Virtue-signaling, not issue resolution, is the main driver of leftist activism.

Washington Post columnist Alyssa Rosenberg recently acknowledged the devastating impact of remote learning on students in response to the COVID pandemic.  She explained, however, that she was totally uninterested in questioning the decision-making involved in such a catastrophic outcome.  How to help students now is a separate issue.

Her attitude is emblematic of the left's approach to any societal issue.  It is not necessary to critically assess the outcomes generated by any leftist-embraced policy.

We must embrace an open border policy in retribution for our xenophobic past.  It's "who we are!"  Never mind that it increases the burden of unskilled laborers for which there is a diminishing demand, or invites drug- and human-trafficking when drug addiction and overdoses are on the rise.

We must show prosecutorial leniency toward criminal behavior because criminals are victims of "the system," and our incarceration rates are embarrassingly high.  Never mind that it fosters increased criminal behavior, creating threats to the safety and property of the law-abiding.

We must provide an economic stimulus to counteract the economic downturn resulting from government-mandated lockdowns during COVID.  The $5.7-trillion COVID relief funds are a major factor spearheading the current inflation.  But we'll push on with the Green New Deal, Build Back Better, and "free" college tuition.

We must go green.  Never mind that government policies to go from energy independence to energy dependency are helping to exacerbate gas and oil prices to historic levels, that we export our manufacturing to major CO2 emitters, and that there is no immediate alternative to fossil-fuel energy.

We must eliminate the stigma of slavery, systemic racism, white supremacy, gender identity, and misogyny.  Imposing identity politics and "wokeness" on the culture will single out the oppressors from the oppressed.  So what if intimidating and canceling the "oppressors" leads to a divided nation.

We must embrace the Iran nuclear deal because it will hopefully make Iran a more responsible partner in the brotherhood of nations.  And if it doesn't, we at least showed our noble intentions.

The left's raison d'être is to unearth, amplify, and engage in activism in issues that lend themselves to a display of caring and moral certitude.  The warm glow of virtue-signaling is the primary reward for their activism.  Real-world outcomes and unintended consequences of their activism are of little importance.

Image: US Congress.