Editors at Commentary magazine take aim at disturbing developments in today’s American society.
Across the United States, a great unraveling is in progress. A rolling crime wave, under the guise of social activism, has left city after American city shattered and smoldering. …
… There is one way to stop the unraveling: Refuse the mob. We have seen again and again that the mob comes only for those who hope to please it. And when it does, no amount of apology will save you. We stand against the mob and all its aims. We stand against the chaos and violence, the silencing of debate, the purging of heretics, the rewriting of history, and the destruction of the greatest country in the world. We will defend the most majestic achievement of humankind, the United States of America, against the most ignoble impulse in human history, to tear down that which is good.
What we stand for:
A plurality of opinion in the public square. We affirm that the right to voice a minority opinion is equal in every respect to the right to voice a majority opinion. We therefore reject the public policing of opinion in all its forms.
A full airing of available facts and data on all topics. We welcome any impartial findings that may serve to advance discussion. No objective facts are beyond the bounds of deliberation and debate.
A rejection of cancel culture and all it entails. We renounce enemies lists, online/media mobs, and professional scalp hunts.
Clear bright lines between speech and violence. We affirm that speech, spoken or written, and no matter how egregious, is not equivalent in any way to violence. Similarly, physical violence is not a mode of speech.
An absolute rejection of political violence. We affirm that lawless violence, even in the service of a just cause, is wrong—no exceptions or excuses.