Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles withdrew from the women’s gymnastics team final last Tuesday night, citing mental health issues. She then went on to withdraw from the all-around final in which she was set to defend her Olympic title. This Tuesday morning, however, she competed in the balance beam final and won bronze, tying the record of most decorated athlete in the history of women’s gymnastics.
The decision to withdraw from nearly every event coming from undoubtedly the best athlete in her sport could not have been made easily. Recognizing this, her announcement was met with a great deal of support from athletes both in and outside her sport as well as other public figures and her own teammates. However, her withdrawal also prompted a dayslong diatribe against Biles and what critics see as a larger cultural issue.
In their assessment of the gold medalist, some conservatives labeled Biles as “selfish,” “weak,” or even went so far as to call her a “sociopath.” While it would be easy to dismiss this response as baseless bullying, it’s also symbolic of conservatives’ knee-jerk position in the culture war: Any vulnerability is unreasonable, and quitting under any circumstances is selfish.
Conservatives are losing the culture war in other ways, as well. For instance, some continue to decry liberals’ climate alarmism rather than propose their own pragmatic solutions. While this has changed legislatively under leadership from the likes of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. John Curtis, some prominent conservative talking heads continue to balk at any notion of conservative environmentalism.
Refusing to allow that the prioritization of mental health and the challenges presented by climate change are important issues will only hurt conservatism in the end. It seems that too often, conservatives attempt to engage in the so-called culture war without so much as acknowledging where culture currently stands. Surely, to be successful, we must operate in reality. A young woman prioritizing her mental well-being and thus her physical health in a grueling sport is not the hill to die on in 2021 to win over young voters, just as refusing to acknowledge young people’s concern for our planet alienates them from the movement.
Engaging on these issues does not have to mean that conservatives are compromising their values. While conservatism is about conserving what is good, our movement must also be more forward-looking if we are to reach new audiences with our principles and message.
Using someone’s moment of vulnerability to create a political narrative about an entire generation is not inherently conservative. In fact, we should applaud Biles for taking responsibility for herself and knowing when to step back for the good of both herself and her team.
Indeed, conservatives should not adopt liberal talking points simply to grow the size of our tent, but telling young people that mental health issues are a burden and make one weak will do little to make young people feel welcomed into our movement.
In our ever-progressing world, there are certainly culture wars worth fighting. For instance, we should push back against damaging pro-socialism narratives and activists who want to change our nation’s institutions fundamentally. However, it is time conservatives put to bed the idea that younger generations are foolish for embracing mental health awareness or wanting actionable solutions to climate change. This is not the noble culture war worth the party’s energy, nor does it represent conservative values. If we continue to fight these losing battles, we may as well concede to the Left.
Danielle Butcher is the executive vice president at the American Conservation Coalition.
