Iconoclasm in America, and a warning about violence

THE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE
By Rod Dreher

The ultimate result of American iconoclasm (Pavel Chagochkin/Shutterstock)

Iconoclasm often accompanies radical, even violent, change in a society. The word comes from the Greek meaning “image-smashers,” and was first used to describe a turbulent period in the Byzantine empire in which the Emperor attempted to ban the use of religious icons as idolatrous. He failed, as you can see by visiting an Orthodox church today. But the word stuck because it was useful. Whether religious or political (e.g., French revolutionaries, militants in China’s Cultural Revolution), real iconoclasts are violent. It seems to me that the (American) culture war has shifted into a dangerous phase, accelerated by both Donald Trump and progressive militants, who feed off each other. Our unity is fragile — more fragile than people think. You cannot destroy symbols of people’s identity without calling forth rage. [More]