Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, and the Need For A Better Way

I was sketching out a post on the recent conversation between Tucker Carlson and the Holocaust-denying, Hitler-loving, racist troll Nick Fuentes, but several folks smarter and more eloquent than I am said what I was thinking. To get a flavor of what happened and why it poses an existential threat to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement, the Republican Party, and could even poison the entire nation, read Rod Dreher, Erick Erickson, National Review’s editorial statement, and this tweet from Andrew T. Walker.

What path will you choose, MAGA? Invite the “groypers” to join the coalition, or appeal to the “normies?” Many on the political Left have made their choice and decided to turn on Israel and the Jews. What will the political Right choose to do, and more importantly, what will the Church do? The implications for our nation are enormous, as Rebeccah Henrichs outlined in her article “The Right’s 1939 Project.”

P.A.L.M.

What I hope to contribute to the debate is this: How, in this “negative world,” can Christians be effective in the political sphere, and how should we behave? I want to flesh out a concept for Christian public service and political engagement that I’ve been pondering for some time now. Christians are meant to be different. We are meant to behave differently. We are commanded to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us (Matthew 5:44). We are commanded to be salt and light. Is this what we see Christians involved in politics doing? Certainly, some are. But others are actively engaged in sowing seeds of hate and leading their respective political parties down the destructive paths we see those institutions on currently. NickFuentes, after all, calls himself a Catholic. Tucker Carlson claims to be a Protestant even as he platforms Fuentes and has as a frequent guest a so-called historian who claims the Holocaust was due to “logistical failures” and Churchill is the true villain of World War II.

There’s no doubt we live in an age of distrust. Key figures in American life, including the media, government, political, and religious leaders, have let us down and outright lied to us. Being skeptical of things they tell us is good and necessary, but as YouTuber Jon McCray recently said, if we’re not careful, “the need to never be deceived can end up becoming the very thing that deceives us the most.”

To chart a different course, I came up with four lamposts that I think should guide Christians involved in political activism and those elected to political office: Purpose, Accountability, Love, and Meekness, forming the acronym P.A.L.M.

We must have a clear purpose for being involved in politics, and as Christians, our purpose must align with God’s purpose for our lives. We must then be held accountable to that purpose and conduct ourselves in such a way as to bring honor to God. We must have wise people in our lives willing to challenge us when we stray from the principles we claim guide us.

Politics isn’t exactly an arena filled with love. The old joke is that if you’re a politician who wants a friend, get a dog. But as I mentioned above, Christians are commanded to love our enemies as well as our friends. Imagine how different our political discourse would be if Republicans and Democrats disagreed with each other with love for each other in their hearts.

Finally, I think meekness is an undervalued trait that is in short supply in our modern world. Many equate meekness with weakness, and plenty of political Christians believe now is the time for anger and even revenge. But I believe meekness to be strength under control. Jesus had enormous strength, but he was always under control, even when he threw the money changers out of the Temple.

I intend to develop the P.A.L.M. lampposts further in the coming months. Paul tells us to “walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” Ephesians 5:16-17. There can be no doubt that the days are evil. I pray for the courage to walk circumspectly. I welcome your feedback as I embark on this journey.