The Truth About Tucker Carlson and the Post-Christian Right
Tucker Carlson's Texts Show Some Serious Problems...And a Glimmer of Something Better
The New York Times has a scoop on a text that was discovered in the Dominion lawsuit that finally pushed them to part ways with Tucker Carlson.
Carlson texted his producer to share about an incident where he was watching a video where three Trump supporters were savagely beating “an antifa kid.” Carlson saw a problem with this in a way that only Tucker Carlson could:
It was three against one, at least. Jumping a guy like that is dishonorable obviously. It’s not how white men fight.
For anyone wondering about the racially tinged nonsense that Tucker dished out on his show and whether he actually believed it. Apparently so.
So according to Tucker, these guys were violating the White Guy code of honor and fighting, which apparently are rules that White Men follow, whether they’re Scots, Germans, Polish, or Russian.
This is not just offensive. It’s one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever read. It’s the type of idea that the more you analyze it, the dumber things get.
How do things like the Holocaust, Jim Crow, or even his beloved Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fit into Tucker’s view of how White Men fight?
This is not an idea that holds up serious scrutiny, so let’s move on.
Then Tucker’s text gets dark:
Yet suddenly I found myself rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they’d hit him harder, kill him. I really wanted them to hurt the kid. I could taste it.
And this is the guy who was the top host on Cable Television admitting to some extreme bloodlust and he was a major influencer of the national debate who Senators and Presidential candidates courted. Yet, to his credit, Carlson has yet another turn in the text:
Then somewhere deep in my brain, an alarm went off: this isn’t good for me. I’m becoming something I don’t want to be. The Antifa creep is a human being. Much as I despise what he says and does, much as I’m sure I’d hate him personally if I knew him, I shouldn’t gloat over his suffering. I should be bothered by it. I should remember that somewhere somebody probably loves this kid, and would be crushed if he was killed. If I don’t care about those things, if I reduce people to their politics, how am I better than he is?
Credit to Carlson where it’s due. His thoughts show a reflection of some bit of conscience, and a feeling that he was going in a bad direction. I think oftentimes, we can treat people as if they don’t have a conscience, as if they’re incapable of it. Which itself can lead to some pretty dark places like the one Tucker found himself in.
However, I can’t credit this self-reflection too much because it never led him to consider what he might be doing to his audience. After sending this text on January 7, 2021, he spent two years stirring up the same kind of hate. anger, and vitriol, pushing people to the dark place he found himself too and even beyond.
Tucker’s text reflects the danger of post-Christian conservatism and its rejection of moral constraint. A more patriotic person would be horrified that he’d taken a view of his fellow American. A sincere Christian when having those feelings realizes he’s releasing hate to those for whom Christ died and for someone who was created in the image of God.
Yet, Tucker’s text reflects no such stirring. He said, “This isn’t good for me. I’m becoming something I don’t want to be.” Tucker’s big problem was he was doing something that was not good for himself. There’s no idea that Carlson had an obligation to =God or to love his neighbor.
In Psalm 51, David declares in his beautiful Psalm of confession and repentance to God, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” Tucker’s 2021 version would be, “Against me, me only, have I sinned.”
This provides a key insight into the post-Christian right. It’s wrath, aggression, anger, and a desire for might and winning at all costs, mixed with cruelty and ungrounded from a respect from the Constitution or basic patriotism. It’s a release of all constraints other than what might not be for your best good in your opinion which sounds like self-help.
Tucker’s texts should also serve as a wakeup call for pastors and Christian leaders. Tucker and people like them are leading Christians to a dark place, discipling Church members much more than their own church.
And all Americans should be concerned at the darkness being spread by the most prominent voices in our national debate.