Okay, show of hands: How many of you have had the pleasure of arguing with leftists online?  Fun, isn’t it?  How about when you’re the only conservative and you’re surrounded by a pack of deranged leftists who act like hyenas taking turns nipping at a lion on the Serengeti?

We’re not on the Serengeti fighting off hyenas, although it may seem like that sometimes.  But debates are not life-or-death.  I don’t think there’s any shame in simply walking away from pointless arguments with unserious people.  On the other hand, engaging one-on-one in a debate with a leftist can serve a few constructive purposes.

First, these debates can force us to do research into issues we may not be comfortable or conversant with, and we learn things by doing so.  I was once in a month-long debate on theology with a Christian from another denomination, and I learned more about my doctrines than I did about his, because I had to defend them against unexpected and unfamiliar routes of attack.  This person knew his stuff, and the debate was worthwhile.  Athletes improve by competing against those who possess greater skills.  The same is true of debaters.

Engaging in these debates gives us the opportunity to clarify how we think and feel about the issues.  Ronald Reagan was called “The Great Communicator,” and it’s estimated that he wrote over 10,000 letters in the course of his life.  It’s reasonable to assume that writing these letters enabled him to speak so well extemporaneously because he’d already thought through the issues at length in his letters.  Listening to our vice president (try to) speak leads me to believe she hasn’t thought through very many issues whatsoever.

Another reason to debate a leftist is because there may be other conservatives — or, better yet, open-minded and uncommitted independents — silently following along.  As a matter of fact, that may be the single best reason, as the independents and uncommitted are the people we really should be speaking to.  We want to win them over to our side.

Staying in a debate with a leftist may require work to marshal resources, along with some courage and poise to remain calm in the face of personal attacks and focus to remain on point.  By doing so, we set a good example for others to follow.  Perhaps when we engage in similar debates in the future, we, by our example, may elicit some assistance from fellow conservatives, and we may convince an independent to come around to our way of thinking.  The best-case scenario is that we compel a leftist to admit we’re correct on some point, although the odds of that happening are exceedingly remote.  Usually, what they do is change the subject, or disappear for a day or two and then return and act as though nothing’s happened.

I am unable to find the quote, but I believe that it was Margaret Thatcher who said that the actions of the left resemble a ratchet: they may pause, but they never reverse themselves.

Be that as it may, there is value in engaging leftists in debate.  It can be fun; it makes us better debaters; and it’s usually instructive, at least insofar as it gives us a peek into their fevered brains.  Best of all, it provides an example to others and an incentive for them to start doing it themselves.

“Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”

—John Stuart Mill

So take a stand!  If you see a conservative being unjustly attacked online don’t be afraid to jump in and help.  Similarly, when you see a leftist spout some outrageous lie or half-truth, don’t be afraid to counter with evidence.  Don’t sink to their level and throw out insults, but wrapping up the evidence in some gentle humor goes a long way to making your point.

Proverbs 15:1: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.”

Express your opinion, and back it up with facts.  Remember, President Trump recently told us to “Fight!  Fight! Fight!”  Leftists are almost always wrong on the issues, and it’s not that hard to point it out.  Maybe if more of us did this from time to time, it would encourage even more of us to do the same.

United we stand, after all.

Image: Thijs Paanakker via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.