Upon Giving Up Twitter Anonymity
Stunning and brave or foolish and reckless?
Well, I did something stunning and brave this morning — or is it foolish and reckless? Anyway, I gave up my twitter anonymity after fourteen years. I explain myself there:
My action raises a bigger picture question of when it is wise to openly oppose totalitarians and other tyrants, a question I wrestled with before finally making my decision. There are any number of contexts in history and today when what I am doing would be either extremely brave or extremely foolish indeed: the Soviet Union under Russia, China under Mao, North Korea.
In other contexts a right decision is not so clear. Perhaps open opposition would bring possible suffering but not likely torture or death. Should one be open then? Well, Christians should be at least willing to suffer for The Truth. But sometimes wisdom in the long game calls for remaining somewhat underground for a prolonged time. I have no simple or easy criteria on how to proceed in such situations. Certainly the situation of most in the West is not nearly as bad as under the old Soviet Union or China then and today, at least not yet. (And I certainly do not want exaggerate any courage behind my decision.)
I will say timing is important. Rushing out into the streets would have accomplished little but a bloodbath in Stalin’s Soviet Union. But rushing out into the streets contributed greatly to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and to the peaceful crashing down of the Iron Curtain before that.
Maybe I am optimistic, but I think the woke and globalist totalitarians are becoming more vulnerable. Now defeating them is not guaranteed at all, and, as Dreher advises, we should be prepared to lose. But if we are to defeat them, I think now is the time. As in the late 80’s and early 90’s, totalitarians, even if weak, don’t fall without a push.
Another factor is where one is in life. I would not necessarily advise a young man beginning their way through academia or through corporate governance to act as I am. I am older, more independent and harder to cancel. Although I am not quite yet in my “Don’t give a damn” old man phase, I am getting there.
Beware of old men, by the way. They’re dangerous! There’s a reason old men are often the ones to stop criminals.
Anyway, like I said, there are no easy answers about when openly to oppose totalitarians. There is certainly no one-size-fits-all answer. But, for better or for worse, I have made the one small decision to give up my twitter anonymity.
May God help me and keep me. He is kind to foolish people after all.
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By the way, my interests are eclectic. Some of my tweets and some of my posts here will be to expose the totalitarians, but not all. For our spiritual health, we cannot allow them to take all our attention. I certainly can’t. See Psalm 73 on that.
So be patient with me here and on twitter. If a post rubs you the wrong way, just pass it by and wait for another one. Thanks.
Cranmer’s martyr day is good day to do this.