Many American conservatives are enraged by an anti-racism pamphlet released by the Salvation Army this month. Has the Christian charity organization gone woke? No, not really. Conservatives are just canceling themselves, again. the Salvation Army has been an anti-racist organization since its early years. Why is being against racism a controversial position? Is this really the ideological corner that conservatives have dug themselves into?
Check out this hysterical story from the Daily Wire. Not only is the article silly, its more incendiary accusations are largely baseless. The Salvation Army pamphlet is actually quite sensible, read it here. The only portion I personally find questionable is the assertion that “race is a social construct.” I do agree that race and ethnicity are fluid concepts, especially in a former colony like the USA, but it is a little bold to claim that race doesn’t exist at all. However, the overall tone and apparent intent of the Salvation Army seems quite genuine.
One could accuse them of trying to pander for progressive donations, and maybe they are. But that idea in of itself shows that we have grown too cynical as a culture. Human beings do sometimes have sincere reasons for doing things. Selfishness is real, but can we at least try to give people the benefit of the doubt?
Pandering or not, the Salvation Army will never gain acceptance amongst America’s progressives, no matter how hard she tries. The YouTube video below is a fairly typical sampling of how liberals feel about the Salvation Army.
That was not a call for reform. These people won’t be satisfied until conservative institutions are completely destroyed. This is one of the crucial differences between conservatism and progressivism on a global and historical level. Progressives can destroy old institutions and replace them with new ones. That’s arguably their greatest ideological advantage. It’s also the most common weapon they default to. Reform is hard, but breaking things is easy. It is convenient for a progressive city council member to howl at a statue of Thomas Jefferson than it is for her to admit that her community has real social and economic problems, and many of them are her own fault. It is easier to throw paint on a mural than it is to paint a new one.
Conservatives do not have this luxury. They cannot afford to destroy their own institutions. Unlike progressivism, conservatism is much more dependent on a sense of nostalgia and tradition. Even a troubled institution has some sort of legitimacy based on the fact that it has lasted for a long time. But like I have said before, conservatives invented cancel culture. They’ll continue conducting purity tests on their own ranks, and expel anyone who fails to pass muster. Maybe conservatives see their opponents using an effective scorched earth policy and are trying to implement it themselves, no matter how crazy and self-defeating it is. The bad publicity from right-leaning media outlets will hurt the Salvation Army and it amazes me that conservatives are this stupid.
Ian Kummer
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