In Ideology, Diversity Is Strength. By Jeffrey Tucker (01/01/25)
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Tucker’s short essay can help us understand that disagreement and debate are healthy among those with MAGA/MAHA/DOGE ideals.
Mr. Tucker writes:
The weeks before the inauguration have sent political reporters looking for ways to tie up the incoming administration in knotty internal splits and disputes. The hope is to weaken the sense of unity ahead of the big transition, turning MAGA/MAHA/DOGE into versions of the classic internal firing squads.
To some extent this is working. It has been bracing to watch the wild disputes over H-1B visas, the priorities over technology, as well as the disputes within the health-freedom movement over the future of the mRNA technology and vaccines more broadly.
But, later he helps us realize:
In a matter of weeks, the divisions between these groups melted away, as they all realized their common interest in freedom: free enterprise, free speech, freedom of religion, and peace in the world. This coming together has provided huge opportunities for exchanging views and learning from each other, almost as if the private salons many of us formed during lockdowns had gone public and then become a mass movement.
He explains that:
Diverse opinions are healthy for the MAGA/MAHA/DOGE movements.
One of Trump’s super powers is bringing people together in big, enthusiastic crowds — such as campaign rallies and the recent AmericaFest event held in Phoenix by Turning Point USA — where they can talk and exchange ideas with one another in person.
These modern gatherings are similar to the Soviet-era breadlines where people chatted and exchanged the news ahead of the anti-Soviet revolution of 1989–90 and the overthrow of the communist government that took power in 1918.
His closing paragraphs are key:
We are all united in the belief that the American people and all people should enjoy the right and freedom to manage their own lives with[out] technocrats, big corporations, and permanent bureaucracies overriding our dreams and aspirations. This is a simple demand, in the end, the insistence on getting our lives back after so many years of upheaval.
Getting along with others doesn’t mean surrendering principles. It means understanding the bigger picture that we all have an interest in protecting freedom against its enemies. This is the essential and core belief of the remarkable coalition that has emerged so suddenly to overthrow the old. Yes, it is diverse, and that is precisely why it is so strong.
