Bullying happens on both sides of the political aisle—but progressives have weaponized bullying as a tool to bludgeon anyone who doesn't submit to their ideology.
Bullying happens on both sides of the political aisle—but progressives have weaponized bullying as a tool to bludgeon anyone who doesn't submit to their ideology. The philosophical underpinnings of progressivism expressly condone the use of violence as a political strategy against whatever ideas they label as "hate." Like the Jacobins before them, progressives are fighting to tear down the institutions of Western Civilization through violence and bullying, and they have developed numerous ways—mainly censorship, shame, and the manipulation of language—to justify their actions.
As a Biden presidency looms over the country, it's disturbing to see that the party constantly condemning Trump's bullying and demanding unity clearly cares nothing for the massive plank in its own eye. There is a reason that classical liberals like Tim Pool and Dave Rubin have harshly criticized Democrats and leftist progressivism. These secular pundits recognize what progressive Christians refuse to acknowledge—progressivism is inexorably tied to ideological totalitarianism.
Being realistic about the totalitarian nature of progressive proposals and using every legal means available to stop them is not something that should be mocked or diminished. It is an act of love toward the Church and our neighbors.
Progressive No Longer Tolerate Christians in the Public Square
Progressives have moved beyond criticizing religious beliefs to demanding that traditional religious people be cast out of the public square entirely. According to progressives, unless a Christian meekly and submissively hides her orthodox beliefs, she isn't welcome in government, business, or in any other public position.
Even highly qualified and intellectual conservatives like Justice Amy Coney Barrett aren't safe from the schoolyard bullying of the left. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) famously told Justice Barrett, who is a pro-life Catholic, that "the dogma lives loudly within you"; Senator Dick Durbin then asked if she considers herself an "orthodox" Catholic. "Catholicism" is only acceptable for government officials when a person abandons the central teachings of the Catholic Church that progressives find unpalatable and submits to progressivism.
In an unprecedented display of partisan bullying, minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democratic senators refused to even meet with Justice Amy Coney Barrett during the nomination process. Openly refusing to tolerate orthodox Christians in the public square because of their religious beliefs is a form of bigotry and bullying—plain and simple.
Yet the legacy media frequently gushes about Joe Biden's Catholic "faith" since he submits to progressivism and will not disturb the sacred cows of abortion rights and restrictions on religious freedom. The legacy media is essentially a PR machine for the Democrats at this point, and progressives enjoy using the media to bully innocent conservatives.
Freedom to express one's religious beliefs in the public square without retaliation is a revolutionary ideal upon which our country was founded. However, as the Democratic Party embraces progressivism and anti-Americanism, they also embrace bullying people because of their religious beliefs.
Progressives Are Trying to Outlaw Private Speech
Some progressives have moved beyond casting out orthodox religion from the private square and want any speech they deem unacceptable banned in private too. In Scotland, progressives have proposed a law that would criminalize anything the government deems "hate speech," even when spoken in one's own home. You may be saying "that will never happen here": I disagree. American progressives often take their cues from their more forward-thinking counterparts across the pond. If the Democrats stage an illegal coup by packing the Supreme Court, then we're only a few Supreme Court rulings away from this type of ideological tyranny becoming realistic in the United States.
Our own American progressives can't wait to repeal religious freedoms under the Biden administration. As it turns out, the progressive Christians who promised us that Joe Biden is a moderate who doesn't want to take away our religious rights were wrong. The Biden administration plans to stop using the phrase "In God We Trust" and repeal the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act, and they're just getting started.
Progressives Love Shaming Religious Americans for Their Faith
Progressives use these bullying tactics to try to shame orthodox believers and conservatives into compliance. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, the recently elected North Carolina congressman and youngest congressperson ever elected, recently experienced this type of bullying. The Daily Beast wrote a hit piece on Cawthorn, stating that he admitted to trying to convert Jews and Muslims to Christianity. A devout Christian would dare to follow the Great Commission, as commanded by Jesus himself, by sharing his faith? Shocking.
Notice that they won't address whether Christianity is true, or whether a philosophical basis for sharing one's faith exists. Instead, they muddy the waters using critical theory dog whistles, like falsely associating Cawthorn sharing his faith with "white nationalism" and linking his sharing of his faith with religious "extremism." Thankfully, Cawthorn did not back down to these bullies as many conservatives politicians do.
Getting Honest Americans Fired Is a Fun Pastime for Progressives
The value of debating arguments and ideas on their merits has been abandoned by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. In a glaring example of the progressive hatred of diversity of thought, the Illinois State Board of Education recently proposed a rule that will force teachers to “embrace and encourage progressive viewpoints and perspectives that leverage asset thinking toward traditionally marginalized populations.”
Teachers who condemn racism, but who have conscientious objections to teaching critical race theory—which stems from Marxist ideology—must comply or risk losing their jobs. As a spokesman for the Thomas Moore Society rightly stated, "the rule tries to dictate what teachers think – and to form them in an activist mindset." The Board of Education will vote on the proposal on December 16th. These local-level progressive bullies want to ensure that teachers who don't roll over and submit to their progressive dogma will lose their ability to provide for their families. Disney has joined in on the bullying, succumbing to the leftist mob and firing actress Gina Carano for sharing a few mildly conservative social media posts.
One law firm representing the Trump campaign recently caved to the left's militant bullying and abandoned their election lawsuit. Meanwhile, House Democrats are demanding that the 22 lawyers representing Trump be disbarred from practicing law, rending them unable to work in their profession. Whether you agree with Trump's post-election strategy or not, one thing is clear. Angry leftist rage-mobs shouldn't determine whether a lawyer loses her ability to work in her profession.
These are not isolated incidents. Professors, teachers, and employees have been fired when they fail to submit to progressive dogma. The message from progressives is clear: comply with our ideology or we will gleefully use every method available to destroy your livelihood and family.
Kids And The Elderly Are Not Off-Limits
Schoolyard bullies often attack the people they perceive as vulnerable. Likewise, progressive Black Lives Matter protesters have no problem attacking peaceful, elderly Trump supporters and children. In one video, several BLM protesters scream at an older man trying to get on his scooter "what did you expect?" after harassing him in a blatant display of victim-shaming.
These bullies are really screaming, "abandon your beliefs, or we will destroy you and it will be your fault." BLM activists scream that if they don't get what they want, they will "burn it down" and their leaders approve of this message. This is a typical bullying tactic that also shows us one of the differences between Democrats—who have embraced BLM whole-heartedly—and conservatives.
Conservatives understand that republican government, while flawed, has brought peace and prosperity to an unprecedented number of people here and abroad. Progressives threaten to burn our entire system down without providing a viable alternative. Democrat leaders celebrate an organization that actively and enthusiastically terrorizes innocent people with different beliefs.
These BLM attacks are not isolated events. BLM, an organization beloved and supported by the Democratic Party, has repeatedly engaged in attacks and harassment of innocent children and elderly people. Since their inception, they have threatened and harassed conservatives.
The Contrast Between Progressive and Conservatives
Trump is often portrayed as a bully, and in many cases, rightly so. When he attacks political opponents on Twitter for disagreeing with him, he often engages in petty bullying. But is anyone really surprised the country elected Trump? For decades, more "refined" conservatives have refused to stand up and fight against progressive bullying. Progressives have not taken responsibility for their relentless bullying of non-progressives which directly led to a Trump presidency.
When bullies run the playground for too long and Republicans refuse to fight back, they look to someone like Trump—who punches back. To add fuel to the fire, legacy media coverage of this type of bullying is entirely one-sided. When progressives engage in bullying or violence, they are celebrated as "brave" and courageous for fighting "hate." Bullying should not be condoned, distorted, renamed, or glamorized as it is currently being done on the left.
Bullying happens on both sides of the aisle. A key difference exists between Republicans and Democrats, however. By and large, Republicans still believe in classically liberal ideas such as the right to personal property, the rule of law, free speech, and the right to protest peacefully.
We disagree with progressive ideas, but we don't think progressives should effectively lose their freedom of speech. We don't burn down the businesses and homes because we don't like progressive policies. Meanwhile, Democrats promote increasingly brazen totalitarian discrimination in the name of fighting their ever-changing definition of "hateful." Like many other conservatives and moderates, I don't want to live in a country run by these violent ideological totalitarians.
It's Time to Stop the In-Fighting
For too long, moderates, conservatives, libertarians, and classical liberals have dismissed the dangers of radical progressivism and progressive bullying while we bicker among ourselves about more minor matters of political philosophy. We need to stop the in-fighting, band together, and stand up to these bullies.
It's time for those on the right to put aside some of our more nuanced philosophical differences and form a broader coalition to fight progressive policies. Our gains in the House and among minority and female voters show us that policies that favor freedom and liberty still resonate with many Americans who are becoming aware of the bullies on the cultural left.
As President Reagan famously stated, "freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction." We are not dealing with Bill Clinton-era Democrats with whom we mainly disagree on relatively minor policy positions. On the contrary, the Democratic Party has formed a coalition with legacy media, academia, large corporations, and the entertainment industry to exterminate the classically liberal ideas upon which our country was founded. Democrats are now openly advocating for the effective abolition of our First Amendment right to free speech and freedom of association. Progressives reject the classical liberal framework that will allow you to live out your belief system publicly without severe retaliation.
The Democratic Party is full of schoolyard bullies, and they will not leave Christians and conservatives alone to live our lives in peace. They will continue to demand that we conform to their collective will or be publicly humiliated. They will not stop unless we stand up and confront them, and push our representatives to do the same.
Notes:
As an aside, when conducting research for this article, I became aware of how big tech censors news about political violence. Try searching "BLM violence" in Google and then in DuckDuckGo.
Not surprisingly, the results vary wildly. These Google searches show us what we already know, that violence, harassment, and bullying are only acceptable when progressives are doing it.
I wrote this article before the January 6th Capitol riot. At Staseos, we totally condemn the actions of the criminals who broke into the Capitol, as has every major conservative pundit. Leftists have used the Capitol riots to ramp up bullying against average conservatives who had nothing to do with the riot. CNN anchor Don Lemon compared Trump supporters to Nazis and the KKK.
Leftists immediately claimed that law enforcement wasn't arresting Capitol rioters because of systemic racism, despite the fact that 275 arrests have already been made. An LA-area columnist melted down because her neighbor who voted for Trump snowblowed her driveway in an act of neighborly kindness, comparing the neighbor to Hezbollah and the Nazis. More moderate conservatives have been fired and canceled. The Capitol riots will serve as fuel for unjustified bullying by leftists for years to come.
Recently, Pastor James Coates was arrested and placed in a maximum-security prison in Canada for refusing to comply with unconstitutional health policies. The Alberta government denied Pastor Coates bail while allowing a registered child sex offender to be released on bail, demonstrating the abject hatred many progressives have for orthodox Christianity. This is a prime example of bureaucratic leftists weaponizing local government to bully orthodox Christians into submission.
As the bullying efforts of the left escalate, fueled by the Capitol riots, those of us who are against the mob mentality of progressivism must form a coalition. Allowing cultural Marxists to engage in toxic bullying and impose restrictions on religious freedom is not an act of love for our neighbors. We must use our remaining political capital to metaphorically fight back.
Taylor Hoffman works in a variety of fields related to law and writing, and she enjoys reading, talking politics, and being in the outdoors. She lives with her husband and two children in Arizona.