Tribal Reflexes, Critical Ignoring, and Growing Christianity
It has been another hectic week in the world of misinformation, disinformation, the Right, and evangelicalism. As such, there is no main character to look at, but three articles offer some hope, and I'd like to start there this week.
3 Moments of Hope
1) Tim Keller, writing for The Atlantic, outlines how he sees a chance for Christianity to grow and, once again, be a societal good in America. Keller lists the five ways Christians must respond to our current moment to be a force for good again, and three changes that must occur. One of these changes: Christians would need to stop being captives of a political party. “American evangelicals have largely responded to the decline of the Church by turning to a political project of regaining power in order to expel secular people from places of cultural influence. But a demographically shrinking Church that identifies heavily with one narrow band of political actors will not be relevant in America,” Keller writes. Still, the crux of Keller's argument is this, and this is the most potent claim in his piece: "First and foremost, Christianity helps society because its metaphysical claims are true; they are not true because Christianity helps society. When Christians lose sight of this, the Church's power and durability are lost."
2) The Conversation has terrific advice for us while living amid information overload: pair your critical thinking with critical ignoring. While critical ignoring sounds fanciful, it's just a common sense guideline to purposefully choose what you ignore and where you invest your limited attention. But most hopeful is the idea that misinformation and disinformation can be overcome by guarding your time, practicing lateral reading, and not feeding trolls. The piece is worth your time.
3) Writing through the lens of support for the academy and support for police, David French explores, in his first New York Times column, the ways we allow ourselves to be blind to systemic issues that benefit us. He ends with this excellent piece of advice: "Any time my tribe or my allies are under fire, before I yield to the temptation of a reflexive defense, I should apply my principles and carefully consider the most uncomfortable of thoughts: My opponents might be right, my allies might be wrong and justice may require that I change my mind. And it may, in all likelihood, require that I do this again and again."
7 More Things
1) The New York Times ran two op-eds that, read in conversation together, show how it is possible to push back against illiberal tactics, such as the push against free speech from those on the Left, and also how the illiberal Left, here by their support for inclusive language, often gives rise to the MAGA Right.
2) The Washington Post reports that Harvard's Technology and Social Change Project will end in 2024. The project, part of the Kennedy School of Government, is helmed by Joan Donovan and has published important work on Covid misinformation and the Jan 6 insurrection. But Harvard requires projects like this to be led by a faculty member, and Donovan is not faculty, so they are shuttering the project. And if that does not pass the smell test for you, Semafor has in-depth reporting from behind the scenes of the decision that shows there is more going on.
3) So much for Elon's promise of transparency. WaPo also reports that Twitter will now charge for access to the site's API, "or application programming interface — software tools that allow outside researchers and developers to collect and analyze data from a site." While this may seem like Musk is trying to squeeze more money out of his $40 billion toy, those in the know say this will make it more challenging to understand misinformation and foreign influence on Twitter.
4) The story that will not die is the frequently debunked claim that schools are implementing kitty litter in bathrooms for students who identify as cats. This time the victim is former NFL coach Tony Dungy. Dungy has apologized for spreading misinformation, at least.
5) Writing for MSNBC, The Bulwark's Charlie Sykes comments on the AP's publishing of tapes of Trump operatives in Wisconsin who tried to overturn the state's 2020 election results. As Sykes notes, the recordings prove Trump's team knew they lost and chose to push unfounded claims of a stolen election. Worse, Sen. Ron Johnson is now known to have tried to get the Wisconsin legislature to award the state's electoral votes to Trump.
6) Finally, MSNBC reports that members of the Far Right group America First have been arrested and charged with their connection to the Jan 6 insurrection. Most notable is America First's Joseph Brody, who has been widely known as #SuitGuy because he wore a grey suit, tie, and American Flag neck gaiter to the Capitol.
7) PRRI released a new report on Christian Nationalism. Among its findings, 10% of the nation adheres strongly to Christian Nationalism and among those, 40% agree with the statement, “true patriots might have to resort to violence to save our country.” For some perspective, 4% of the country is over 13 million people.