The Slander Will Continue Until Morale Improves

Few things characterize the modern Left as accurately as their tendency to mischaracterize their opposition and slander their enemies. Late-night television hosts, influential figures in the news media, elected officials, and pop culture icons all embrace groupthink mentality to mischaracterize the views of others.. Seldom can Americans turn on the TV without hearing the out-of-touch elites on-screen belittle them. 

Disparaging heterodox thought is especially prominent among the alternative icons of Leftist podcasting. Of note, the hosts of Chapo Trap House, C*m Town, and Red Scare all delight in bad faith characterizations of those whom they wish to ostracize. Granted, these shows are largely satirical in nature, with many of their hosts maintaining dual careers in the entertainment industry as commercial actors or stand up comics. 

These shows themselves are not the issue, however. Simply put, they are symptomatic of an elitist Leftwing framework in which they are rewarded for perpetrating a sincerely held belief in responsibility to shame those who do not share their beliefs. 

Remember Jack Phillips from Colorado? Mr. Phillips is the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, a small business in Colorado. In 2012, Mr. Phillips earned the ire of the Left when he declined to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding in accordance with his religious beliefs. Mr. Philips did not, however, refuse to sell homosexual patrons other baked goods. There was nothing homophobic or otherwise cruel about his actions; he simply declined to create products endorsing views contrary to his own.

But, due to this, he became persona non grata among the Left as they waged legal warfare against him. The initial incident occurred in 2012, and it almost immediately rose to national prominence, causing Mr. Phillips to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees and most certainly hindering his business. The Supreme Court resolved the issue, in his favor, five years after the fact, but in 2020 he was sued again, this time over declining to bake a transgender-themed cake. 

The left demands fealty, and when they don’t get it, they demand penance.

In January of 2019, Nicholas Sandman and his classmates from Covington Catholic High School were standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial while waiting for their buses to depart the annual March for Life. While waiting for their rides, the students were accosted by members of the Black Hebrew Israelites and Nathan Philips — a Native American political activist. You have likely seen the video of Mr. Philips approaching Mr. Sandman in which Mr. Sandman awkwardly stands still and smiles for a prolonged period of time while Mr. Phillips bangs a drum in his face.

What circulated online and in the legacy media in the immediate aftermath of the confrontation was that Mr. Sandman and his classmates had harassed an elderly native American. The narrative was that these young, white conservatives were harassing an oppressed minority.

The only issue is that this was far from the truth, and while peddling this untruth, members of the legacy media continued to leverage threats of violence against Mr. Sandman even though he was a minor.  Mr. Sandman ended up suing these individuals for defamation and ultimately settling out of court.

Americans can learn valuable lessons from both Mr. Sandman and Mr. Phillips. Do not go down without a fight. Do not let people attack you and get away with it. Conservatives and people who are generally center-right are beginning to embrace this idea more and more. 

Stephen Miller, a former senior advisor to President Donald Trump, created America First Legal for this very reason. In order to preserve the liberties that allow us to live a uniquely American experience unharassed by the activist-left, these battles need to be fought in court.