Leftist virtue signalling is getting us nowhere

Maya Sunderraj, Assistant Opinions Editor

Virtue signalling is a term that holds a lot of weight in today’s political climate, depending on who is speaking and listening. For some, it can be beneficial to understand a person’s ideologies or share one’s own. For others, it is seen as a way to present an image of empathy and activism, a way to boost one’s reputation without having to do any actual work. 

I lie somewhere in the middle of these profoundly different philosophies and believe that virtue signalling can be good only if it is backed by substantive action. My major issue is more social than theoretical. Currently, the aesthetic of virtue and empathy is prized over the actual trait itself. The issue itself is nonpartisan.

Still, people — leftists specifically — have a trend of becoming bogged down by the puritan values they claim to be eschewing. Attention is being diverted from real issues at hand, such as the United States’ penchant for political violence and the Trump administration’s autocratic tendencies. 

For Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, valuable time that might have been spent discussing policy and the current state of the federal government has instead been sacrificed to an apology tour for a tattoo of his that allegedly resembles Nazi iconography. 

The tattoo, which he got while deployed overseas with the Marines in 2007, shares a likeness with the Nazi “Totenkopf” or “death’s head” skull. 

Platner has denied all allegations that he is aligned with Nazi ideology. 

“I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew,” Platner said.

With the Nazi allegations comes additional criticism for previous inflammatory, homophobic and overall ignorant Reddit posts — comments, using “f*****” and “gay” as low-brow insults, calling police “bastards” and perpetuating false stereotypes about other races. 

Yikes. 

Still, I think it is worth noting Platner has fully acknowledged and apologized for his idiotic and reprehensible actions. 

“Even though I thought I was open-minded, there were elements to [the LGBT+ community’s] existence that I had been entirely unaware of,” Platner said. “That was when I began to really take far more seriously the damaging nature of language,” Platner said in an interview with the Advocate.

Platner further described what he said as “indefensible.” 

I would consider that an apt description.

This stuff needs to be talked about. How else are we supposed to hold our political candidates accountable? Still, the lengths taken and amount of coverage surrounding Platner’s controversy prove to be a double-edged sword.

Platner’s primary is less than a year away. Midterms are about one year away. This is the finish line. Candidates should be pushing their policy and visions for their term at all costs — not giving interviews about their social media history.

It’s frustrating, but when does the act of virtue signalling overtake bringing virtue to positions of power through policy? I fear we are shooting ourselves in the foot.

What would the ideal path forward be for someone with a past like Platner’s? What else can he do to be redeemed in the eyes of the American people? 

When people like Platner — who have acknowledged their mistakes, apologized and are looking to change — are met with antagonism, it sends the message that redemption is near-impossible. 

If that is the case, how is the United States of America, a country oh-so divided, supposed to heal and unite? 

When we — as both the media and the people — cannot let go of past mistakes, a never-forgive, never-forget mindset is introduced that harms everyone more than it helps. Why does the past receive more focus than what threatens today and onward?

And when virtue signaling becomes the foundation of political action, voters grow distracted from the policy that actually matters. 

Political scandals occur often, but more importantly, international humanitarian law is broken and acts of political violence occur daily. 

While it’s important to stay aware of past events, there is so much today and tomorrow that must be talked about. Remaining vigilant and critical of candidates and elected officials does not mean we should be beating dead horses.