations” (ignore diversity pandering), they have incredible social and political power in this country. That said, Republicans still control the Senate and the presidency. As of June 2020, President Trump and the Senate have confirmed 199 federal judges. Trump has also ignited the rhetoric needed to challenge the mob. Given our current circumstances, conservatives need to start speaking up, at least to defend their peers when they’re being slandered. Generation Z conservatives have the most stake in this. This is the country that they’ll grow up in, and they don’t have acclaimed careers or long-standing relationships to lose.
Recent events have made one thing very clear: we have reached a critical point in our country’s history. We can go in either one of two vastly different directions. Destroy our history, or maintain it? Ignore our traditions, or preserve them? If we, as conservatives, want to conserve our America for future generations, we have to start speaking up. That doesn’t mean going on angry tirades on social media or physically inciting violence, but we need to start engaging more in the political system and changing minds.