Progressives are at it again, and this time their virtue signaling is poised to cause long-lasting damage to our economy and create painful economic suffering for millions of people.
The coronavirus response here in America is working. As I wrote yesterday, the experts were wrong and a situation like Italy has not materialized here. In Italy, new cases are actually slowing down so the worst seems to be over for them.
So now it’s prudent to start talking about when we should start lifting the lockdowns and forced business closures going on across the country. We don’t need to start today, but the conversation has to begin now and the restrictions should start to be lifted within one or two weeks at the most in order to save our economy from irreparable damage.
But of course, since Trump suggested we get our economy going again, Progressives and Democrats have decided it’s the wrong thing to do. But not only that, they have once again allowed their judgement to be clouded by meaningless virtue signaling.
One thing Progressives always do so that they can appear to take the moral high ground is splitting every issue into two false choices. One choice is the one they deem as the “moral” choice, and the other choice is therefore the immoral choice. They then label anyone who opposes their choice as immoral and bad.
We have seen this tactic over and over again, but the most recent example before the coronavirus pandemic was with the nationwide immigration debate. Instead of arguing the policy implications of securing our southern border with Mexico, Progressives instead turned it into a false choice moral decision. Securing the border suddenly became immoral, and having open borders was therefore the humane and moral choice according to their twisted logic.
Securing a border has nothing to do with morality, at least not in this case. But this is what Progressives do. It allows them to virtue signal and always appear to be taking the moral high ground, when in fact they have simply set up a false moral choice where none even exists.
This virtue signaling is more than just rhetorical sleight of hand, it causes real suffering when policies are made because of it. Progressives have caused a cycle of povery and dependence with their social welfare programs, and many times they argue for these programs using the same false “moral choice” argument we are seeing now. Anyone who questions social welfare expansion is seen as immoral, and those who support welfare increases are moral and caring. The end result is generations of poor people who have been locked in a cycle of poverty, hopelessness, and dependence on the state.
Today, we are seeing this same thing play out with our need to end the lockdowns. Progressives have said that we need to extend them for months and months, to not do so is to put money above people’s lives. As you can see, this is another example of Progressives creating a false choice moral dilemma. They are virtue signaling by claiming they are above monetary concerns and only care about human lives. But it’s all a rhetorical trick so they can pretend to appear virtuous. At the same time they can attack any opposition as being uncaring towards the possible deaths of fellow human beings.
So while the situation may be different, Progressives are back to their old tricks. They are so motivated by their own virtue signaling to the point of not even realizing the damage they are causing. They’ve been doing this for decades, and we see it in Progressive run cities across the nation that are plagued with homelessness and wealth inequality.
Progressive virtue signaling isn’t just simple vanity so they can pretend to be morally superior. It has real world consequences, and the proof is already in our cities for all to see. We can’t let them do that to the nation’s economy now when it’s at its most vulnerable.
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