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Comedian George Carlin once quipped, “It's the old American Double Standard, ya know: Say one thing, do somethin' different. And of course, this country is founded on the double standard. That's our history. We were founded on a very basic double standard: This country was founded by slave owners who wanted to be free.”
I concluded long ago that when it comes to matters of politics, the left wing and the right wing are part of the same bird. Lately our republic more closely resembles a flightless ostrich than it does a majestic eagle. Gross double standards clip the wings of democracy on both sides.
In a commentary entitled “Don't just tell me, show me: An appeal to the 'Do as I say, not as I do' movement," I called out the double standards of conservatives. In this commentary, I’m focused on the post-election hypocrisy from those of left-leaning persuasion.
There’s a popular meme making the rounds that reads, “See how Democrats aren’t inciting violence or storming the Capitol? That’s how democracy works.”
But wait a minute.
Scrolling through X (formerly Twitter) will reveal a dumpster fire of double standards. Unfortunately, this comes as no surprise. In his book entitled, “Outrage Machine: How Tech Is Amplifying Discontent, Undermining Democracy, and Pushing Us Towards Chaos,” Tobias Rose-Stockwell writes, “As social media forces us further into our corners of anxiety and outrage, we see our worst political and social fears realized.”
Since the Republican victory in the 2024 Election, I’ve heard and read a host of things that eerily resemble the rhetoric that was being peddled in 2020. Allegations of voter fraud, calls for the Vice President not to certify the election, name calling, and stereotyping – all of which are coming exclusively from Democrats.
I've witnessed individuals who were once on the front lines of the war against racism now belittling ethnic minorities who voted for the president-elect. Likewise, I have observed women who broadly allege that all men are evil because Trump was victorious. (I've got news for you - based on the polls, a LOT of women also voted for him.) Such examples beg the question: How are these vocally sore losers any different from those they so vehemently oppose? Has their crusade for racial harmony and social justice been nothing more than a charade steeped in virtue signaling?
A few days after the election, Christian social media ‘influencer’ (a term I despise) Rev. Dr. Renita Weems posted, “I still have hope. I still believe in God. But let me be for now. Let me feel what I'm feeling. Rage is a form of prayer too.”
This is dangerous theology.
Rage is the antithesis of prayer, not to mention a double standard. By Dr. Weems' logic, does the rage exhibited by the MAGA movement also count as prayer? I’ve had armchair theologians tell me I’m mistaken. Granted, none of them have a rebuttal for my question regarding the similarities between their rage and that of Christian Nationalism. Instead, most of them attempt to gaslight me by citing John 2:13-17 in which Jesus flipped over tables in the temple. The problem with this example is that it compares apples to oranges. When a secular election didn’t go as He would have preferred, Christ didn’t exhibit rage as “a form of prayer.” Rather, His rage was focused squarely on those who sought to bring the secular into His Father’s House. In fact, when it came to the separation of Church and State, Jesus’ words were very clear. (Reference Mark 12:17.)
Incidentally, this is not the first time that I’ve pointed out the ironic similarities between opponents of Christian Nationalism such as Bishop William Barber and the very movement they oppose.
Weems, Barber, and their followers would do good to revisit the biographies of Nelson Mandela, Oscar Romero, and Mohandas Gandhi.
Elections, organized religion, and life in general aren’t like Burger King: We can’t always have it our way. Sadly, we live in an age in which our definition of competition has been belittled by an absurd notion, promulgated largely in juvenile intramural sports, wherein everybody gets a trophy.
Stereotyping, conspiracies, hatred, and double standards are unacceptable regardless of one's political affiliation. There’s anger, and there's ignorance. Such behavior falls into the latter. For our nation to prosper, defeated voters must grow up and take some responsibility for their emotions. We need to be cautious not to slip into a "do as I say, not as I do" mindset. It belittles the message.