FALL 2020 | VOL.32 | N0.4

ACTON INSTITUTE'S INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RELIGION, ECONOMICS AND CULTURE

What is a Christian’s duty as a U.S. citizen?

Jay Richards on Sally Pipes on the Mike Gonzalez on the COVID-19’s ‘tyranny ‘public option’ constitutional cure for of experts’ cancel culture

The constitutional cure families and communities Be civilization! Citizenship is thanmore voting Time to chill about the fiery climateapocalypse critiqued theory, Critical citizenship heavenly and Earthly Acton Briefs Faithful citizenship: the foundersreligion on and the republic HenriLandwirth Repairing the breach: bringing fractured politically to peace

ESSAY 07 for cancel culture 17 18 20 22 02 09 14 15

COVID-19: the tyranny What is a Christian’s duty as a U.S. citizen? U.S. a as duty Christian’s a is What The ‘public option’ will

ESSAY 03 destroy choices ESSAY 05 of experts COVERSTORY 11 Hunter Baker . . ------

The Price of Panic ACTON.ORG EXECUTIVE EDITOR EXECUTIVE

The Plot to Change America FALL 2020 This issue has been made possible in Read and share this issue, and join us These stories trace the full arc of citi This issue goes to press as the pres

01 servation servation and the good stewardship of part thanks to a generous donation from that we may be co-heirs in the next. Editor-at-large John Couretas reviews environmentalism. on the public option, detailing exactly how this allegedly moderate compromise will eliminate private health insurance. And lez presents a constitutional program to defund identity politics, the topic of his recent book, Healthcare expert Sally Pipes analyzes saster of the COVID-19 lockdowns, the theme of his new book, The Heritage Foundation’s Mike Gonza other body, the body of Christ.” distinguished slate of this issue. contributors Jay Richards analyzes the di to that Christians are “not grounded in mere earthly As believers, citizenship. … we are full range of our charitable, and familial, commercial lives. educational, Finally, Acton Institute Co-founder ert Sirico Rev. elevates the dialogue by noting Rob David Deavel writes that earthly citizen ship goes well beyond voting: “The good citizen’s task is to ‘be civilization’” in the “Repairing the breach,” I document how our toxic political culture is tearing fami steps to discuss divisive issues in peace. that “citizenship in a free country” tails en “the corresponding responsibility of zenship, showing how religion and liberty intertwine at each stage. Mark David Hall shares the founders’ views that religion sustains our republic. Hunter Baker writes evant long after the votes are tallied, be cause politics represents a mere fraction of true citizenship. idential election is ending – both causes for rejoicing. But its theme remains rel EDITOR’S NOTE EDITOR’S Population bust fueled Pandemic policies are leaving What’s driving the decline of COVID-19 spread: study children behind religion in America? Joseph Sunde Secular education ACTON INSTITUTE ACTON INSTITUTE Joseph Sunde A recent study found that the number Reopening in-person education has less ACTON INSTITUTE of deaths caused by COVID-19 would have to do with science than politics. An eye-open- The “rise of the Nones” is by now well been lower if society “had maintained the ing article for the New Yorker and ProPublica known, but the causes behind it have re- patterns of fertility, nuptiality, marital by Alec MacGillis states that President Donald mained obscure. In a new study from the stability, and household structure that ex- Trump’s overtures to reopen schools provided American Enterprise Institute, researcher isted in 1976.” Had population trends held convenient political cover for teachers unions steady, COVID-19 deaths would have been to create a cultural consensus that dismissed decline of religious belief. One of them is lower as a percentage of society and in ab- “the expansion of secular education.” solute numbers, according to researchers and cities that lean leftward. The number of people who do not iden- at the Demographic Observatory of San According to a study by Jon Valant of tify with any particular religion has in- Pablo University (CEU) in Madrid. the Brookings Institution, “there is no re- creased precipitously. Yet this trend is not Declining fertility rates mean Spain has lationship … between school districts’ re- due to some sort of modern intellectual 20 million fewer residents under the age opening decisions and their county’s new “Enlightenment” – an agnosticism spurred of 43, a cohort with a higher coronavirus COVID-19 cases per capita.” However, the by high levels of academic achievement or survival rate, according to the report titled study found that “there is a strong rela- breakthroughs in science and technology. “Coronavirus and Demographics in Spain” tionship … between districts’ reopening “Theories that religion has declined … be- (“Coronavirus y Demografía en España”). decisions and the county-level support for cause modern, educated people are inher- The total number of COVID-19 deaths Trump in the 2016 election.” ently skeptical of religion get no support in would also be lower were it not for the In another study, political scientists Mi- the actual historic record,” Stone observes. population bust, because Spaniards tra- chael Hartney and Leslie Finger observed Instead, it has far more to do with who ditionally lived in multigenerational a wide set of national data and conclud- is controlling education and the mechanisms families, where children and grandchil- ed that “politics, far more than science, dren cared for their elders. “[T]he lower shaped school district decision-making.” “More educational spending by the (gen- presence of the elderly in nursing homes They write, “mass partisanship and teach- erally secular) state to teach children may would have limited the foci of contagion er union strength best explain how school teach not just math and reading but also a among the population with the highest boards approached reopening.” worldview or life orientation,” he writes. risk,” according to the CEU. At some level, the political game-play- “In other words, the content of education ing was just an excuse – a convenient dis- matters. Evidence that education reduces re- notion that overpopulation threatens hu- traction to hide a more systemic variety ligiosity is fairly weak: American religiosity man survival, a view recently popularized of resistance. As Jonathan Chait observes, rose considerably from 1800 until the 1970s, - “the union’s incentives are misaligned despite rapidly rising educational attainment. asio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, and former with those of their students.” royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. “For kids and families, in-person ed- education might reduce religiosity is more Instead, a birth dearth is stalking the compelling,” he continues. “Indeed, statisti- world. The world’s population will peak at the health risks of going to school, and cally, most researchers who have explored 9.7 billion in 44 years, then contract by the economic and social costs of staying - almost a billion people by 2100. By that home. For younger low-income students, cation-related variables, which I have argued time, 23 nations will see their populations the costs of losing in-person school are are a proxy for secular education, can explain fall by half; Japan has already peaked and catastrophic and permanent,” he writes. nearly the totality of change in religiosity.” will lose 59% of its citizens. “Teachers, on the other hand, are in- Stone proposes several policy initiatives In the United States, the total fertility centivized almost entirely to minimize rate hit 1.7% in 2019 – “another record health risks,” he continues. “They get paid better empower religious communities and low for the nation,” the CDC noted. The the same salary if they go to school or educational institutions, many of which trend has not yet reached its nadir. The teach from home. They might feel unhap- U.S. is headed for “a large, lasting baby and other school choice programs, liberal- bust,” the Brookings Institution predicted they do not have anything like the invest- ized zoning rules, eased licensure rules for in June. ment that the families have.” religious institutions, and more. While these God instituted the family when He In the end, however, it is the teach- observed, “It is not good that the man ers, not the students, who have the bulk of distinct moral communities and a cultural should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Alien- power and public representation. Amid all imagination that is clear about what good education and good culture look like, as well the end of life than it is at the beginning. risk calculations, the science is being ignored - ties in a pluralistic society.

02 ESSAY The ‘public option’ will destroy choice

emocratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has made it abun- Ddantly clear that he opposes the “Medicare for All” model of health reform favored by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and the pro- gressive wing of the Democratic Party. Instead, Biden proposes creating a public insurance option that would compete against private insurers on the Obamacare exchanges. On its face, this plan might seem sensible. Unlike Medicare for All, a public option would not abolish private insurance. It would just give people one more choice of health insurance coverage. But Biden’s public option would upend our health sector in ways that impose real costs on patients and providers alike. In the end, it would yield the same kind of single-payer system that the former vice president has explicitly rejected. The Biden campaign has outlined in some detail what its gov- ernment-run health plan would entail. The public option would be administered by Medicare. It would include at least one plan with no deductible. It would charge no co-pays for primary care. Low-income Americans who are not eli- gible for Medicaid would be enrolled automatically. And all Amer- icans – even those eligible for coverage through their employers – would be free to sign up. This model is tailor-made to negate the most common objec- tions to Medicare for All. For example, most voters are not eager to see private insur- ance disappear. According to recent polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 56% of the country is in favor of Medicare for All. But support drops to 37% when Americans learn that it would outlaw private insurance. Biden is well aware of this public opinion data. It is why part of his pitch was that he will not take away Americans’ existing cov- erage. That pitch has proved popular. Two-thirds of the country – including 44% of Republicans – say they favor a public option. But their support is misguided. “If you like your plan, you can keep it” was not true under Obamacare. And it would not be true

under Biden’s plan, either. The reason is simple. A public option would not have to cover any holes on its balance sheet. That would give the public option luxury of running losses in perpetuity. Further, the public option would reimburse doctors and hospi- - ly low, because the government has the power to essentially dic- tate what it will pay. Indeed, hospitals receive just 87 cents from the federal government for every dollar they spend providing care

03 FALL 2020 ACTON.ORG Private insurers do not have that kind - of “negotiating” leverage. So, healthcare ly insured customers become low-pay- providers charge them more – both be- ing, publicly insured ones. A separate KNG cause they can, and because they need to Health Consulting study estimates that make up for government underpayments hospitals’ payments could fall by $774 bil- somehow. In 2018, private insurers paid lion over 10 years under a public option. hospitals 247% more for the same services A 2016 paper from the Congressional than Medicare did, according to a recent analysis from the RAND Corporation. and 60% of the nation’s hospitals were on These two cost advantages would give track to become money-losing operations the public option a leg up on the private by 2025. A public option would likely push competition. The public plan could at- them further into the red. tract customers with To compensate, low premiums that they might try to raise private insurers could rates on their remain- not hope to match. “Eventually, the ing privately insured Privately insured public option customers. But pri- consumers would vate insurers would understandably drop would swallow up pass those rate hikes their coverage and the entire market. on to consumers in the switch to the cheaper form of higher premi- public option. Biden’s plan to ums. Those consum- Biden’s plan also give Americans ers would respond by strikes a severe blow cancelling their private against the 165 mil- another health coverage and switch- lion Americans who insurance choice ing to the public op- have employer-spon- tion. And the cycle sored health insurance would end up would repeat. by allowing those who Eventually, the have access to cov- leaving them with public option would erage through work only one choice.” swallow up the entire to decline it – and market. Biden’s plan hop onto the pub- to give Americans an- lic option. Right now, people eligible for other health insurance choice would end - up leaving them with only one choice. ployers cannot get taxpayer-subsidized This may be a roundabout way for the coverage through the exchanges. government to eliminate private insurance and take over the health insurance sector. paycheck get deducted to cover their share Sen. Sanders’ explicit vision of Medicare of the premium. The public option may for All. seem like a better deal. Employers, meanwhile, may decide that Sally C. Pipes is president, CEO, and Thomas they would prefer not to continue spend- W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy at the ing huge sums on health insurance. They could end up nudging their employees into False Premise, False Promise: The Disas- the exchanges, with a recommendation trous Reality of Medicare for All (Encounter that they check out the public option. 2020). Follow her on Twitter @sallypipes. That is the scenario sketched out in a recent study by KNG Health Consulting. those currently insured by their employer would move over to a public option plan by 2032. Some would make the transition vol- untarily. In most cases, employers would A booming public option is bad news for doctors and hospitals. They can ill

04 ESSAY travel. Trump’s opponents, from Joe Biden with narrow expertise gained the status to Nancy Pelosi, accused him of xenopho- of infallible oracles. This made it political- bia. By late March, though, panic was set- ly deadly for the president to weigh their ting in, and Trump’s domestic critics were advice against the advice of other experts. COVID-19: claiming he had not acted fast enough. That arrangement, we should now re- In downplaying the danger early on, alize, set the stage for disaster. The coro- the World Health Organization seemed to navirus was surely a danger, especially to the tyranny be carrying water for the regime in Bei- jing. (We provide the details in our new But it’s not nearly as severe as the Span- of experts book, The Price of Panic.) But in March, the UN agency reversed course. WHO Direc- tor-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus healthy. As a result, we argue in The Price pointed to a scary model from the Imperial of Panic that the cost of the public re- College London, which predicted as many sponse – which involved untested, pop- as 40 million people could die worldwide ulation-wide lockdowns rather than tar- ou already know the basic story of the spread of the virus. It would be more than Y2020 coronavirus global pandemic, a month before non-experts learned that Let’s grant that the federal govern- the model was little more than high tech, ment has a proper role to play in public If we fail to discern the role of the tyranny unreliable conjecture. health and, in particular, during a pan- of experts, we will miss the linchpin that American public health experts fol- turned a pandemic into a catastrophe. lowed the lead of WHO and advised the their own devices should not have this As a public-health problem, COVID-19 president accordingly. On April 8, Trump sort of power over government leaders or started in late 2019, when a mysterious explained that “two very smart people - new coronavirus infected people in Wu- han, China. Within a couple of months, it these are your alternatives.’ And that was men and women who are accountable to had spread to every corner of the occu- a projection of 1.5 to 2.2 million people the public and who are charged with bal- would die if we didn’t close [the economy] ancing the advice of competing experts, China did not know how dangerous it was, not getting rolled by them. reactions varied. In late January, President Dr. Anthony Fauci. The problem here is not that public Donald Trump responded to the news by restricting travel from China. At the time, became household names, thanks to a vi- they are all noble and well-meaning. The the World Health Organization still down- ral boost from the press and social me- problem is that they are bound to maxi- played the risk and criticized limits on dia. As a result, government bureaucrats mize a certain kind of safety, to the neglect

05 FALL 2020 ACTON.ORG of other goods. In this way, they are like of reopening schools and warned gover- disgraced Imperial College Model in anxious doctors who run every possible March, too. In April, he sentenced test on a patient. Looking for problems we reopened states “prematurely.” Pre- us to further lockdown based on is a physician’s job. Misdiagnosis could be maturely, compared to what? The word the always wrong IHME model. considered malpractice. This makes them Later in April he said he wasn’t sure risk-averse and hypervigilant. They tend during a pregnancy. But Fauci promised no we could trust the models. Now to respond to the worst-case scenario. end date to the madness. in May he’s not sure we can send the kids back to school this fall, a What you deem best for you, weighing Emanuel and Fauci say such things? Be- linchpin to reopening the country, cause they are in the grip of a single goal. despite the fact kids are returning for the doctor who is treating you. to school in China, Japan, Switzer- In the same way, putting medical spe- land, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, cialists in charge of nations – or the whole - France, Israel, and Sweden. globe – is asking for overly cautious and ty of actual lives lived over the long term. So, how do you know which even oppressive policies. These experts Imagine, for instance, what might happen Fauci to worship? Your demigod - if a risk-averse public health expert who sure does change his mind a lot. ady in front of them, to the exclusion of No matter. The press had elevated any other concern – with tragic results for deaths could dictate the driving choices of Fauci and other specialists to the status us in the United States and every other 330 million Americans, or eight billion hu- of infallible oracles – whose most recent country that followed the doctors’ orders. mans. It would not be pretty. pronouncements erased whatever they Consider, as Exhibit A, Dr. Ezekiel The problem is not expertise. We all had said the day before – and dared gov- Emanuel – oncologist, bioethicist, and ernors and presidents to challenge them. one-time public health guru under Pres- tyranny of experts – when their constrict- But challenge them we must, if we’re going ident Barack Obama. Probably for shock ed focus dictates policy for everyone. In a to avoid a repeat of the 2020 catastrophe. sane world, the media would grasp that saying that the whole country must be locked down for 12 to 18 months until there narrow take on a vast and complex prob- Briggs are the authors of The Price of Panic: is a vaccine. “Realistically, COVID-19 will lem, and that while we should not ignore How the Tyranny of Experts Turned a Pan- be here for the next 18 months or more. them, we should not idolize them, either. demic into a Catastrophe. We will not be able to return to normalcy Regrettably, the press weaponized - Fauci against President Trump and oth- ications,” he said. “I know that’s dreadful er politicians who challenged the wisdom news to hear. How are people supposed to reporting on Fauci’s May testimony be- a year and a half? Is all that economic pain fore a Senate committee – when Senator worth trying to stop COVID-19? The truth (and doctor) Rand Paul had the temer- is we have no choice.” ity to tell him, “You’re not the end-all” The doctor was wrong: There is al- – were predictable: “Trump’s Push to Re- open Schools Clashes with Fauci’s Call for the sick, isolated those at high risk, tak- Caution”; “Fauci Warns of Colossal, Dead- en commonsense precautions, and then ly Mistake. Will Trump Listen?”; “Fauci gone on with our lives – just as people Warns: More Death, Econ Damage If US Reopens Too Fast.” Of course, Fauci has no expertise in at least we could have pivoted as soon as economics, and even his health advice we saw that the coronavirus was not as changed over the course of the winter and deadly and indiscriminate as predicted. spring. As Steve Deace noted on May 14: Why couldn’t Emanuel see this? For the In January, Fauci did an in- same reason that Exhibit B, presidential terview in his native NYC saying advisor Anthony Fauci, said: “I don’t think we should ever shake hands, ever again, In February, he wrote virtually the to be honest with you. Not only would it same in the New England Journal of be good to prevent coronavirus disease, Medicine. In March, he said Amer- it probably would decrease instances of icans don’t need to be walking around wearing masks. Then lat- This from the man the New Yorker called er in March he told Congress this “America’s doctor.” would kill 10 times more people In mid-May, Dr. Fauci spoke to a Sen- - ate health committee about the dangers down the country based on the

06 ESSAY The constitutional way to defeat cancel culture

hile Americans have been more The reason, he wrote, was that the of this theory. In fact, starting next year divided at other times in history, worker had accepted and internalized all the California state university system will Wour current divisions are so pro- the cultural concepts of the oppressor found that dark voices suggest we are on class: religion, the economic system, the B.S. take a class on ethnic studies. Similar the verge of a new civil war. Portland, Se- family unit, the nation-state, etc. The studies are being extended in K-12 schools. attle, Kenosha, Chicago, etc., reminded us capitalist bourgeoisie no longer need- Critical theory, the main philosophi- all summer long that we are on the edge. ed to use the threat of force to get the cal school of identity politics, is nothing And the violence that broke out in Louis- worker to accept his fate. The worker less than an unremitting attack on all of ville on September 23 following the verdict did it on his own, because he had ac- America’s norms and traditions. Its goal of the Breonna Taylor case demonstrates is to replace them with a “counter-nar- that it’s not over yet. When one sees hard- In order to rid the worker of this false rative” to introduce such ideas as central Left rioters in the streets shooting police consciousness, a well-trained revolution- planning. The concept dates back to 1937 ary vanguard needed to put him or her when Max Horkheimer, the director of a and in turn attracting the attention of through “consciousness-raising” sessions school of thought known as the Frankfurt armed right-wing militants, one shudders. School, published its manifesto, Tradi- - revolutionary consciousness would not be tional and Critical Theory. When the essay fore getting to policy solutions, it is im- formed “under the brutal goad of physio- came out, these Marxist academics had portant to recognize how we got here in logical necessity, but as a result of intelli- to escape the Nazis and found a new Cancel culture, the division of the and later by a whole class, on why certain home at Columbia University in New York. country into categories of oppressors conditions exist and how best to convert Critical theory replaced universal truths and the oppressed, struggle sessions the facts of vassalage into triggers of re- with competing narratives. The Left’s job held at work places, the New York Times’ bellion and social reconstruction.” was to destroy the “hegemonic narrative” 1619 Project, victimhood culture – none That was Gramsci’s theory of cultural that Gramsci had described and to impose of these things materialized out of thin hegemony. The main tool used to put it in its own through critical theory. This nihilis- air. They have common roots. Their con- practice was critical theory. tic view dated to Nietzsche and was in itself Many heard of “critical race the- nothing less than an assault on Christian of 2020. ory,” because President Donald Trump values and all of Western civilization. To understand this, we must go back launched a two-pronged attack on it: Herbert Marcuse, another Frankfurt 100 years to Antonio Gramsci, the found- his Constitution Day announcement of a school academic who settled in America, er of the Italian Communist Party. Gram- 1776 Commission to counter the leftist added a new wrinkle. During the Sixties sci was sent to prison in the late 1920s in indoctrination of schoolchildren and his riots, he realized that the new revolu- order to, as the prosecutor put it, “stop his tionary base is not the worker but the brain from working.” We know from the and Budget to ban federal “anti-racism “exploited and persecuted of other races example of St. Paul and others that this is trainings.” On September 22, Trump ex- and other colors.” The locus of revolu- counterproductive. In prison, Gramsci had tended the ban to contractors doing busi- tion shifted from the worker to identity time to think and write. ness with the federal government. groups asserting victimhood. Very simply, He realized that, though Marx and the worker could change his economic Engels had promised the workers would critical theory, as is its law school branch, status (indeed, under capitalism, he could revolt and overthrow the capitalist class, - do so easily) while race, national origin, that had only happened in one place clude ethnic and gender studies. Put to- and sex are immutable traits. during his lifetime: a European backwater gether, they amount to what I and many Marcuse also wrote that there will called Russia. Everywhere else, including others call the “grievance industry.” Any- need to be “repressive tolerance,” ex- his own country and Germany, revolutions one taking classes at a university, or with plaining that conservatives’ views will in Western Europe in 1919 had failed to sons or daughters there, should under- need to be repressed. Cancel culture was produce soviets. stand that they are studying some form born. Lastly, one of Marcuse’s disciples,

07 FALL 2020 ACTON.ORG Rudi Dutschke, came up with the idea of Land of the Free, I call for an era of Civil Lastly, the least recognized form of a “long march through the institutions,” a Rights 2.0, which returns to the colorblind racial discrimination is one of the most clear reference to the Chinese Communist promise of the original civil rights move- important: the doctrine of disparate im- Party’s Long March in China in the 1930s. ment. We should follow the old Watergate pact. This allows discrimination to be Marcuse blessed the approach, calling it adage, “Follow the money.” As I write, “To found in a policy’s outcome, not its in- the only one that will work. start dismantling identity politics, then, tent. This is a civil rights lawyer’s dream Over the past 100 years, Marxism’s and begin the civil rights movement 2.0, and leads to arbitrary legal action, since message evolved from an emphasis on we need to stop the government from economics to an emphasis on culture; the people, especially when the categories locus of revolution shifted from the worker of victimhood simply because of member- to the identity group; and armed struggle ship in a protected group.” Gail Heriot of the U.S. Commission on was replaced by the peaceful takeover of Suborning Americans to adhere to Civil Rights has a handy solution I have all culture-making institutions like the identity categories takes many forms. One always supported: having the president media, the academy, and Hollywood. clear example is preferential contracting inventory the instances in which the fed- This has given us a nation divided into eral government uses disparate impact, categories based on the immutable char- as “disadvantaged business enterprises,” and then asking the heads of agencies: acteristics of race, national origin, sex, or DBEs. The owner of a business obtains 1. Do you consider your statute, reg- even disability status. These traits are ulation or policy to impose liability said to confer a victimhood status that of a victim group and swearing in an af- for disparate impact? can then be used to demand attention, 2. If so, what is the legal basis for - to ethnic prejudice or cultural bias.” Hav- that view? ances that are nourished act as catalysts ing succeeded in life by overcoming this 3. How does disparate impact liability to transform society, from top to bottom. work under that statute, regulation As result, we have the riots of 2020. University of Maryland Professor George or policy … and what is the agency’s La Noue draws the only possible conclu- legal basis for thinking so? do?” Though much of these divisions are sion: “Thus, social disadvantage is, as a 4. Finally, why does the agency be- taught in universities, the policies on practical matter, established at birth, and lieve disparate impact liability will which they are based emanate from the cannot be challenged by evidence of a survive strict scrutiny? federal government. That is why activ- successful life.” DBEs need to be discon- My own favorite solution has always ists and ideologues spend so much time tinued. been getting the government out of the working the federal bureaucracy. It is The federal government should con- of Management and Budget, for example, The president’s all-out attack on what federal statutes make non-competitive created the Hispanic and Asian categories he calls critical race theory and his ban- awards based on race. The last time the out of thin air in 1977. They made it into ning of “diversity training” is obviously a Congressional Research Service did this, good start. It comes late in his term, which in 2011, it found that nearly 300 federal - could be his only one. But at least he has gories have very little in common except put these issues in the national spotlight. or ethnicity as factors to be considered in the assumption that they belong to “vic- “Anti-racism” or “diversity” trainings the administration of federal programs.” tims” groups. Thus, they are corrosive to are indeed racist in the extreme. They posit The report added that, though its authors the ethos of e pluribus unum. that traits inhere in race and ethnicity, and had been “as comprehensive as possible,” The American ideal may not have al- that such attributes as punctuality, the - ways been achieved, but we should con- use of reason, and love of the written word haustive.” The next step is to declare that tinue to try rather than give up on it. Only belong to something called “whiteism.” these statutes contravene the Constitu- when we aspire to live according to these Noting more toxic could be said to a child, tion and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. lights can we avoid the mayhem we are and the president was on target when he One of the most visible set-aside pro- currently witnessing in our streets. called it a form of child abuse. If Trump wins re-election, conserva- admissions. Vulnerable high school se- Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at The Heritage niors worried about getting into a good Foundation, is the author of the new book, assure that he stamps out the struggle college are being encouraged to check one The Plot to Change America: How Identity sessions mischaracterized as “anti-racism of the identity boxes and produce victim- Politics is Dividing the Land of the Free. He training.” If the president loses, this will hood narratives that will get them into the - - college of their choice. This will take the spondent, commentator, and editor who has ent factions of the conservative move- courts to resolve, though the Trump Jus- reported from Asia, Europe, and Latin Amer- ment can rally. Either way, understanding tice Department took an important step in ica. He served in the George W. Bush admin- the origin of the identity politics problem informing Yale this summer that its ad- - will help us with policy remedies. missions program violated Title VI of the mission and the State Department. In my July 2020 book, The Plot to Change Civil Rights Act by discriminating against white and Asian-American applicants.

08 ESSAY sition, that morality can be main- morality, and republicanism, what do these tained without religion. Whatever trends suggest for the future of Ameri- explore the founders’ syllogism and then Faithful citi- peculiar structure, reason and ex- suggest that even if they were correct, we perience both forbid us to expect still have reasons to hope that America’s that national morality can prevail experiment in constitutional self-govern- zenship: the in exclusion of religious principle. ment can continue to be successful. America’s founders believed that re- Shortly before America declared in- founders on dependence, John Adams wrote, “Religion citizenry and that religion is necessary and morality alone ... can establish the for morality. James Hutson of the Library principles upon which freedom can se- religion and of Congress suggests that this argument curely stand.” He regularly reiterated this was so widespread that it should be called conviction, noting in 1811 that “religion and the republic the “founding generation’s syllogism.” virtue are the only foundations, not only of In the late eighteenth century, every republicanism and of all free government, American of European descent, with the but of social felicity under all governments and in all combinations of human society.” as a Christian. And contrary to the asser- - tions of some sociologists, there is every tution, he wrote in 1798 that “[o]ur con- reason to believe that most of these citi- stitution was made only for a moral and SGeorge Washington published an es- zens took their faith seriously. say commonly referred to as his “Farewell Today, only 70% of Americans identify the government of any other.” Address.” In it, he observed that: as Christians, 6% are members of other Of all the dispositions and hab- faiths, and 24% call themselves atheists, its which lead to political prosper- peaceful society. In the words of the min- ity, religion and morality are in- often referred to as “the nones,” has ister Elizur Goodrich, “religion and virtue disputable supports. In vain would grown rapidly over the past decade, es- are the strongest bond of human society, that man claim the tribute of patri- pecially among young people. Only 20% and lay the best foundation of peace and otism, who should labor to subvert happiness in the civil state.” In 1796, fu- these great pillars of human hap- that there are “clear standards for what is ture Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase right and wrong.” wrote in a Maryland General Court opin- duty of men and citizens. … [L]et If America’s founders were correct ion that “[r]eligion is of general and pub- us with caution indulge the suppo- about the connection between religion, lic concern, and on its support depend, in

09 FALL 2020 ACTON.ORG great measure, the peace and good order no virtue, and without virtue there can citizenry. But they also understood, in the of government, the safety and happiness be no liberty, and liberty is the object words of St. Paul, that “all have sinned of the people.” Similarly, Jedidiah Morse and life of all republican governments.” and fallen short of the glory of God” (Ro- preached an election sermon in 1799 With a liberality unusual in his genera- mans 3:23). Moreover, they recognized where he observed that it is to: tion, he continued: that believers continue to struggle with - [S]uch is my veneration for ev- tianity we owe that degree of civil ery religion that reveals the attri- of faith, we must still be wary of politi- freedom, and political and social butes of the Deity, or a future state cal corruption. Like Lord Acton, they were happiness which mankind now en- of rewards and punishments, that I convinced that “[p]ower tends to corrupt, had rather see the opinions of Con- and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” foundation of our holy religion, fucius or Mahomed inculcated upon In Federalist No. 51, James Madison ultimately tend to the subversion our youth, than see them grow up observed, “If men were angels, no gov- also of our political freedom and wholly devoid of a system of reli- ernment would be necessary. If angels happiness. Whenever the pillars of gious principles. But the religion I were to govern men, neither external or Christianity shall be overthrown, mean to recommend in this place is internal controls on government would our present republican form of that of the New Testament. be necessary.” He went on to explain that government, and all the blessings Rush ended where many founders be- the separation of powers, and checks and gan, with the default assumption that balances, are necessary to prevent cor- with them. Christianity supports and promotes vir- ruption and promote justice. The found- Nor were such sentiments limited to tues that allow republican government ers also insisted that government power Protestants. Charles Carroll of Maryland, must be strictly limited by law. a Roman Catholic signer of the Decla- non-Christian religions are capable of America’s founders rejected the ration of Independence, remarked that generating the virtues necessary for re- optimistic view of human nature em- “without morals a republic cannot sub- publican government. braced by some Enlightenment think- sist any length of time; they therefore To be sure, there are extremist inter- ers, as well as utopian theorists before who are decrying the Christian religion, pretations of all faiths that may well un- and after the founding era. They desired whose morality is so sublime and pure ... dercut liberal democratic values. Almost a religious and moral citizenry, but they are undermining the solid foundation of half of all Americans think that Islam and designed a constitutional order for fall- morals, the best security for the duration democracy are incompatible, but Amer- en men and women. of a free government.” ican Muslims are overwhelmingly sup- If the founding generation’s syllogism Examples of founders insisting that portive of the United States. American is correct, the decline of faith in Amer- religion is necessary for morality, and Muslims are as likely to take their faith ica is a cause for concern. Citizens of that both are necessary for republican seriously as American Christians, and faith have good reasons to encourage the government, could be multiplied almost they share such values as the importance “nones” to embrace faith, the success of America’s experiment in self-government republican government is to work, people Not only can all religions foster the being only one of them. But we should need to respect each other. This includes moral commitments necessary for de- take heart that America’s founders did engaging in political debate with civility, mocracy, in many instances believers of not assume - treating one’s opponents with dignity, all faiths have joined together to pursue cials would be virtuous. America’s consti- telling the truth, and the like. More im- common goals. For instance, all religious tutional order may well be robust enough portantly, religion is a source of internal citizens have an interest in robustly pro- to survive contemporary religious trends. control, restraining and disciplining each tecting what many founders called “the Shortly after the delegates to the fed- citizen, and thus limiting the need of ex- sacred right of conscience.” eral convention signed the Constitution, ternal control by civil government. According to Barry Alan Shain, one a woman asked Benjamin Franklin if the America’s founders often spoke gen- of the best students of religion in the new nation was to be a monarchy or a erally of “religion,” but there is little doubt American founding, eighteenth-century republic. Franklin famously replied, “A that most of them, even those most in- European Enlightenment thinkers such republic, if you can keep it.” Like previ- as Nicolas de Condorcet were “well on ous generations, we must work together Christianity. The great Chief Justice John their way to envisioning a benign hu- to keep the republic. Doing so is in the Marshall, for example, wrote that in man nature and even a perfectible one interest of all citizens, regardless of their America, “Christianity and religion are free of original sin.” Practically, this led faith commitments, or lack thereof. them to reject the separation of powers, with such a people, our institutions did checks and balances, and federalism. “By Mark David Hall is the Herbert Hoover Dis- not presuppose Christianity.” the 1770s, most leading Enlightenment tinguished Professor of Politics and Faculty An exception to this rule is found in a thinkers embraced unicameralism” and Fellow in the William Penn Honors Program 1789 letter by Benjamin Rush, where he many “leading lights of the Enlighten- contended that the “only foundation for ment” ridiculed American federalism. many books, including Did America Have a a useful education in a republic is to be America’s founders thought that re- Christian Founding? R & L laid in religion. Without this there can be

10 ESSAY What is a Christian’s duty as a U.S. citizen? Hunter Baker

11 FALL 2020 ACTON.ORG aint Augustine famously wrote zone of authority. There is an import- evaluate the dictates of Christian con- about the existence of two cities ant task to be done by the government Straveling together through time in restraining sinful actions and punishing the state. That tension returns regularly and space on earth. One is the city of wrongdoing. But second, we must recog- and should never be too easily resolved man. The other is the city of God. The nize that Caesar’s reign is not coextensive or ignored. We should be attentive to the with God’s. He is not God, cannot be God, way to live faithfully amid the inevita- and must never demand from us what To this point, we have mostly dealt ble tension. Early Christians experienced only God justly can, which is obedience with the matter of Christians living in this tension in dramatic fashion. We feel and submission at the most fundamen- tension with the power of government. it today, too. tal and essential level. That simply does But there is another angle to consider, Part of the church’s history has to do not belong to human government, which which is Paul’s strong statement in Ro- with periods of intense persecution and rightly wields a more modest authority. mans 13 that everyone should be subject martyrdom. Steven D. Smith’s recent Because of the Sermon on the Mount’s to the governing authorities and should book, Pagans and Christians in the City, emphasis on turning the other cheek and not resist them lest they be found re- relates the incredulity pagan Romans eschewing violence, many early Chris- sisting God. Given that Paul himself died had when faced with the intransigence tians doubted that they could serve as soldiers or policemen. They were willing hard to understand that his comments are was that the pagans could not under- to pray for the city and to be exemplary not meant to be taken as an unlimited li- citizens in most ways, but they believed cense for government authority. However, the state and the power of God. Pagan the sword was forbidden to them. Mar- we still must deal with this very strong religion was not concerned with search- tin Luther answered in a way that re- recommendation to “be subject.” mains edifying. It is certainly true that In the pre-democratic era, most There are no doctrinal battles in pa- we must not strike back when struck and human beings were indeed “subjects” ganism. Rather, pagan religion is sim- rather than citizens as we recognize the ply performative in nature. It involves but there would be little love or virtue term today. For the most part, they were giving a sacred glow to both nature acted upon rather than acting through and institutions through public ritual. watching one’s neighbor being killed or the mechanisms of representative gov- In this regard, the Romans considered beaten. Luther noted that we feel ob- ernment. In other words, they typically themselves tolerant and enlightened. ligated to love our neighbors by giving did not have a choice about what the The Christians, like everyone else in the them food or water if they need it. We government did, unless they wanted to empire, could incorporate their Jesus should also recognize that our neighbors mount some kind of revolt. It is perhaps into the broader pantheon of gods. And need safety and order within which to try unsurprising, then, that some Christians while they were at it, they could do what and live peaceful lives. It is for this rea- viewed government as simply something everyone else did, which was to render son that God gives us government and to be endured, like the weather. What the necessary public performance. It did obliges us to respect and obey it. Its work they viewed as important was their spir- not matter if they believed it in their is essential work. Per Luther, no Christian itual lives in the church. It is interesting hearts; they simply had to say the words should refuse to participate in it, if there that the American Revolution against the or perform the actions. However, they is need and he has the capacity to serve. British empire took place after the spiri- could not. They could tual revolution of the First Great Awakening, in which Lord. With that state- many began to see them- ment came the spoken or “As Christians in the United States, we selves in direct connec- unspoken corollary that tion with God rather than Caesar is not. have been given something extremely meeting Him only through This refusal of Chris- valuable: citizenship in a free country. institutional hierarchies. tians to cede authority We could do another over essentially everything With that right comes the corresponding essay on how the West- responsibility of stewardship.” ern world moved toward Jesus in Mark 12:13-17. In democracy and human that passage, we see Jesus rights, but for now it may Yet even now we struggle at times suffice simply to make the point that He answered that one should render unto - the broad scope of citizenship, with its Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto endary American soldier-hero of World various rights and duties, owes much to God that which is God’s. There are at least War I, Sergeant Alvin York, originally the influence of Christianity. It is not a couple of important conclusions we can refused to serve, because his Christian a giant leap to go from acknowledging draw from this answer. First, Caesar (the scruples against killing were so great. that all human beings are made in the secular government) has a legitimate It is good and right for us to regularly image of God to the realization that we

12 the logic is easy to extend. As Christians in the United States, we have been given something extremely valuable: citizen- ship in a free country. With that right comes the corresponding responsibility of stewardship. What will we do with this great boon of self-government? It would be foolish, short-sighted, and ungrateful not to make the most of it by educat- ing ourselves and then participating ful- ly. We have been given various levels of talents and abilities to organize, debate, we have all been given something we can put to use in our capacity as citizens. Do not simply endure the government. In- stead, approach it as an object of stew- ardship. We are responsible for using the rights we have. I would conclude with one caveat: It is not enough merely to be active, but one must be active in ways that are both wise impressed by the democratic way of life he observed in America when he visit- - are common inheritors of the gift of cant problem. Heady with the spread of reason who deserve to rule ourselves or democracy and the empowerment that be governed by our consent. comes with it, Americans ran the great So, what is the duty of a Christian in risk of confusing the wishes of the major- a nation like the United States? We are ity with righteousness. As we exercise the clearly not merely subject to the gov- awesome stewardship of citizenship, we ernment. Rather, we share in its sover- must be ever mindful that the zone once eignty, the exercise of which depends on occupied by Caesar – and now occupied by our consent. In the American context, us – is subordinate to God’s greater reign. we are indeed citizens. In fact, we are a So, let us be sober, thoughtful, and mind- nation that likes to think of itself in the ful of our own fallen nature as we par- way Aristotle recommended, which is as a ticipate in the power of government. And most of all, let us remember that Christ is people who have experience both in lead- the King. ing and following. It is here that another passage from Hunter Baker, J.D., Ph.D., is the dean of arts Scripture comes to mind, which is the - Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14- R & L 30. In that story, we learn of the three servants who are given varied resources to safeguard in their master’s absence. Two of the servants take what they have been given and invest it, thus returning the principal and adding the increase. One fears his master and buries the tal- ent, which he returns, unenhanced, to two servants and invests them with fur- ther resources. But the third servant re- ceives criticism and will not be trusted with more. While the primary impact of the pas- sage does not relate to citizenship, I think

13 FALL 2020 ACTON.ORG IN THE LIBERAL TRADITION HENRI LANDWIRTH

enri Landwirth (1927-2018) Kissimmee, Florida. It now covers 89 overcame a traumatic child- acres and has 166 villas, each of which Hhood during the Holocaust provides luxury accommodations for up to become a great businessman and to six people. Thousands of volunteers philanthropist for terminally ill chil- ensure that the child’s every need or dren. Landwirth and his twin sister, desire is met. As of this writing, Give Margot, were born in Antwerp, Bel- Kids the World has served 160,000 gium, in 1927 to clothing salesman children from more than 75 countries. Max Landwirth and his wife, Fanny. Henri spent virtually every day for When Henri was 13, the Nazis forced his family into the Krakow ghetto, operations and joyfully engaging with shot Max, then dispersed his surviv- the children and their families. He ex- ing family to concentration camps. He plained the reason that he felt drawn would see his mother only once more to these children was that they were before she and a thousand other pris- spending their childhood in pain and oners were loaded onto a ship, which uncertainty – just as he had – never the Nazis sank. knowing if each day might be their last. From age 13 to 18, Henri was Henri Landwirth’s experience serv- lodging in the area for personnel, ing customers in business taught him escaped during the last weeks of the McNabb built a 100-room motel and how he could best serve the vulner- war through Czechoslovakia, eventu- hired Henri Landwirth to run it. Henri able. His intelligence and charisma met the people who worked on Proj- made the village successful. But Henri in his uncle’s factory in Belgium. believed that something greater was at In 1949, he arrived in New York play: “It must be God – God is right City unable to speak English, with only John Glenn, became his partner in a here in this village,” he said. a sixth-grade education, $20, and a new Holiday Inn three miles from Walt Henri Landwirth cut and faceted his copy of the Torah. After serving state- Disney World. With success upon suc- gem of a life into a sparkle that rivaled side during the Korean War, Landwirth cess, Henri became one of Florida’s the stars. studied hotel management on the G.I. most successful hoteliers. Bill. In 1954, he was hired to run the Laurie P. Morrow, Ph.D., holds the des- President Madison Hotel in Miami free hotel rooms to the Make-A-Wish ignation of Chartered Advisor in Philan- Beach, where he personally performed Foundation for seriously ill children. thropy® from the American College of Fi- every job, learning how each one con- In 1986, a six-year-old named Amy nancial Services. She earned her Bachelor tributes to guest satisfaction. of Arts in English summa cum laude, Phi As hotel manager, one small act of the complex travel arrangements. De- - kindness changed his life forever. He termined to make these trips stress- mont, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in English

loaned his tie to a man, who needed free, Landwirth partnered with Disney it to eat in the restaurant. That man and others to create the Give Kids the turned out to be B.G. McNabb of Gen- World Village. Rather than perpetual- eral Dynamics, who was responsible for ly seek hotel rooms for these families, developing the new space program at Henri built them an entire village. He Cape Canaveral. With no appropriate opened the 35-acre resort in 1989, in

14 ESSAY George, publicly attacked her on social process, he’s still not safe. Cato found media, and their self-described “radical that 50% of “strong liberals” and a third agnostic liberal/leftist” daughter, Claudia, savaged them both on TikTok. At one point, someone who donated to the opposite Repairing the the 15 year old asked her political hero, Al- party’s presidential campaign. exandria Ocasio-Cortez, to “adopt me.” More alarmingly, viewpoint discrimina- - breach: bring- her politics for her family. Alas, she is not ical violence. The Democracy Fund’s Voter Study Group found that 21% of Ameri- ing peace to voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 said they cans say that physical violence would be stopped talking to a friend or relative over politics. Others admit they cut family gath- presidential election. In 2018, one-third of politically erings short or skipped them altogether to college students agreed that “physical vi- fractured blood. And 52% of people unfriended re- from using hate speech or making racially al-life friends on social media over politics. charged comments.” The riots that roiled Rest assured, this post-election holiday America’s cities only activated the latent families and As everyday life has become politi- The deepening enmity between family communities cized, and virtual “communities” replace members has at least three causes. - First, secularization has deprived us of ilous undertones. Fully 62% of Americans our identity and our neighbors of their hu- say they hold opinions they are afraid to man dignity. Without an identity as a child express publicly, according to a Cato In- of God, people seek meaning in something he 2020 presidential election will stitute survey. Their fear is not misguided. larger than themselves – often in politics be over shortly after this is writ- Antipathy toward people of opposing – and forge their identities around those ten. Unfortunately, it will not end political views is literally the most explo- views. Without a belief that all people are T sive force in American civic life. Americans the political fevers that boiled over into created in the image of God, those trying violence this summer. On a smaller scale, now discriminate against those who hold to thwart their political project become friends and relatives have become es- opposing political views “to a degree that part of their secular demonology. And, tranged over politics. Bitterness has be- exceeds discrimination based on race,” re- contrary to Mick Jagger, nobody has sym- come ingrained in families as America has searchers Shanto Iyengar and Sean West- pathy for the devil. become more politicized, more secular, wood found. Their survey revealed that Second, the politicization of all aspects and less tolerant of philosophical diversity. 80% of partisans would award a schol- of society inevitably breeds animosity. As People of all backgrounds could see Friedrich von Hayek wrote in - - Serfdom, when the government tries to lyanne Conway, who left her position as ber of the opposing party. Should some- direct the economic decisions of a diverse a White House adviser after her husband, one sneak through the academic vetting nation “with widely divergent ideals and

15 FALL 2020 ACTON.ORG values,” even “the best intentions cannot Philaret of Moscow wrote that it is the prevent one from being forced to act in a Fifth Commandment to honor one’s par- shared goals, and any other com- way” he regards as “highly immoral.” Since mon ground. Instead of an adver- each side would instrumentalize the gov- families and afterwards of all social life, sarial posture, invite them to see ernment to compel us to violate our moral depends.” The words of holy people of the your discussion as two people on a values, we view everyone on the other side past, and our own aching relationships, mutual pursuit of the truth. As the with hostility. The existence of big gov- tell us that politicizing every aspect of life Bible says, “As iron sharpens iron, so ernment is itself a near occasion of sin. holds corrosive – even potentially apoca- one man sharpens another” (Prov- Third, the resurgence of socialism am- erbs 27:17). - But to paraphrase a counterculture cles of government into every area of life phrase, what if they threw a political war Venting our opin- and multiplies the potential for strife. At and no one came? What if instead people ions makes us feel good, but it does the same time, socialism substitutes a of faith chose to model Christian and clas- nothing to convince others. As you temporal paradise and situational ethics sical dialogue with people who disagree, speak, try to consider how the other for the kingdom of Heaven. As its coun- person is processing the discussion terfeit values displace authentic religious steps may bring peace to our discussions and address his or her values. For in- faith, socialism creates atheists. Impossi- through the holidays and well beyond: stance, if he says people only support The great free enterprise out of “greed,” you void in a generation of hearts. philosopher Mortimer J. Adler of the could respond that you support free - University of Chicago told William economies because they produce the tiness. The decision to cling bitterly to F. Buckley Jr. on Firing Line that lis- greatest amount of wealth and the high-status opinions and social media af- tening to the other side is the nec- highest living standards for the poor. essary foundation of any discussion. - vows. Harper’s Bazaar advised readers in That towering intellect undoubtedly Our society makes it easy to 2017, “If your partner is a Trump supporter knew that he echoed the Apostle and you are not, just divorce them.” Even James, who said, “Let every man be opposing views (e.g., Pew found that ties of blood and birth are not exempt. swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to four out of 10 Americans in both po- All of this is redolent of one of the most wrath: For the wrath of man wor- litical parties say they do not have a chilling analyses in the Scriptures. The keth not the righteousness of God” single friend who supports the op- Apostle Paul wrote that “perilous times” (James 1:19-20). After listening, Ad- posing presidential candidate). This will come “in the last days,” producing a ler suggested repeating an accurate generation that is “without natural af- summary – and not a caricature – of person has ever encountered your fection” (II Timothy 3:3, see vs. 1-5). Bible the other person’s argument back to worldview, especially if it is root- commentator Matthew Henry explained: him with the phrase, “Do I under- ed in Christianity. The conversation Wherever there is the human stand you to say...?” Ask if you got may only be intended to plant a seed. nature, there should be humanity - towards those of the same nature, cation. Any argument deserves to be ground, thank the person for agree- but especially between relations. analyzed in its strongest form, which ing to explore these issues together, Times are perilous when children - and express hope that the conversa- are disobedient to their parents ployed in his Summa Theologiae. tion continues. As St. Paul wrote, “If (2 Tim. 3:2) and when parents are it be possible, as much as it lies with- Friends on the oth- in you, live peaceably with all men” children, 2 Tim. 3:3. See what a er side are merely drawing the best (Romans 12:19). corruption of nature sin is, how it conclusion they can from the facts Following these steps does not guar- deprives men even of that which that they have. We are all made of the antee that your friends or family will re- nature has implanted in them for same clay, and we could be wrong. ciprocate. But they may and, in time, they the support of their own kind; for Therefore, we should remember that may share your goodwill and respect with the Apostle Paul wrote, “Let your others. One day, you may be remem- their children is that which contrib- speech be always with grace, sea- bered as someone who helped “raise up utes very much to the keeping up of soned with salt, that ye may know the foundations of many generations; and mankind upon the earth. And those how ye ought to answer every man” thou shalt be called, The repairer of the who will not be bound by natural (Colossians 4:6). breach” (Isaiah 58:12). not be bound by the most solemn Unless you are on a de- leagues and covenants. bate stage or amid impressionable - Dissolving the most intimate connec- company, your relationship with the tor of Religion & Liberty. tions of family renders society inoperable. other person is more valuable than - winning an argument. This is espe- tional building block of civilization. St. cially true of family or old friends.

16 functions” (paragraph 190). For good citi- zens, this involves staying informed about civic life year-round, making sure that they make their views known to their rep- resentatives, comment on administrative procedures when there is the opportunity to do so, and do their best to shape public opinion on important issues. Lest it sound as if good citizenship is really about making politics and admin- istration a full-time job, it is important to observe that while citizenship involves our interactions with government, it is really about much more than that. Citizenship is perhaps best captured in a story about the great English writ- er G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) during World War I. Chesterton was accosted on the street by a woman who asked him why he was not “out at the front de- fending civilization.” On other occasions when he was asked why he was not “out ESSAY good citizenship? For many people, the at the front,” the 300-pound journal- right and duty to vote is a kind of end- ist turned sideways and said it would all and be-all of citizenship, but even that become obvious that he really was out - at the front. On this occasion, however, Be civilization! he gave a deeper answer. He responded voting intelligently. Good citizens do the simply, “Madam, I am civilization.” Citizenship The good citizen’s task is to “be civi- candidates will do the most good – or the lization,” to foster the good of our earthly least harm – in any given race. Good cit- city in every way. Good citizenship in- is more than volves our actions in and toward the en- on any referendum issues before stepping tire society in which we live. Clearly, that voting into the voting booth. Further, they do will involve voting, and it might involve their best to communicate their views to taking up arms to defend one’s country, others about how they will vote and why. as Chesterton’s accuser implied. But it is Good citizens will indeed “rock the about much more. It is about using one’s vote” intelligently, and help educate and authority in every sphere of life to help inform others about the issues of the day. build up each facet of society, so that jus- o you want to be a good citizen? But voting and the acts around it cannot You really ought to vote. be the end of the matter: Citizenship goes Good citizens cultivate family life. D Of course, you don’t need to on after the election cycle and extends They raise and educate their children, and read this article to know that. Everybody throughout the year, because the elections they care for the elderly. Good citizens is saying this in a major election year for are themselves about representatives who establish various kinds of associations to the United States. Organizations dedicat- will legislate, judges who will judge, and do charitable, social, and cultural work in ed to getting people registered and voting administrators who will administer the law a community. First and foremost among throughout the year. The Roman Catho- these associations are the religious groups - lic Church’s Compendium of Social Doctrine that bring not just culture and service, but it, Rock the Vote. Since its beginnings in observes that participation in the life of the essential work of worship and mean- 1990, it has been joined by a great many a community, especially in a democratic ing to a society. Finally, good citizens en- - community, should be about much more courage and participate in economic ini- ed with social media companies. Facebook than simply the every-few-years electoral tiative, which provides jobs, products, and has been advertising that it has helped 2.5 process. Instead, participation means that services for our neighbors. million people register to vote in this elec- the citizens should be involved in deci- We might say this broader under- tion cycle. sion-making and also the execution of the - Voting is an important act in any dem- acts of government and society: “The dif- tury B.C., when residents of the old Jeru- ocratic republic, and the current elections ferent subjects of civil community at every salem were captive in Babylon. They were are extraordinarily important. But is sim- level must be informed, listened to and no longer in their own country; they could involved in the exercise of the carried-out not vote at all, much less rock the vote.

17 FALL 2020 ACTON.ORG Jeremiah’s prophetic words to the people BOOK of Judah in exile encouraged them not to give up simply because they lacked their own country and autonomy. Instead, he told them the Lord’s message was this: Time to chill about the “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on fiery climate apocalypse your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7). What he meant by seeking the welfare of the city Michael Shellenberger | Harper | 2020 | 432 pages for it. The two verses preceding this one with this broader understanding of cit- izenship. “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take California late this summer, Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered an wives for your sons, and give your daugh- ters in marriage, that they may bear sons S that raged through his state. “This is a climate damn emergency,” he and daughters; multiply there, and do not said. Hyperbolic one-liners crafted for the evening news are the stock decrease” (vv. 5-6). in trade for politicians, especially those with presidential ambitions. Be civilization! But you get the distinct impression that he tossed his glancing ac- This broader understanding of good citizenship is not only true, but it is espe- cially helpful for those who do not get the out there to dispense with it and move on to the real problem of climate change. impression that they are rocking the vote, Poor Mother Nature. She’s been dragged into these climate debates by politicians, climate “experts,” and journalists for so long that she must be at her wit’s end. Either - she groans in agony as the climate crimes of a stupid and heedless humanity pile up tal and public life. It is tempting to despair and give up when one thinks one’s vote does not count for much and the whole world’s going to Hell. There were no doubt Someone needs to send Gov. Newsom a copy of Michael Shellenberger’s new book, some Judeans in Babylon who were tempt- . Shellenberger, a science writer ed to think this way. Indeed, all Christians and researcher, began as a 15-year-old activist for Amnesty International and worked for and Jews will ultimately feel both a sense of alienation and a temptation to despair to a deeper understanding of the problem. His work is refreshingly free of ideological presets that leave no room for uncomfortable facts. - is beyond history in a new city, a new civ- ilization, a New Jerusalem that only God housing is located. In mountain ecosystems like the Sierras, “there are too few pre- scribed burns.” During the last century, the U.S. Forest Service and other forestry agen- The word of the Lord is clear, however: We are to seek the welfare of the earthly accumulation of wood fuel. city, whether we have any control over the Isn’t Gov. Newsom correct, then, that the governors who preceded him are the real levers of power or not. We are to pray, to culprits? And isn’t climate change a bigger factor, as we have been told nonstop by news be fruitful, and multiply. We are to wor- ship, work, and create culture. How suc- top of the list – it’s not that simple. There are combining factors. Still, Shellenberger cessful our earthly city will be is ultimately - out of our control. But how faithful we are ed States. “The bottom line is that other human activities have a greater impact on the as citizens, in this full sense of the word, is not. And, no, Leonardo DiCaprio and other celebrities weren’t correct last year when they David P. Deavel is editor of Logos: A Journal earth’s lungs.” That’s a fetching image to describe what a forest does for our atmo- of Catholic Thought and Culture, co-di- sphere. And it’s just wrong. First of all, the Amazon, according to one ecologist, contributes a net zero amount of Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy, and oxygen to the world’s supply. It stores carbon, but only about 5% of the global supply. visiting assistant professor of Catholic studies This is not to dismiss deforestation as a problem, especially in the Amazon and other old-growth forests around the world. But activists have grossly overstated the problem. winner of the Novak Award.

18 of land that was deforested in 2004,” Shellenberger points out. What’s more, as has been widely observed, the planet is ac- tually greening. Again, a number of factors come into play, in- cluding greater carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, greater ag- evidence that forests around the world are already at their opti- that higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere available of photosynthesis from higher temperatures.” Shellenberger’s telling of the long history of anti-nuclear campaigning by the environmental Left – including Jane Fonda, Bill McKibben, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – should be emissions. The anti-nuclear crowd’s rank dishonesty and manip- ulation of public opinion with fearmongering emotional appeals - lenberger writes: Today, antinuclear groups continue to deceive and to shut down nuclear plants in the United States, Europe, and around the world. They do so with an eye to trig- gering fears of nuclear apocalypse. They claim nuclear is not necessary because of renewables. In reality, whenever nuclear plants aren’t in use, fossil fuels must be used and emissions rise. They claim that used nuclear fuel rods and the plants themselves attract terrorists, when in reality the only ones who have attacked nuclear plants have been antinuclear activists. And they claim that radiation is car- toonishly potent. - tury environmentalism as a secular religion, complete with un- shakable dogmatic givens and its view of “nature” as a vast, deeply interconnected system. “[A]pocalyptic environmentalism is a kind of new Ju- deo-Christian religion, one that has replaced God with nature,” Shellenberger writes. “In the Judeo-Christian tradition, human problems stem from our failure to address ourselves to God. In the apocalyptic environmental tradition, human problems stem from our failure to adjust ourselves to nature.” Here, he adds, scientists replace priests at the altar of this new religion. “I want you to listen to the scientists,” Greta Thunberg, the child activist, chirps. Apocalypse Never is an honest, balanced book on environmen- tal issues from a writer who cares deeply about real problems. Shellenberger’s work is refreshingly free of ideological givens,

the real problems of pollution, a warming climate, and how best to conserve wildlife and wild lands. If only Gov. Newsom would read it.

19 FALL 2020 ACTON.ORG the power of reason, the ability to com- municate straightforwardly via language, a universal human nature, and individ- ualism.” They call this phase the “high deconstructive phase,” which was charac- terized by nihilism and playful cynicism. It - ples and four major themes. knowledge principle,” which consists of a “radical skepticism as to whether ob- jective knowledge or truth is obtainable and a commitment to cultural construc- tivism.” According to this principle, what we call “truth” is just a social construct, and we should not assume that it corre- sponds to anything “out there” in reality. The second principle is “the postmod- ern political principle,” which is the “be- lief that society is formed of systems of BOOK power and hierarchies, which decide what can be known and how.” This is the belief that society is based, not on truth, but on Critical theory, critiqued power, and that even our appeals to truth and reason are only veiled attempts to exercise power over others. Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay | Pitchstone Publishing | 2020 | 352 pages the following major themes: 1. The blurring of boundaries. Bound- aries and categories of thought pre- viously accepted as true (e.g., gender) are viewed as oppressive attempts to ynical Theories exercise power over others. a politically liberal viewpoint and argues that liberalism can exist 2. The power of language. Words do Cwithout critical theory or identity politics. As the authors state, the not refer to anything “out there” in book is written “for the liberal to whom a just society is very important, objective reality, but rather consist but who can’t help noticing that the Social Justice movement does not of an endless, self-referential system seem to facilitate this and wants to be able make a liberal response to it with no anchor in the external world. with consistency and integrity.” The authors, who are academics, joined Since they are not “true” in any Peter Boghossian in the “Grievance Studies Hoax,” in which they fabri- meaningful sense, they are viewed cated absurd or unethical academic papers and had them published in peer-reviewed as the means by which dominant groups oppress the powerless. The authors present their book as a case against critical theory (or “Theory”) from a 3. Cultural relativism. Since language traditional Western, liberal perspective. The authors describe Western liberalism as follows: does not deal in truth but in pow- The main tenets of liberalism are political democracy, limitations on the pow- er, attempts to evaluate one culture from the standpoint of another are for all adult citizens, freedom of expression, respect for the value of viewpoint simply an attempt by one group to diversity and honest debate, respect for evidence and reason, the separation of exercise power over another (co- church and state, and freedom of religion. … Liberalism is thus best thought of lonialism). Furthermore, one’s own one within which people with a variety of views on political, economic, and social the value system (based in the bias- This tradition of liberalism, according to the authors, is compatible with both Amer- in places of privilege are only at- ican social/political liberalism and moderate conservatism. tempts to maintain one’s own priv- The bulk of the book is organized chronologically around the three stages of the devel- oppressed are to be validated as a means of empowerment. Lyotard and the resulting skepticism toward “a belief in objective knowledge, universal 4. The loss of the individual and the truth, science (or evidence more broadly) as a method for obtaining objective knowledge, universal. The individual and the

20 universal are simply cultural con- is invoked but never appears in their ac- structions. Critical theorists focus McWhorter has argued), liberalism is a count. One suspects that the authors instead on identity groups and their self-correcting system for distinguishing consign religious conservatives to the positions in the hierarchy of society truth from falsehood through freedom of domain of the “far-Right.” Finally, the vis-à-vis one another. authors seem to underestimate the phil- The second stage in the development The authors provide two prescriptions osophical assumptions behind modernity of critical theory took place in the 1980s and modern science. While postmodern- through the early 2000s, when postmod- ism is presented as a belief system, mod- ernism mutated from its high decon- They argue that, just as with any other ern science is viewed as nothing more structive phase into what the authors call religious belief system, one should be than an objective practice. At the risk of “applied postmodernism.” In this stage, free to believe it or not without being pe- diminishing their argument (which I gen- the concepts of postmodernism were put nalized for dissent. The second, in keep- to use in various academic disciplines as ing with the principle of free debate, is tools for social activism. This mutation to challenge critical theory on its merits: philosophy of science. was characterized by a shift from simply “We do not believe that bad ideas can be theorizing about the problems of knowl- defeated by being repressed ... Instead, largely accomplishes its goal of providing edge to a highly moralistic program for they need to be en- social change. It also limited its skepti- gaged and defeated cism in one important area: “under ap- within the market- plied postmodern thought, identity and place of ideas, so that oppression based on identity are treated they may die a natural as known features of objective reality.” death and be right- The authors spend a large portion of ly recognized as de- the book detailing the individual academic funct.” They conclude subdisciplines that arose during this time: with some examples of how to articulate (chapter 4), critical race theory and inter- opposition to social sectionality (chapter 5), feminism(s) and injustice while reject- gender studies (chapter 6), and disability ing the ideology of and fat studies (chapter 7). They survey social justice. - This book is a jor authors and works, showing how the must-read for anyone two postmodern principles and four ma- interested in having a jor themes play out in that discipline. clearer understanding The third stage in the development of our current cultur- of critical theory, which the authors call al situation. The au- “ postmodernism” or “Social Justice thors have succeeded scholarship,” took place in the 2010s. In in painting a compel- this phase, the presuppositions of applied ling picture of both the dangers of crit- postmodernism have become accepted ical theory and the merits of traditional as self-evident “truths” that are beyond Western liberalism. The single most im- The Christian reader will not agree with discussion. This has resulted in a focus on portant contribution of this book is the all of the points made by the authors. identity-related epistemology. The au- clarity with which it explains the philo- (See the work of Neil Shenvi for an ex- thors give examples of several works that sophical principles behind critical theory. cellent supplement that brings a Christian show how this school of thought “refuses The authors draw out Theory’s central worldview to bear.) But for sheer compre- to submit its ideas to rigorous scrutiny, principles and themes in an accurate and hensiveness, this book should be the go- rejects that kind of examination on prin- lucid manner and show how its roots con- to primer for anyone who wants clarity on ciple, and asserts that any attempts to nect beneath the surface of our culture. the issues related to critical theory and subject it to thoughtful criticism are im- The book’s only mild weakness came modern social justice. moral, insincere, and proof of its thesis.” in its explanation of the relationship be- Chapter 10 is the authors’ pro- tween critical theory and other ideas and Noah Warren Kelley will graduate with a posed solution to the trends they dis- movements, apart from postmodernism. Ph.D. in Biblical Studies (New Testament) cuss throughout the rest of the book. For example, the authors leave most- from Southeastern Baptist Theological Sem- The core of their response is a contrast ly untouched the connection between inary in December 2020. His area of interest between Theory and traditional West- critical theory and Marxism. I also won- is in Greek grammar and linguistics. He blogs ern liberalism. They describe liberalism dered at times where political and social at Earthen Vessel. conservatives such as myself exist in the landscape of traditional liberalism as they envision it. The “moderate conservative”

21 FALL 2020 ACTON.ORG COLUMN Editorial Board EARTHLY AND HEAVENLY CITIZENSHIP

Rev. Robert A. Sirico Executive Editor: Rev. Ben Johnson Graphics Editor: Iron Light

The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty promotes a free society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious be directed to:

Religion & Liberty, Acton Institute. 98 E. Fulton Street, Grand Rapids, MI 49503. Every election year, it seems our world becomes ever more dominated by politics. on the Without fail, each election is trumpeted as the most important of our lifetime. Alarms are basis of ten core principles, integrating sounded by politicians and the mass media, and the public is often consumed by polarized Judeo-Christian truths with free market rhetoric, heated arguments, and far too often hatred of strangers, neighbors, or even principles. family and friends. While the issues facing our nation are serious – from the COVID-19 pandemic to widespread racial and civic unrest – our response in the form of partisan • Dignity of the Person politics too often is not. How do we take our rights and duties as citizens seriously? • Social Nature of the Person Citizens are, according to the oldest etymological roots of the word, city dwellers. As such they are members of a polis, the ancient Greek word from which we derive politics. • Human Action According to Aristotle, the city itself is composed of its citizens, who share a common way • Sin of life under laws directed towards justice, to realize the good of its individual members. How strange and wonderful this conception sounds in the face of what passes for political discussion in our current time! • Creation of Wealth • Economic Liberty outside of the welter and waste of our fevered partisan battles and take our rights and • Priority of Culture welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7). The notion of shared values on both This is what people of faith are called to do always. Unlike the noble, albeit idealized, sides of the Atlantic has received conceptions of politics in the classical age, Christians know that their identity is not new attention. Leaders like France’s grounded in mere earthly citizenship. We are not, at bottom, part of the state. As believers, Hollande cite “democracy, freedoms to participate in, not be consumed by, politics. and the respect of every individual" as Jesus Christ has commanded us to “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, key values. But what about religious and unto God the things that are God’s” (St. Mark 12:17). The Apostle Mark then tells us liberty, the breakdown of the welfare that those who heard this were “amazed at Him.” Lord Acton, at the conclusion of his state, advancing secularism and the health of civil society? R&L absolutism and the inauguration of freedom: “To maintain the necessary immunity in one Transatlantic will cover these issues here with new articles. aspiration of patient reasoners, and was made the perpetual charge and care of the most energetic institution and the most universal association in the world.” positioned by its calling to be a light in times of political darkness. It is free to take its For archived issues or to subscribe, please visit www.acton.org. The views citizenship seriously precisely because it belongs to a kingdom that is not of this world. This election season, and every season, exercise your rights and duties as citizens according of the authors expressed in Liberty are not necessarily those of the to your conscience, directed toward justice and for the good of your fellow citizens. Pray Acton Institute. for the welfare of this nation and for the whole world, but do not confuse the politics of this word with your eternal destiny in the next. This is the sort of faithful citizenship which © 2020 Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty.

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