One of the most apparent issues with modern dialogue is that people often claim some form of moral virtue without having the experience to show they can live up to such a standard. In other words, if morals were currency, too many people would be writing bad checks.
It’s worth pondering how many times one has heard someone subscribe to some form of moral virtue. One common virtue claimed is pacifism. However, one can not claim to be a true pacifist until they are faced with a situation where their virtues are tested.
There are people who claim to be a pacifist, but have never been in a situation that would entail the possibility of having to resort to violence to resolve a situation. Because of the lack of experience that would test someone’s adherence to nonviolence, there isn’t much actual value in that moral claim. The person who lives through adversity, faces unresolvable issues and knows when violence is actually just can truly claim to be a pacifist.
Pacifism is just one of the many claims made in modern politics by thought leaders, politicians and figureheads across the mainstream narrative. This issue is unlikely to be resolved until the public starts demanding those who claim some moral virtue show their work as to how they embody what they profess.
There are few candidates on the Democratic stage who can actually live up to what they are saying, which is pathetic as the 2020 Democratic Platform is pretty scattered. Senator Bernie Sanders is fully and unapologetically a socialist, while living a lifestyle that represents the failure of the socialist system. Sanders has lived off of taxpayer dollars for nearly 40 years without creating a single job or passing no significant legislation. He tells the rich they are bad for engaging in mutually beneficial trades that made them rich. Sanders is the head of a socialist regime, he owns multiple mansions while condemning other people with mansions. “Feel the Bern,” he lives up to what he claims.
The list of the Democrats who make moral claims but only show contrary evidence of living up to those standards are numerous. Chief among those Democrats is Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren flips her rhetoric and plans during public appearances more than a high diver flips before the splash. In one interview, Warren claimed to be a “capitalist to the bone,” but then proceeds to state plans to impose a 2% wealth tax. This is a tax, not on sales or money as it is moving, but on someone’s net worth. Then the next minute, Warren is claiming that she wants 40% of a company’s employees elected by the board of a corporation, including deciding wages. In other words, without ever having created a single job or running a business, Warren wants to tell private business owners how to run their own businesses.
The remainder of the Democrats in the race, and there are a lot of them, also cannot live up to their own hype, but cannot all fit into one article. However, a few flaws can be pointed out in a rapid fire succession.
Kamala Harris claims to be pro-marijana after banking on a lucrative career as a prosecutor putting people in jail for marijuana-related charges, all while admittedly smoking weed in her car.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is a complete hypocrite on the Ukraine scandal, even if Trump is found guilty of a quid-pro-quo, Biden also used his status as vice president to Obama to get his under-qualified son, Hunter Biden, a high paying job on an oil and gas board of directors.
The issue has nothing to do with individuals subscribing to high-moral virtue. Rather it comes down to people trying to socially and economically advance by claiming things that they cannot live up to. Pacifists sometimes have to fight, while they do not look for violence, they are no pushovers. Otherwise, they are likely lying about what they claim about themselves.
Brett Landry is a 20-year-old mass communication senior from Bourg, Louisiana.