By their outrage, ye shall know them
By Tom Sullivan
Something Amanda Marcotte wrote parenthetically on New Year’s Eve caught my attention. On Christmas, Neil deGrasse Tyson typed out this Tweet most of you have already seen:
On this day long ago, a child was born who, by age 30, would transform the world. Happy Birthday Isaac Newton b. Dec 25, 1642— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 25, 2014
“War on Christmas” soldiers were like boxers in their corner, gripping the ropes and bouncing on their toes, just waiting for the bell to ring. Tyson’s Tweet knocked the big chip off their shoulders, and out they came. Marcotte wrote:
Right-wing Christians, already primed to be hostile to anyone who values evidence and facts over myths about the supernatural, claimed that Tyson was deliberately provoking them. (Why they allowed themselves to be provoked, if this is what they believe, remains a mystery.) Odds are it was just Tyson being Tyson, grabbing any opportunity he can to educate people about science and push people to ask questions and learn more about the world. The ugly reaction from right-wing Christians only served to make them look close-minded and afraid of learning new things, which Tyson later pointed out on Twitter, writing, “Imagine a world in which we are all enlightened by objective truths rather than offended by them.”
Why they allowed themselves to be provoked, if this is what they believe, remains a mystery.
Indeed. In my experience, the more confident you are in your opinions, the less threatened you are by others’ views. As Jefferson wrote, “But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” That is, what’s it to me what you believe? Then again, if everyone adopted Jefferson’s attitude, Fox News’ business model would collapse like the derivatives market in 2008.
If their god is God (as Yul Brynner might say), why do they feel it necessary to defend the Creator of the Universe from Neil deGrasse Tyson? Presumably, God is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, and is even less threatened by what Darwin Tyson thinks than Jefferson would be. Unless (as you guessed), it’s not God who is threatened. To borrow from Matthew’s gospel, by their outrage, ye shall know them.
Okay, but we can say the same of many on the left — always spoiling for a fight with conservative opponents, eager to vanquish their adversaries with the power of their supposed superior command of the facts, and way too eager to humiliate them. It’s a guilty pleasure that reinforces the worst “elitist” stereotypes of the left. While it may be intellectually satisfying to engage in such verbal combat, it likely won’t win friends and influence voters. As the saying goes, “You don’t have to attend every argument to which you are invited.” Leaping into a fight when baited is not a sign of strength.
A close friend once related how at a meeting of her condo owners’ association, some guy verbally attacked her when she asked for clarification on a new rule. I’ll never forget her reply. It was almost Zen.
“Didn’t you read the memo?” he snarled.
Keeping her cool, she turned to him in front of the crowd and asked calmly, “Do you have a need to pick a fight with me tonight?”
He withered and slumped back into his chair.