Trump gives progressives a way to channel whatever guilt they

Hear the words of Michael Shellenberger, who speaks not with softness but with fire, piercing through the veil of self-deception: “Trump gives progressives a way to channel whatever guilt they might have — whether from preventing homebuilding, benefitting from unfair taxes and pensions, or depriving black and Latino students the teacher quality and school funding they need — into a sanctimonious tribal rage against Republican racism.” In this saying lies a warning: that men and women, when faced with their own faults, often turn away from honest reflection and instead find an enemy upon whom to cast their guilt. Thus they exchange the labor of self-examination for the easier path of outrage.

The meaning of guilt here is deep. It is the inward knowledge that one’s deeds — or failures to act — have harmed others, even if in unseen or indirect ways. To oppose homebuilding is to deny shelter to the poor; to cling to unfair taxes and pensions is to burden the young and favor the privileged; to withhold proper school funding is to cripple the futures of children. Yet such truths are heavy to bear. Few have the courage to face them. And so, Shellenberger says, many instead turn to tribal rage, hurling accusations at others so that their own conscience might be silenced for a time.

This is no new phenomenon. Recall the tale of the Pharisees in ancient Judea. They stood in public places, condemning others with loud voices, cloaked in robes of righteousness. Yet Christ declared that within they were full of hypocrisy and neglect, straining out gnats while swallowing camels. They shouted about the sins of their neighbors while refusing to see their own. Their rage was sanctimonious, their piety a mask for guilt. So too, Shellenberger warns, do modern tribes cloak their failures by projecting them onto their enemies.

But hear also the deeper danger: when guilt is channeled into rage, justice is not served — division is. For tribal rage does not seek solutions but only enemies. It does not build homes, it does not reform taxes, it does not fund schools. It merely strengthens walls between peoples, each side calling the other corrupt, while the true injustices remain untouched. Thus the cry against racism, which could be noble if joined with genuine reform, becomes hollow when used to avoid confronting one’s own complicity.

And yet, O listeners, let us not imagine this snare belongs only to one side of politics or one age of history. It belongs to all who seek righteousness without repentance, to all who demand justice without self-examination. Recall Robespierre in the French Revolution: he thundered against tyranny while sending thousands to the guillotine. His rage against the sins of others blinded him to his own, until he too perished beneath the same blade. The lesson echoes through time — unchecked sanctimony consumes even those who wield it.

The lesson, then, is plain: true justice begins not with the condemnation of others but with the honest facing of one’s own failures. It is not enough to rage at the sins of your opponents if you are unwilling to correct the injustices in your own camp, your own community, your own heart. Rage without reflection is hypocrisy; outrage without humility is but another form of pride. Only when guilt is faced and transformed into action — building, giving, reforming — can it serve the common good.

Therefore, let us take these practical actions: When you feel anger rising against your opponents, pause and ask: What in myself, or in my own people, have I failed to face? If you demand justice, ensure you also labor for it with your own hands — build the homes, reform the taxes, strengthen the schools. And when you denounce the sins of others, do so only after you have examined your own. In this way, your voice will be not sanctimonious but sincere, not tribal but true.

So remember the words of Shellenberger: guilt denied becomes tribal rage. Resist the temptation to ease your conscience by casting stones at others. Instead, let guilt humble you, let it lead you to change, let it call you to labor for the good of all. Then your cry for justice will not be hollow, but will resound as the voice of one who has first conquered himself. This is the path of true reform, and the path of true greatness.