“I’m not an anti-Semite, obviously. I’m not even anti-Israel on some principled level. I’m an American … and your calling me names is not going to stop me because I’ve been here my whole life and my family’s been here a long time. I don’t have to take orders from you about what I’m allowed to know or not know because it’s my country.”
I’m sure y’all remember the moral of Aesop's fable, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” – those who cry “wolf!” when no wolf exists will eventually have their cries ignored, even when a real wolf appears. Essentially, those who lose trust after consistently raising false alarms will not be heard even when there is real cause.
Put yet another way, known liars will not be believed even when they speak the truth!
Yet, I fear that the phrase “wolf!” has become so common on the American political scene that it has become difficult to distinguish the false caterwauling of imaginary fears from genuine cries of alarm.
Indeed, the American townsfolk have heard so many shepherd boys lie through their teeth that the only shepherd boys they believe are those eventually eaten up with the sheep.
Many Americans are so annoyed with these lying, clever shepherd boys that I fear too many Americans are now willing to hear out actual wolves who are swift to promise the flock they have no taste for sheep.
In fact, America’s shepherds have cried “wolf!” so many times that it’s hard for the townsfolk to trust in much of anything anymore – save their certain subjection to the shepherds’ endless parade of competing political lies.
Why the incessant falsehoods?
Well, somehow the shepherds are always surprised by some unforeseen emergency – the next bailout, the next war, the next Faustian bargain excuses by political necessity. Even when the townsfolk know they’re full of it, they know it’s best not to say a peep, lest you be falsely accused of setting the wolves free!
There are many ways the shepherds of America cry “wolf!” and raise their false alarms. Though real wolves do exist, the “wolf!” of which they almost always cry is rarely ever an actual wolf but an honest man – one who has found a way to effectively skewer their most widely accepted lies. An honest man who questions power’s noble lie always flirts with his own demise.
They’ll sow suspicion over motives. They’ll twist and torture words. They’ll attack personal character and teach that those they call “wolf” are the worst. They’ll manipulate and intimidate. They’ll charm and cajole. They’ll buy you out or sell you off, knowing most men are ripe to be bought and sold. They’ll call you racist, sexist, fascist, Nazi, xenophobe, homophobe and transphobe too. They’ll label you a white supremacist, a Hitler apologist, an anti-Semite – who cares whether or not it’s true!
Yet, more and more Americans are getting wise to the shepherd’s childish lies. The shepherds have attacked too many with their cries. Americans have learned – those called “wolf!” are usually on to something beautiful, true and good.
Look at Tucker Carlson. They’ve cried “wolf!” at him repeatedly. They’ve tried every trick in the book to bring him down and shut him up.
Just this past weekend, many GOP neoconservatives tried again at the Republican Jewish Coalition. Cranky old man talk host Mark Levin called to “cancel and deplatform” Carlson with his usual hysterical accusations – but Levin might as well have cried “wolf!”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), with his usual pig-eyed theatrics, tried to channel Ronald Reagan, saying “Now is a time for choosing” – but Cruz might as well have cried “wolf!”
No-name U.S. Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) took the cake, accusing Carlson of being the most dangerous “anti-Semite in America,” while going on to say of Carlson, “He has chosen to take on the mantle of leader of a modern-day Hitler Youth … Make no mistake … Tucker is not MAGA” – but Fine might as well have just cried “wolf!”
Despite these attempts, as well as many others, to brand Carlson as some hate-filled pariah, his influence has only grown stronger.
I, along with many other Alabamians, truly look forward to seeing Carlson in Alabama soon. I don’t always agree with Carlson, and certainly not with every guest he’s ever interviewed, but he’s obviously not the big bad wolf the shepherd boys in the GOP cry he is.
Furthermore, the GOP establishment’s womanly pearl-clutching regarding the changing winds of public opinion amongst American youth (especially on the issue of America’s relationship with the state of Israel) hasn’t exactly been an effective strategy beyond signaling their own impotence and cluelessness. It also reminds MAGA populists how swiftly the GOP establishment will use the almost exact same tactical accusations of bigotry as the Democrats in a desperate attempt to police their own base and the media space.
My limited read on Carlson is this: If Carlson hates anything in this world, it’s war and the people who push war at the expense of everyday Americans, especially those who push war as they casually reference the Bible – all while proudly and uncharitably calling anyone who dares question their policies and beliefs “wolf!” Perhaps, by pummeling today’s neoconservatives, Carlson is also pummeling his past, younger self – almost as a very entertaining form of public penance.
That said, those crying “wolf!” over Carlson should not ignore Aesop’s moral of the story.
Eventually, a real wolf will show up at the door, and the tragedy will be that no one will believe them. They too carelessly and too callously called “wolf!” when none was there, all until people stopped telling the difference between honest men and hungry wolves.
That is a day I pray never comes. Let us pray it hasn’t come already.
Joey Clark is a native Alabamian and is currently the host of the radio program News and Views on News Talk 93.1 FM WACV out of Montgomery, AL, M-F 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. His column appears every Tuesday in 1819 News. To contact Joey for media or speaking appearances, as well as any feedback, please email [email protected]. Follow him on X @TheJoeyClark or watch the radio show livestream.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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