David Marcus of the Federalist asks readers to learn lessons from the extreme antics of groups on the political left and right.

This weekend we were treated to the latest installment of a new kind of political performance art created by Antifa and their white nationalist rivals. It may seem strange to call it art, but really that’s what it is. Neither of these groups is an actual political force in America with policies or representing large constituencies. Neither are they true revolutionaries who are engaged in some war they can win.

Both groups are, more than anything else, performers. They have costumes, they have painted signs, and they have scripts. Also, like any true artists, what they crave more than anything else is attention — not votes, not money, not even influence, mostly just to be looked at and admired, or even hated.

I struggled over whether to write this article because I believe both groups represent such an insignificant threat to the country that they should probably just be ignored. Stop pointing cameras at them, and they might just go have dinner or watch Netflix or something. But obviously, for myriad reasons, that isn’t going to happen. So if this weird new strain of performance art is something we have to deal with, we should try to understand it.

The connection between protest and art is easier to see on the left than the right, but it exists in both. It’s easier to see on the left because progressive protest art, specifically songs, have often filtered into the mainstream culture. …

… What is different here is that art is not just a component of the Antifa or Proud Boys protests. It’s the whole thing. It is all the there that is there.