"Do You Know What Time It Is?"
Yes. Time for conservatives to set a moral example for the next generation
In this column
Adults need to shape, not pander
Moral clarity comes first
Trump, alarmism, and the disappearance of moral formation
Repeating the left’s mistake
Shaping not Pandering
I was recently at our local gym. A gaggle of young men I didn’t know—all probably 14-16 years old—were misbehaving in the way that a gaggle of 14-16 year-old young men will misbehave at a gym. Loud, foul language. Laughingly pushing down on the bar while a friend was benching. Wrestling in the area where others were trying to work out.
Later that night, I told one of our sons this story, including the part when I quietly pulled a few of the boys aside and quickly talked to them about spotting, swearing around little kids, and so on. My son rolled his eyes and said, “Dad, you know they probably just laughed at you behind your back as soon as you walked away, right?”
I hugged my son, and said, “Of course I know that. But I had to do it anyway.”
I was once a misbehaving 15-year-old boy. Was I ever. I can remember acting like they were. I get it. Sincerely. But my role today as a middle-aged guy who now knows better isn’t to be their buddy. In that situation, it wasn’t for me to tell them how funny they were. They needed—just like I needed at that age—a grown-up to quietly, firmly step in.
Moral Clarity Comes First
For the last week, America’s political right has been dealing with the fallout from the Heritage Foundation-Tucker Carlson-Nick Fuentes debacle. If you read this column, you probably don’t need an explainer on those events. Moreover, much has already been said and written about what happened and what it means. I’m not going to rehash that.
Instead, I want to say something about the need for principled grown-ups inside of conservatism to firmly, confidently shape the next generation. Even when it’s hard and unpopular to do so.
Moral formation is an essential part of this discussion because many believe that these events were, at root, about young men. Carlson and Fuentes have unusually large followings among this demographic. A lot of young men have been politically activated—others radicalized—by a host of social factors over the last decade. It seems that Heritage’s leadership was loath to criticize Carlson and Fuentes because that would alienate two prominent figures this group follows.
But we must never forget that there is something more important than bringing a new potentially powerful political force into your tent: And that’s helping develop young people into virtuous adults.
If you’ve followed right-of-center developments in recent years, you are certainly aware of the uptick in bellicosity among the rising generation. You’ll come across some unwholesome stuff in various “new right” circles, including troubling views about equality, liberty, and democracy. The recent leak of group chats among some younger GOP leaders revealed appalling language and ideas. Racism. Antisemitism. Sexism. The views expressed by Fuentes in the Carlson interview and beyond are shocking.
Job one for conservative grown-ups is to demonstrate moral clarity on such matters. It is not to try to be buddies with those expressing such opinions.
Trump, Alarmism, and the Disappearance of Moral Formation
What I’m advocating goes back—literally—thousands of years. From the beginning of formalized education, moral formation was front and center. It was understood that young people need more than instruction in letters and numbers. They need to be taught about values and behavior. And it has been known for just as long that young men need particular attention along these lines. Long before humans knew what testosterone was and long before we had scientific evidence that males’ prefrontal cortexes develop more slowly than females’, societies developed a host of ways to shape young men: military instruction, codes of conduct like chivalry, athletic training and competitions, the Boy Scouts, fraternal associations, male-only religious groups, and on and on.
Conservatives should be especially cognizant of this. For as long as I’ve been following public issues, the American political right has looked at problems among the younger generation (particularly among boys and young men) and saw evidence of too few strong, present, active role models. That is, the thinking has been something like, “Had these young people simply been surrounded by more tough, virtuous adults, we wouldn’t have such problems today with (gangs) (drop outs) (violence) (drug abuse)(unemployment) (some other social problem).”
So why is it that today’s conservative adults aren’t providing more effective moral mentorship? Two explanations stand out. The first is the tragic effect Donald Trump has had on the moral sensibilities of the political right. For most of my life, Republicans and conservatives were proud to speak out about the importance of virtuous behavior in public life. Right-of-center leaders talked about family values, honesty, decency, and law and order.
Whether you like or dislike President Trump’s politics, we all should be able to admit that he is not a moral man. He even said recently that he doesn’t think he’ll go to heaven. During Trump’s rise, conservative leaders were often asked to square their previous talk about character and Mr. Trump’s words and deeds. Needless to say, this tied them in knots. Republicans who criticized Trump’s behavior soon lost their jobs, and the rest learned the lesson. Now GOP leaders simply don’t talk about moral formation any more. Worse, some seem to have forgotten why it is essential to set a moral example.
The second reason is the mindset embodied by the New Right’s juvenile rallying cry, “Do you know what time it is?” This rhetorical question—sadly used by Heritage’s leadership—implies that a cultural war is raging and civilization is on the brink. To know what time it is means you are aware of the sky-high stakes and willing to do whatever is necessary to win.
Obviously, that sentiment is not conservative. It’s alarmist. It encourages hysteria about the challenges we face and what we must be willing to do to overcome them. It is an invitation to radicalism. Indeed, it serves as preemptive forgiveness for immoral behavior. If you “know what time it is” you can feel justified when acting badly: The gloves must come off, you will believe, since we’re in an existential battle.
Conservative leaders should know that young people, especially young men, need examples of character and initiatives that teach honor and judiciousness. What they don’t need is encouragement of extremism and rashness—that is moral deformation.
Repeating the Left’s Mistake
It is odd that conservative leaders are not more attuned to the need to shape our next generation. For the last decade, the right has correctly pointed out that the left failed to rein in its young activists, leading to dreadful consequences. Hot-headed, over-confident young progressives took over newspapers, foundations, and other institutions because more senior liberals and progressives weren’t willing to stand up to them. What those institutions needed—what America needed—was for members of the older generation on the left to courageously, firmly set an example; to say what was expected and what would not be tolerated. We conservatives should keep this in mind.
This is not the first generation with young people possessing strong political views. It is also not the first generation with young people possessing some very wrongheaded ideas. Conservative leaders should not shy away from morally shaping those early in their careers. The truth is that young people want to see virtue in action. They want examples of character.
If conservative leaders are unwilling to provide the firm, principled mentoring the next generation needs, then we’re the ones needing mentoring.