I have a lot of respect for Sohrab Ahmari. A noted Catholic intellectual and opinions editor for the New York Post, Ahmari started an important conversation about the philosophical (and theological) differences among conservatives, and how they shape the movement’s future. That being said, he lost some of that respect last night.
Ahmari faced National Review’s David French last night during a debate at the Catholic University of America for the first time since publishing his now notorious essay, “Against David French-ism.” In the essay, Ahmari argues against civility as a primary value. This is a culture war, Ahmari argues, and that means conservatives must be willing to fight. He reiterated this sentiment last night. Civility, Ahmari argued, is akin to surrender. Fight, or “sit this one out,” he told French.
But civility isn’t just a value, as French rightly pointed out — it’s a commandment. Ahmari knows this. He’s a faithful Catholic and is therefore familiar with Christ’s command to love the enemy. But loving one’s enemies, Ahmari said, first requires identifying them as just that: enemies. Fair enough.
The problem is that Ahmari seems to draw a distinction between political and religious behavior. Civility requires common ground, he argued, and in politics, the culture war, or whatever we’re calling it these days, conservatives surely lack commonality with progressive radicals. Besides, the cultural Left won’t afford conservatives the same decency and respect, so why bother?
Perhaps this is why Ahmari likes Trump so much. Trump is a fighter. He doesn’t just take it — he gives it right back. Finally, someone willing to give the Left a taste of its own medicine! But as Ahmari demonstrated last night, fight fire with fire and you might just burn the whole house down.
Toward the end of the debate, Ahmari gave the audience a brief display of what it looks like when we treat civility “as a secondary value.” French, speaking of personal courage, brought up his military service in Iraq. “You were just a JAG, right?” Ahmari responded, referring to French’s stint as a judge advocate. The meaning was clear: French’s military service wasn’t as reputable as others’. Ahmari’s comment was careless at best and malicious at worst. Does it matter what capacity he served in? French gave up years of his life and precious time with his family to serve his country and fight in a war he believed in.
Can Ahmari say the same?
To his credit, Ahmari later apologized for the comment and said it had not been his intention to denigrate French’s service. But the damage was done. As soon as the words left Ahmari’s lips, I could tell he regretted it. He knew he had messed up. Bad. He was met with stunned silence and a few boos from the crowd. He said what? Many of the individuals Ahmari hoped to win over, including myself, were repelled. Any argumentative progress Ahmari had made was lost in a matter of seconds.
This is the problem with discounting civility. It’s not a “secondary value.” It is quintessential to good debate, persuasion, and respect. Treat others with disdain or aggression, or regress to ad hominem remarks as Ahmari did, and you shut the conversation down and lose what little ground you gained. The culture war requires more than just fighting words. It’s a messy, complicated debate about fundamental, legal concepts and how they fit into differing worldviews. To win, conservatives will need as much help as we can get.
Ahmari’s tactic will bring further polarization and deepen the growing divide this country faces. And we have Ahmari to thank for showing us why.
