PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, SEPTEMBER 14, 2018
KeizerOpinion
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Many question integrity of
anonymous op-ed author
By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS
An anonymous Trump administra-
tion offi cial confessed in an opinion
piece published last week that many
senior offi cials “are working diligently
from within to frustrate parts of his
agenda and his worst inclinations.
“I know. I am one of them.”
There are many ways to react to
the anonymous piece published by
The New York Times.
Sen. Lindsey Graham,
R-S.C., offered one take.
He told CNN that in his
makes it diffi cult to comprehend what world, people don’t care
standing anyone banned from a social much about what runs in
media platform has to appeal such de- The New York Times. Fair
cisions. The corporations can and do enough.
enact policies in attempts to mold how
Others questioned the
their platforms are used, author’s integrity or credentials.
but with so many 1s and 0s
Ari Fleischer, press secretary for
fl ying through the ether at President George W. Bush, tweeted,
any moment, there is only “Support the President or don’t work
so much any corporate per- there.”
son can do to separate the
Jennifer Palmieri, former commu-
wheat from the chaff. They nications director for President Barack
could choose to refrain Obama, noted that “this person could
from such activity com- easily be someone most of us have
pletely and there would be never heard of ”—‚for example, a dep-
relatively minimal repercussions from a uty of a department most voters don’t
legal standpoint.
know.
The humans employed by the cor-
Fox News host Tucker Carlson
porate persons have taken to likening berated the unknown offi cial’s pre-
social media to the new “marketplace sumption for bashing the anti-free
of ideas,” albeit one that grew cor- trade positions that Trump promised
rupted through the concerted efforts Americans as he campaigned for of-
of some users – and their bots – who fi ce. Ditto Trump’s attempts to make
discovered how to game the system.
nice with Russia, which the author
However, given that corporate said steady hands in the bureaucracy
speech is now protected, so is the have undermined.
corporate right to be biased. Shutting
down any type of speech a corporate
person rules unprofi table is well within
its rights on any platform it owns. Le-
gally, it’s no different than an individual By MICHAEL GERSON
Since the Council of Nicaea, Chris-
choosing Fox News over MSNBC, or
tians have been prone to issue joint
vice versa.
All of this sharpens the irony of statements that are designed to draw
Jones sitting in the audience quietly the boundaries of orthodoxy —and
pleading for help. During the last cam- cast their rivals beyond them. Another
paigns for president, one of the more one, not quite in the same league, was
popular InfoWars merchandise items, recently issued by a group including
the site run by Jones, depicted Hillary John MacArthur, a prominent (and
Clinton in Joker-esque make-up with very conservative) evan-
the caption “What difference does it gelical pastor and Bible
teacher.
make?”
The Statement on Social
Wherever you fall on the political
spectrum, it should make a difference Justice and the Gospel claims
where you get your information. It’s that social justice is not, in
critical to making informed decisions fact, a defi nitional compo-
about who you want running govern- nent of the gospel, and that
ment because, one day, you might want it is heresy to elevate “non-
them to defend your right to access a essentials to the status of essentials.”
marketplace of ideas no matter who As you might expect, the document
affi rms traditional beliefs on same-
owns it.
—Editorial Board sex relationships and “God-ordained”
gender roles. But it seems particularly
focused on rejecting collective blame
in racial matters. “We deny that ... any
issue might have been person is morally culpable for another
much more convinc- person’s sin,” the statement argues. “We
ing on the front page.
further deny that one’s ethnicity estab-
How about show- lishes any necessary connection to any
casing some of the more successful particular sin.”
stories of inclusion, if that is your
In case this wasn’t clear enough,
goal.
the document goes on: “We reject any
This kind of current coverage is teaching that encourages racial groups
not the answer.
to view themselves as privileged op-
Geoffrey Smith
pressors or entitled victims of oppres-
Keizer
sion. ... We deny that a person’s feelings
of offense or oppression necessarily
prove that someone else is guilty of sin-
ful behaviors, oppression or prejudice.”
Christians, in the view of MacArthur
and his fellow signatories, must con-
demn both “racial animosity” and “ra-
cial vainglory.”
By way of background, it seems that
this statement was created in outraged
response to another group of evan-
gelicals—the Gospel Coalition —that
Consider the source
Alex Jones, Charles Johnson and
Lara Loomer, three self-proclaimed
pillars of conservative thought online,
spent last week on the sidelines of con-
gressional intelligence hearings on so-
cial media’s role in election
meddling.
They hoped to garner
attention and support from
congresspeople after get-
ting suspended or banned
from a variety of social
media platforms. Depend-
ing on where you get your
information, the trio are
either white supremacists contributing
to the spread of unfounded conspiracy
theory or the last bastions of conserva-
tive free speech.
Regardless of why they were sus-
pended or banned, the more pertinent
line of inquiry is why corporations
should care at all about suspending
or banning anyone for any reason at
any time. The platforms belong to the
parent corporations and courts have
bestowed on corporate persons, as an
entity apart and separate from the peo-
ple who run them, most of the rights
granted to those of us who arrived
through the birth canal.
The journey to corporate person-
hood began in 1868 when headnote
attached to a Supreme Court deci-
sion claiming the Court felt corpo-
rations fell under some of the equal
protection rights granted by the 14th
Amendment – an amendment meant
to redress some of the most egregious
echoes of slavery. The court affi rmed
the concept two years later, has reaf-
fi rmed it repeatedly ever since and,
more recently, started down a path
of more expansive corporate liberty.
In 2010, the Supreme Court decided
corporate political speech is protect-
ed and, in 2014, provided for corpo-
rate exemptions when regulations are
deemed offensive to the corporation’s
religious beliefs.
Some of the rights were needed to
facilitate business, but the ever-wid-
ening gyre of corporate personhood
debra
j.
saunders
our
opinion
Hate art is a
step too far
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held a conference on the 50th anniver-
sary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death.
MacArthur clearly wants to paint the
participants, including prominent pas-
tors Tim Keller, Russell Moore, Thabiti
Anyabwile and John Piper, as liberals at
risk of heresy.
Where to start a response? First,
there is the matter of judgment. Ma-
cArthur surveys the evan-
gelical movement in 2018
—increasingly discredited
by rank hypocrisy and close
ties to an angry, ethno-
nationalist political move-
ment—and concludes that
its main problem is too
much ... social justice. It is a
sad case of complete spiritual blindness.
Second, there is a matter of history.
Elsewhere MacArthur complains that
evangelicals have a “newfound obses-
sion” with social justice. This could
only be claimed by someone who
knows nothing of the evangelical story.
In the 19th century, northern evangeli-
calism was generally viewed as insepa-
rable from social activism. Evangelist
Charles Finney insisted that “the loss
of interest in benevolent enterprises”
was usually evidence of a “backslidden
heart.” Among these enterprises Finney
listed good government, temperance
reform, the abolition of slavery and re-
lief for the poor. The Gospel, preached
abolitionist Gilbert Haven in 1863, “is
not confi ned to a repentance and faith
that have no connection with social or
civil duties. The Evangel of Christ is an
all-embracing theme.”
But most damaging is the MacAr-
thur statement’s position on racial
matters. What could a group of large-
ly white evangelicals, many of them
southerners, possibly mean by criticiz-
ing “racial vainglory”? Is it vanity to
praise the unbroken spirit of Africans
other
voices
Web Poll
SUBSCRIPTIONS
thor’s piece “gutless,” and later tweet-
ed, “TREASON?”
The White House press corps’ re-
action was to ask every administration
suit who walked near a camera if he or
she wrote the piece. Cable TV could
not get enough of the story. Pundits
were demonstrably unperturbed at
having to rely once again on an anon-
ymous source.
The story had every element that
many Americans hate about the news
media: a backstabber hiding in the
shadows, palace intrigue in lieu of
policy and a reward for lack of loyalty.
Like the anonymous author, I sup-
port Trump’s commitment to deregu-
lation and increasing military spend-
ing. I strongly approve of his Supreme
Court picks, his decision to move the
U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and his
decision to reach out to Egypt after
President Obama.
Still, I believe that there are people
in the administration toiling to pro-
tect the president from himself and
the country from the president’s worst
impulses. And I believe that one of
them snapped.
After the story appeared, Vice Pres-
ident Mike Pence’s offi ce and mem-
bers of Trump’s Cabinet tweeted de-
nunciations of the “gutless op-ed” and
declarations denying authorship.
But I believe the anonymous of-
fi cial in The New York Times, however
high or low that person might be. I
believe it because I’ve read the presi-
dent’s tweets.
(Creators Syndicate)
A passion for social justice
letters
To the Editor:
Well, the Keizertimes has truly
reached a new low with their recent
despicable artwork which will cer-
tainly serve to fan the fl ames of ha-
tred in this community.
I fi nd it shameful that you would
feature the ugly face of hate in this
way when a different approach to the
Carlson found the notion that staff-
ers would try to sabotage an elected
offi cial’s policies downright anti-dem-
ocratic.
First lady Melania Trump had a
message for the author: “To the writer
of the op-ed, you are not protecting
this country, you are sabotaging it
with your cowardly actions.”
Indeed, the piece seemed writ-
ten deliberately to send
the president down a nasty
rabbit hole with rants and
recriminations—the exact
behavior to which the un-
known author objected.
President
Donald
Trump’s reaction was a
combination of rage and
self-pity.
The president addressed a
group of sheriffs gathered in the East
Room shortly after the Times post-
ed the piece. “A lot of times you’re
looked at and you’re scorned,” Trump
told the room, scorned, that is, by “the
media because the media is very dis-
honest.”
Trump then offered that the men
and women in uniforms were “I guess,
a little bit like me.”
Trump cited the good economic
news under his watch—4 million jobs
created, 400,000 new manufacturing
jobs and record unemployment—all
claims that were close enough to ac-
curate and worthy of praise. And he
was right that he does not get enough
credit for the strong economy.
Then he called the unknown au-
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in America during more than four
centuries of vicious oppression, which
was often blessed by elements of the
Christian church? Is it vanity to rec-
ognize the redemptive role played by
African-American Christianity in call-
ing our nation to the highest ideals of
its founding?
The purpose of “The Statement on
Social Justice and the Gospel” is clear
enough. It is, as one prominent evan-
gelical leader put it to me, “to stop any
kind of real repentance for past social
injustice, to make space for those who
are indeed ethno-nationalists, and to
give excuse for those who feel Chris-
tians need only ‘preach the gospel’ to
save souls and not love their neighbors
sacrifi cially whether they believe as we
do or not.”
The MacArthur statement is de-
signed to support, not a gospel truth,
but a social myth. America, the myth
goes, used to have systematic discrimi-
nation, but that ended with the Civil
Rights Act. Now racism is purely an
individual issue, for which the good
people should not be blamed. This
narrative has nothing to do with true
religion. It has everything to do with
ignorant self-satisfaction.
It is neither realistic nor fair to ig-
nore the continuing social effects of
hundreds of years of state-sponsored
oppression, cruelty and stolen wages.
It is neither realistic nor fair to ignore
the current damage of mass incarcera-
tion and failed educational institutions
on minority groups. Prejudice and in-
stitutional evil are ongoing -- deeply
engrained in social practice and ratifi ed
by indifference. Repentance is in order
-- along with a passion for social jus-
tice that is inseparable from the Chris-
tian gospel.
(Washington Post Writers Group)
That’s a big fuss over a knee
My wife and I went out for
lunch with friends the other day.
Along with conversation that ac-
companied bites from
pan-fried oysters and a
creamy cole slaw, Colin
Kaepernick—in name
only mind you—joined
us.
Because NFL football
is underway again, Kae-
pernick is also a topic of
conversation; now for
being Nike’s latest post-
er boy. Kaepernick, you’ll recall, led
the way in NFL football player pro-
tests during the playing of the na-
tional anthem by taking a knee. His
schtick was and continues to be as a
leader of the movement against so-
cial injustice in matters having to do
with the way persons of color are
inordinately badly treated.
Meanwhile, Nike features Kae-
pernick in a new advertisement
where he’s represented as steadfast in
principle behind his protest and ac-
cepting of what he calls his sacrifi ce
for that in which he believes. Then,
too, Nike may appear to sacrifi ce
for the sake of Kaepernick support
but has realized enhanced company
profi t as their endorsement deal
with Kaepernick has brought them
dollars by the millions in
post-support purchases.
This case reminds
one that there have
been many cases in our
history where American
individuals have stood
to test the limits of our
Constitution’s Bill of
Rights in its allowance
for freedom of expres-
sion. Of course, these norm depar-
tures rile and upset other Americans
who have personally adopted the
old order of how things are done
and abide by them. Yet, if we Amer-
icans should stand fi rmly on the
way things “have always been done”
then we’d continue to practice slav-
ery, keep women from the vote, and
allow all matters of workplace dan-
ger to continue unabated.
From our beginning and
throughout our history we Ameri-
cans have been groundbreakers in
freedoms of expression. In fact our
Constitution and rule by law sup-
port and encourage the liberties we
gene
h.
mcintyre
individually and collectively prac-
tice and enjoy. Fortunately there
has always been enough of us to be
suffi ciently open-minded and ac-
cepting, letting that which is new
and different to pass into common
use. That condition of American
life enables me to allow a Kaeper-
nick to “Just Do It” without getting
bent out of shape. Is he hurting me?
No. Is he threatening my security or
the nation’s? No. So what.
I’ll not drop on a knee during
the playing of the Star Spangled Ban-
ner. Nevertheless, I want Kaeper-
nick and any other American with
a non-violent protest to be able to
do so and view this kind of thing
as reassuring America’s future as the
“land of the free.” When we take
that right away from our people
then we may as well tear up the U.S.
Constitution, Bill of Rights and
rule of law and get used to life as
it is in so many other nations today
where despots rule and citizens are
slaves to power and privilege.
(Gene H. McIntyre shares his
opinion in the Keizertimes fre-
quently.)