Try to map out some typical core personality differences between right- and left-wing Americans, and this is one of the most consistent: Republicans have a soft spot — some might say a fetish — for symbolism and ceremony. Even if that encourages something closer to a blind spot with regard to things like, well, process and substance.
A recent example: Bringing out a kid with brain cancer as a prop at the State of the Union while simultaneously slashing research support for pediatric cancer research.
Another example unfolded last weekend right here in Richmond, where St. John’s Church hosted Governor Youngkin and guests for a 250th-anniversary reenactment of Patrick Henry’s famous speech in the very same sanctuary where it was first heard during the Second Virginia Convention. Youngkin offered some comments and joined the others in watching an actor’s performance.
But here’s the thing: About 50 years ago, historians started to doubt whether Henry even said his most famous line in that speech at all. Henry’s supposed words weren’t published until 40ish years after the fact, by someone who wasn’t there, with a whole two paragraphs of aid from a witness who simultaneously said it was basically useless to render an accurate recollection. The writer, William Wirt, somehow “constructed” the speech as it is known from there.
According to the only contemporary account of the speech, what Henry definitely did utter that was left out of Wirt’s production was epithets and fearmongering about possible attacks from Native Americans, which he was reported to rely on more than a couple of times.
Not to deny that Patrick Henry was a formidable orator. He was, by all accounts. But some other dude possibly inventing the key catchphrase while whitewashing the race-based appeals out of the history books is classic right-wing America. Omitting crucial context and embracing the self-serving soundbite has shaped the right-wing perspective for years.
Such as? Well, more than a little responsibility for this rests on Bruce’s shoulders, but how many Reagan fanboys could actually sing (OK, sing and absorb) the verses of “Born In The U.S.A.” before getting on to fist-pumping the chorus?
Or did you ever see a self-styled 2A defender with a t-shirt that simply read, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State …”
Yeah, me neither. The arc of full context bends toward justice.
THE WISDOM OF CROWDS
If Governor Youngkin attending this reenactment were all to the story, I would not have bothered writing about it. But protestors showed up to express their unhappiness with the ongoing Trump power grab and the rogue Musk-led infiltration of our government. And even that doesn’t really make it blogworthy, imo, except for one thing.
The protestors made the connection: They realized that if Patrick Henry were alive today, he wouldn’t be backslapping a Trump apologist like Youngkin in a time of crisis. He would be raising rhetorical hell over the Trump/Musk malfeasance on a regular basis.
I can’t pretend Henry was any kind of liberal, or that I might agree with him on any number of things – in part because one thing America glosses over is that Patrick Henry steadfastly opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. (Dig around sometime and remind yourself of how the Founding Fathers were no united front and how passionately they disagreed along the way to independence.)
But why did Henry oppose the Constitution in its eventual form? A primary reason: he believed it gave too much power to the executive branch. So it’s not a stretch to imagine his feelings about the Trump power grab. Henry would instinctively grasp that “unitary executive” might as well be an anagram for “king.” To wit:
“If your American chief be a man of ambition and abilities, how easy is it for him to render himself absolute! The army is in his hands, and … where is the existing force to punish him? Can he not, at the head of his army, beat down every opposition? … What will then become of you and your rights? Will not absolute despotism ensue?”
Henry did not get his way regarding the Constitutional framework. He also declined to support the Alien & Sedition Act, which Trump has dusted off in recent days. But Henry would later also strike an unusually moderate tone in opposing a states’ power of nullification regarding perceived federal overreach:
“If I am asked what is to be done when a people feel themselves intolerably oppressed, my answer is ready—overturn the government,” he declared, but “wait at least until some infringement is made upon your rights that cannot be otherwise be redressed.”
Per my last column and that sentiment, Virginia’s first governor and I agree on one thing: We owe it to Americans past, present, and future to give the system a chance to work (and to use our rights within that system) before moving on to other options.
While Governor Youngkin was inside with the others paying homage to pre-war words that Henry may or may not have ever said, the anti-Trump protestors were honoring Henry’s beliefs in both their concerns and their choice of action.
Look for legal ways to support any visible presence that generates pushback on authoritarianism and its enablers, even if they put out a “hey, can’t we all just get along” vibe wrapped in an inoffensive fleece vest.
And with that, I’ll hand it back to Bruce.
