Having concluded my arguments against a national divorce, there remains only the need to address the conduct of conservatives concerning this potential separation.
In addressing only conservatives, I do not intend to suggest that liberals should not likewise do that which conservatives ought to do. It is simply not my place to instruct those on the Left. And frankly, I care not to address the speck in the Left’s eye before removing the log occupying the Right’s.
I’ve written at length against a national divorce, our editing team has done the same, and others more talented and experienced than I have dismantled the proposition of separation. Nonetheless, that disunion is injudicious hardly guarantees it will not happen. Mankind has a sinful propensity towards destroying good things, and the American republic is no exception.
This being so, I implore my fellow conservatives to emulate the example provided by our forefathers and Scripture in this endeavor to preserve our Union.
With the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, our forefathers gave us two examples of disunion. In both wars, those in the right were not the aggressors. Our Declaration not only listed Britain’s tyrannical acts, but observed that the Founders “Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms.” It was not until they were “answered only by repeated injury” and there was no other feasible path towards justice that they resolved to wage war and win their independence.
In his first inaugural address, Lincoln said to the South, “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors.”
So foreign to our current disposition is this temperament of our forefathers. Whereas they sought to be peacemakers, we have sought provocation and division. Whereas they called upon their better angels, we have used sin to justify sin.
It is our abandonment of Christianity that has caused this great divide between our conduct and that of our forefathers.
Conservatives may be aghast at my suggestion that we—the party of faith and family—be unchristian. Nevertheless I must observe that though we may call ourselves Christian, the Christian ethic has not merely been abandoned, it has become despised.
It was recently argued that turning the other cheek has “gotten us nothing,” and thus must be tossed aside. Love, compassion, or even just understanding for our political opponents are considered acts of treason; nothing less than unceasing vitriol suffices!
Predictable results have followed. To the detriment of our principles and our electoral success, we have conducted ourselves as schoolyard bullies. Conspiracy theories have replaced inconvenient truths. We refuse to condemn any violence or sin of which our side of the aisle is at fault. Indeed, we are encouraging it more and more, as if one’s hate proves dedication to the cause. In our zeal to prevent leftism from destroying the nation, we are allowing our party to transform into an instrument that needs not the help of the Left to end the republic.
We seem to think this betrayal of the Gospel and the Creed makes us strong and great. In actuality, this rejection of the wisdom of our forefathers and our Lord has made us an aggressor.
We must resolve to love our neighbor. To turn the other cheek. To pray for those who hate us.
Do not mistake this for weakness or surrender. The same God who commanded us to turn the other cheek commanded we carry a sword. And all will find that it is in weakness we succumb to sin, yet such strength is required to follow these commandments that none but Christ can do so perfectly.
The American republic is a glorious gift and responsibility. We cannot guarantee that it will endure, but we can and we must do everything in our power to preserve the great experiment of liberty that is the last, best hope on earth.
If this grand experiment is to fail, be blameless in its destruction. Extend to our fellow citizens a sincere hand of friendship, and let it be entirely incumbent upon them to reject it. Let the first shot be for others to fire.
God willing, our fellow Americans across the political spectrum will resolve to do the same, and we will preserve our Union for those future generations whose liberty depends on our success.
Jack Shields
Jack Shields is a graduate of Texas A&M University and is currently attending Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He is an editor and columnist for Lone Conservative, and a reporter for The College Fix.
The views expressed in this article are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Lone Conservative staff.
@Jack_Shields20
