Last week, Politico reporter Heidi Przybyla appeared on MSNBC and made the claim that only "Christian nationalists" believe that our rights come from God.
As Nick Arama first reported, it was a moment that revealed, not only Przybyla's ignorance but also her bent toward authoritarianism:
The one thing that unites all of them because there is many different group orbiting Trump, but the thing that unites them as Christian nationalists, not Christians by the way, because Christian nationalist is very different, is that they believe that our rights as a Americans, as all human beings don't come from any earthly authority. They don't come from Congress, they don't come from the Supreme Court, they come from God.
Here @MSNBC helpfully makes it clear their disdain for Christians in America.
— Wade Miller (@WadeMiller_USMC) February 23, 2024
She says that if you believe that your rights come from God, you aren’t a Christian, you are a Christian nationalist.
Somehow they seem to not mention that our own founding documents make this… pic.twitter.com/WTLMqcqTzg
Przybyla was subsequently embarrassed by Americans of multiple faiths claiming their rights also come from the God they believe in, and asking if that makes them Christian nationalists as well.
This is the right move. This kind of response not only embarrassed Przybyla, it highlighted the importance of the right to free speech coming from a higher authority than the government because the government can, and will, take it away at its convenience.
With these responses, Przybyla was dragged into the public scare, her ideas and proclamations weighed, measured, found wanting, and then summarily mocked. With mockery being such a powerful tool in the crafting of public opinion, Pyzbyla's claim that we had no God-given rights was DOA.
But two Christian groups did something that I'm not sure helped collapse Przybyla's claim. As reported by the Daily Wire, The Family Research Council, and Catholic Vote wrote a letter to Politico demanding an apology for Przybyla's claim:
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and Brian Burch of Catholic Vote wrote in their letter to Politico that it is “deeply disturbing” that Przybyla seems “unaware of the opening of the Declaration of Independence or to its references of ‘the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.'”
“Her statements constituted an attempt to spread misinformation about Christians by creating the perception that they hold unique beliefs that pose a distinct and, in her words ‘extremist,’ threat to our country,” the Christian groups wrote. “Setting aside the inaccuracy of her commentary, she was manifestly trying to demonize the Christian community and sow fear through propaganda.”
The letter added that Przybyla’s public platform where she can reach millions of people makes the situation even more disturbing.
In my honest opinion, demanding an apology is a mistake from someone like Przybyla because now she can engage in an act of defiance and refuse to apologize. If Politico refuses to act as well, the two Christian groups will look weaker and less influential, and the act of defiance will inspire more popularity for Pryzybla's opinion, helped along by a healthy dose of spite for Christians and anti-authoritarians. Suddenly, the person being mocked becomes the one doing the mocking.
A better strategy would have been for these Christian groups to feed into the wave of people declaring that their rights are beyond government, and making the statement that they stand with the people no matter what their faith is because even if they don't believe in the Christian God (or no God at all) the Christian community believe rights come from Him and as such will help protect the free speech rights of anyone and everyone.
Now you have these Christian groups looking like protectors and defenders of everyone's freedoms, not people looking for an apology for hurt feelings. By demanding an apology, they gave the impression that the opposing side drew blood. This is a defensive, reactionary strategy. I understand the desire to get an apology as, if issued, it would have only made Pryzbyla and Politico look worse, but all they have to do in this situation is nothing to reclaim some level of respect.
If the two Christian groups had gone with the offensive option they would have painted Przybyla and people who think like her as authoritarian bootlickers whose opinions should be dismissed out of hand thanks to their ignorance. They would have also given themselves some street cred and goodwill with the people.
The apology that they want may come after the mockery and overwhelming negative reactions become too much for them. That's the apology you want. The one that comes with true regret.
