Last week, the wonderful Megyn Kelly welcomed the three hosts of The Fifth Column podcast to her show. The adjective most frequently used to describe the trio is “libertarian.” Perhaps the most interesting of the three is Kmele Foster who, as a Black man, utterly refuses to bow before the Identity Politics endorsed by the “anti-racist” Left. The main focus of their conversation was the appearance of Coleman Hughes on ABC’s The View. Hughes, who is also Black, incurred the wrath of Whoopi and company because he refused to bow before their insistence that the main problem of contemporary America is that it is “systemically” racist.
When it was pointed out that Donald Trump was to attend the wake held in honor of murdered NYC policeman Jonathan Diller, Goldberg reacted with the bias typical of The View, calling the former president a hypocrite whose incitement of the Jan 6 invasion of the Capitol indicates he clearly doesn’t give a damn about the welfare of the police. The indisputable fact that Trump had asked Nancy Pelosi to bring in reinforcements should the day’s events get out of control, suggests the absurdity of Whoopi’s accusation, as, of course, does Trump’s history of supporting the Rule of Law and those who enforce it. But while the often obnoxious and frequently indicted Trump is an easy target for the Left, the reaction of the ladies of The View to Coleman Hughes is a perfect example of the pernicious poison they cultivate throughout America on a daily basis.
In his book “The End of Race Politics,” Hughes argues that we need to be color blind in assessing the ideas and behavior of any given individual. I, he says assertively, am certainly not defined by the color of my skin. Whoopi Goldberg, with obvious condescension, suggests that if he were older and had personally experienced the vile treatment to which America’s Blacks had been submitted in the past, he would no doubt sing a different song. Hughes responds that while he is of course familiar with his county’s history, it in no way exonerates any individual of his/her fundamental responsibility to live life both truthfully and ethically. At the same time he suggests Whoopi is simply ignoring the manifest advances in Social Justice made over the last 50 years. Megyn Kelly’s guests, including Kmele Foster, admit they are astonished at the numbers they encounter who continue to believe that America is as Racist as it ever was. Such “misinformation,” to use one of the Left’s most abused words, no doubt remains rampant precisely because of shows such as The View.
Significantly, in denouncing the Identity Politics that has come to dominate the Left, Hughes is greeted with energetic applause from The View’s studio audience. But sadly, Sunny Hostin proceeds to attack him in the very terms he has just rejected. Saying he has clearly been “co-opted” by the political Right, she reduces him to an “Uncle Tom” who has sold out to his White oppressors. She denies him, that is, the moral/intellectual capacity he has defined as the very essence of his Humanity. Such “ad hominem” attacks, Hughes suggests, are the only option available to those whose world-view can’t possibly survive genuine rational/moral scrutiny. It is the principle, Kmele Foster tells Megyn Kelly, that feeds the “totalitarian impulse” that has become so pervasive on the Left.
Ironically, the N.Y. Times recently declared that Coleman Hughes had come out as a “conservative.” While he insists he has in no way embraced any specific political Ideology, isn’t it odd that his commitment to Reason and Morality has led to this accusation? At the same time Kmele Foster, whose affiliation with the media company Freethink says a good deal about who he is, was perfectly willing to share his world-view with Megyn Kelly, frequently denounced as an intolerant, right-wing bitch. Gee, is it possible the decisions of these two intelligent young men represent an endorsement, however unintended, of “conservatism” itself? Is it possible that any person of Intelligence who believes in Reason and Freedom of Speech must inevitably reject the authoritarian platitudes of the Left? In my next blog I shall cite an article published by the Times which ironically impugns the basic assumptions of its very own ethos.