An influential writer named Richard Weaver once titled a book "Ideas Have Consequences". Whether or not you agree with the implications he draws from this basic thesis, we can all agree with the truth of this title. Ideas do have consequences, and the 2016 presidential election is a perfect example.
G. K. Chesterton, witty journalist and critic from early 20th century England, has surprisingly accurate commentary which not only applies to our current election, but more broadly to the political environment of the new millennium in the Western world. He wrote in 1921, "I could never see why a man who is not free to open his mouth to drink should be free to open it to talk. Talking does far more direct harm to other people. The village suffers less directly from the village drunkard than it might from the village tale bearer, or the village tub-thumper, or the village villain who seduces the village maiden. These and 20 other types of evil are done simply by talking; it is certain that a vast amount of evil would be prevented if we all wore gags.”
And so it is with Donald Trump.
The ruckus Trump has caused in this year’s election cycle has caused irreparable damage to the reputation of America. Protected by his right to free speech, Trump can say what he wills in order to get the votes he needs. The inflammatory speech of Trump and his rabid supporters does more harm than good. One could say, in fact, that it does no good at all. But of course, shutting the gaping hole that is Donald’s mouth would violate the first amendment. He is free to say what he will despite the damage it causes to America’s greatest resource: ideas. And free speech may be the greatest—and most important—idea of all.
One cannot come to truth without engaging with falsehoods. It is this simple paradox that guides some of the greatest thinkers in the world. Finding Truth cannot be done by avoiding falsehoods. This simply allows those falsehoods to remain in the minds of those who are not pursuing Truth or who are not engaging with other ideas.
The above quotation by Chesterton was written in an article titled “Government and the Rights of Man,” published by the Illustrated London News in 1921. In this piece, he discusses all citizens’ rights to speak what he or she will. He wrote, "unless a man is allowed to talk, he might as well be a chimpanzee who is only able to chatter. In other words, if a man loses the responsibility for these rudimentary functions and forms of freedom, he loses not only his citizenship, but his manhood,” showing that despite the damage Trump does with his words, it is necessary that he shares his ideas. The vital part, however, is not dismissing these ideas out of hand; it is engaging with them critically and showing the consequences. Too many times this year I have witnessed a simple wave of the hand in dismissal of Trump without any argument against his ideas. Engaging with his ideas is seen as giving them credit and legitimacy. But by dismissing them, we simply fuel the fire.
If we are going to defeat his dangerous ideas, it is vital that we begin to take them seriously and critically engage with them. We cannot hold onto freedom of speech and yet refuse our freedom of thought. Taking them seriously does not mean we agree with them, of course, but it is high time we take Trump’s ideas seriously, because it seems that a great portion of American citizens desire to "Make America Great Again," whatever that means. If we are to stop Trump, we have to defeat his ideas, and the only way we can do this is by critically engaging with them.
