On the right, online pugilists mock more mainstream or "establishment" conservatives as unwilling to do what it takes to win. They mock conservatives who refuse to make Trump-style attacks and decry Trump-style rhetoric as obsessed with "muh principles." In the face of a ferocious Left, we just don’t have what it takes ‐ or, as Milo Yiannopoulos said earlier this week in a long piece calling me "the most reliably frustrating person in conservative media," we’re more prepared to "lose gracefully" than to "be seen as lacking in manners."
First, let’s acknowledge that there’s more than a kernel of truth in these critiques. Civility isn’t always a virtue. There are times when injustice demands a dramatic response. The modern image of Jesus Christ as essentially the nicest person who ever lived is laughably one-dimensional. He compared the Pharisees to "whitewashed tombs." Jesus cleansed the Temple "with a whip made out of cords." He modeled grace and compassion. He also modeled righteous anger.
Moreover, it’s also true that calls for civility are often one-sided, manipulative, and made in bad faith. It turns out that each ideological tribe is often quite tolerant of the vicious voices on its own side and positively repulsed by anger in response. You see the double standard all the time. The same people who lament the angry voices on Fox News or talk radio will positively thrill to the latest Michael Moore documentary or make excuses for Democratic leaders who just can’t quite bring themselves to condemn Louis Farrakhan.