Hamas Supporters: Cancel Culture Should Come for Hamas Apologists

Conservatives have railed a lot in recent years against the menace of “cancel culture.” Rightly so. Today, many conservatives are celebrating the consequences visited by employers and even some schools upon those who have publicly sided with Hamas since its barbaric assault on Israel. Is this a contradiction?

There is undeniable tension, but the extent of contradiction is far less than it might seem. One of the foundational concepts of conservatism is that, in the real world, there are always costs and tradeoffs to any good thing, and limits to every right, power, and principle. There are moral absolutes of right and wrong, but few practical situations can be resolved by references to absolutes because in the real world, we must often choose between greater goods or between lesser evils.

About the Author

Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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Conservatives have railed a lot in recent years against the menace of “cancel culture.” Rightly so. Today, many conservatives are celebrating the consequences visited by employers and even some schools upon those who have publicly sided with Hamas since its barbaric assault on Israel. Is this a contradiction?

There is undeniable tension, but the extent of contradiction is far less than it might seem. One of the foundational concepts of conservatism is that, in the real world, there are always costs and tradeoffs to any good thing, and limits to every right, power, and principle. There are moral absolutes of right and wrong, but few practical situations can be resolved by references to absolutes because in the real world, we must often choose between greater goods or between lesser evils.