Over the weekend, something completely predictable and totally believable occurred. Two radical, political leftist groups came to blows. The antisemitic "Free Palestine" rabblerousers took to the streets and cut off the annual Philadelphia Pride Parade.
Not the Bee covered the comedic collision here.
Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of things about the whole scene that were more than a little humorous, as plenty of others happily noted.
Frankly, the only thing that would make this whole scene more enjoyable for conservative-minded individuals like myself would be to have the climate change activists come marching in from a side street chained to tiny saplings and spouting off about "environmental justice."
But seriously, moments like this can be as educational as they are entertaining, and unless we want these spectacles of social stupidity to become the defining imagery of America, we should seize on that.
In college, I took a class called "Western-American Intellectual and Social History" taught by Dr. Glenn Martin. I remember him pacing back and forth, tugging on his painfully outdated suit coat, delivering a lecture he'd given so many times that he had it fully committed to memory.
"Revolutionaries," he would say, "if given enough time, will always, inevitably, turn on each other."
His point, I believe, was two-fold. First, that the nature of a revolutionary is that they have no binding theory or guiding principle behind their action. They rebel against whatever the presumed authority of the moment is, allying themselves with whoever and whatever movement is willing to come alongside their cause. But what happens when their efforts are successful? What happens when the status quo is interrupted and the ruling class is overthrown?
A new ruling class takes shape, often made up of figures from the revolution itself. But the nature of the remaining revolutionaries who do not earn positions of leadership in the new regime inevitably leads them towards discontent and dissatisfaction with the way their agenda is being implemented. The consequence? A new revolution against the original revolutionaries. Think the French Revolution.
The second point is reinforcing the reality that the revolutionary, at his core, has no real desire to lead. All he wants is all he knows - agitation, provocation, and incitement. It doesn't matter who stands in the way, friendships, family relationships, or shared ideology, revolution remains the highest ideal. And that leads to scenes like these "Queers for Palestine" trying to figure out which side of the street to stand on.
It's at once funny, depressing, and hopeful.
Funny, because, well…
Depressing because the human impulse towards disorder, confusion, anger, and discontent is such a powerfully paralyzing force. Satan wields it well as he preys upon the ethically rudderless, convincing them that steering their ships into a permanent whirlwind of dissatisfaction will offer them some sort of purpose.
Look at those streets. Those are not resilient faces of morally righteous civil disobedience; they are feverish faces of morally unhinged civil belligerence. The former strains towards Truth; the latter doesn't believe Truth exists outside their own minds.
But above all, I still think scenes like this are hopeful. Hopeful because there is such a better Way, and it's becoming easier to demonstrate that.
Rebellion to God doesn't end with human happiness. It will not produce human flourishing, nor will it gratify the intense longing within each of us for purpose and peace.
