As partisanship has deepened in recent years and bitterness
toward those perceived to be in the opposing camp became more pronounced
graciousness between foes has withered.
Credit is rarely given to the other side when due.
The Sensible Conservative intends to resist that
trend. Many on the right are tempted to
be sanctimonious when viewing the Left.
“We are morally superior, after all”.
But that is, at times at least, a distorted view that can result in
moral blindness. When we err, we grant
ourselves abundant excuses and demand that we be granted the benefit of the
doubt as to our good intentions. No
quarter is given to the opposition, however.
So here is some unexpected, but deserved, praise.
*** Vice President Kamala
Harris gave an excellent speech recently at a NATO security conference in
Munich. She looked into the camera and
said, with passion, “Russia is committing crimes against humanity”. Her manner was forceful and commanding. Indeed, it was a remarkable performance and
gave a hint of what President Harris might be able to do.
*** CNN has devoted many hours
of sympathetic coverage to Ukraine’s fight for survival, much of it including
on-the-scene reporting, and analysis from former military personnel as to
prospects for success. No other network
has approached the extent and quality of its coverage.
[Interestingly, Fox News’ coverage has been uneven. It, too, has reporters in Ukraine who are
seemingly doing a professional job, but the coverage is not extensive. Further, some of the opinion hosts – Tucker
Carlson in particular – prefer to focus on Ukraine’s perceived deficiencies
involving corruption and leadership. His
comments leave the impression, not pro-Russian as such, but of ambivalence, as
in Ukraine does not deserve our sympathy.]
*** President Joe Biden. He has America standing with Ukraine. Some on the right have accused his support of
being “too little” and, maybe too late.
But he has largely “come through” in so far thwarting the aims of Putin’s
Russia.
* * * *
No, The Sensible Conservative is not going soft. But we conservatives have no claim to the
moral high ground if we’re not fair in evaluating the bad and the good.
