Progressives are panicking over Christian Nationalism as if public schools were festooned with its flags, classrooms packed with its propaganda, teachers declaring their allegiance to doctrine and instructing students in it, crosswalks painted in its colors, and its representatives reading its books to children in public libraries.
Where is the month dedicated to Christian Nationalism? I haven’t seen its flag flying over City Hall. I haven’t seen professional sports teams wearing movement patches or end zones painted with Christian Nationalist slogans.
Supposing all of this were the case, you’d be no bigot for objecting. Sure, proponents of the ideology would condemn you for your “Christophobia.” But we all know that would simply be a tactic to shut you up so they could force their doctrine down your throat—and the throats of your children. It wouldn’t be enough for them to have the right to be Christian Nationalists; it wouldn’t be enough that we tolerated them; they would insist we hear about it 24/7. And not just that—they would demand that we affirm the truth of the doctrine.
I would object because these spaces are public and the First Amendment requires them to be ideologically neutral. You know, the principle of liberty in conscience and all the rest of it. Progressives would object for a different reason: it precludes government endorsement of Pride Progress (or Black Lives Matter, and so on).
The Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, said at a Christian gathering, “Our rights here in this great country come from a loving and benevolent God, not government.” Progressives are melting down over the Secretary’s remarks. For them, rights are bestowed upon citizens by the state (Virginia Senator Tim Kaine said so). If the state bestows rights, it can take them away and replace them with others. The American citizen is free only until the next government assumes power.
But Hegseth’s observation merely echoes words found in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” With the words, Virginian Thomas Jefferson affirms that every person is inherently equal and has rights that cannot be taken away by a government. These rights come from a power beyond man; they are not bestowed upon him by governments or rulers.
Liberty and the pursuit of happiness do not hinge on whether men may enter women’s exclusive spaces, or whether trans activists can festoon public school classrooms with Pride Progress paraphernalia. They hinge on whether women have an exclusive right to those spaces, and whether citizens are free from compelled participation in movement politics.
For the Pride Progress crowd, it’s not enough that society tolerates those who believe they are a different gender from what they are. Queer doctrine is a proselytizing religion; it seeks to convert all of society into adherents of the faith. And it enjoys the backing of public institutions. Queer doctrine is being pressed into society, and one is now a bigot for objecting. That it was assumed there’d be no problem with violating public spaces in this manner shows us how far down the road America had already travelled in compelling belief.
The demand that society affirm the gender identity doctrine is no different from the demand that it submit to Christian Nationalism. Both demands are tyrannical. The American Republic was founded on the principle that individuals are free to believe as they wish, or to disbelieve. Our public institutions are governed by the principle of free thought. Conscience is the prerogative of the citizen. This principle is set down in foundational law. The first article of the Bill of Rights establishes the rule. The rule requires ideologically-neutral public spaces to be manifested in practice.
The defense of liberty is not bigotry. After all, what is bigotry if not intolerance or an unfair attitude or behavior toward people who are different from oneself? Bigotry involves prejudice, hatred, or discrimination, and a refusal to tolerate differing identities, lifestyles, or opinions. Objecting to state endorsement of Christian Nationalism or Pride Progress on principle has nothing to do with any of these things. On the contrary, it has everything to do with keeping public spaces free of those things.
freedom and reason 