Our society is experiencing a moral panic.
It is:
- Mistaking horrific anecdotes for objective reality
- Viewing certain identity groups as better, rather than equal to others
- Uninterested in nuanced, micro changes that will better provide justice and equality to all
- Failing to aim for judgment by content of character, not color of skin
- Straw-manning its opposition
- Seeing racists where they don’t exist
- Quick to see cynicism and enemies
- Enforcing newspeak and doublethink
- Unwilling to recognize the moral progress and enduring promise of America
- Scared to speak in nuance, for fear of public shaming
- Becoming humorless - humor requires trust
- Bolstering political rivals with hysteria
- Censoring and forbidding speech
- Foregoing due process in the land of public opinion
- Taking advantage of well-meaning, innocent, guilt-prone citizens
- Unwittingly building a new, dogmatic religion
- Reinforcing its viewpoint with confirmation bias
America is sacred. Our core principles of freedom are enduring and sacrosanct.
The vast majority of its people believe in equality of opportunity and equality for all people.
We can do better. But we must honor how far we’ve come and be stewards of our inheritance.
We must be afraid of an overreaction to an overreaction.
We must be resistant to seeing ourself primarily as identity groups, caused by immutable characteristics.
Our common humanity must prevail.