The Disadvantages Of Certainty

     The recent, brilliant movie Conclave has Thomas Cardinal Lawrence, sermonizing to other Catholic cardinals before the inception of the process by which a new pope is chosen, say the following:

     Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance. Even Christ was not certain at the end. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" he cried out in his agony at the ninth hour on the cross. Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand-in-hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And therefore, no need for faith. Let us pray that God will grant us a Pope who doubts. And let him grant us a Pope who sins and asks for forgiveness and who carries on.

     Certainty is an enemy to more than just unity and tolerance. It’s also deadly to learning, reasoning, and correcting one’s errors. He who is certain of his beliefs cannot entertain the possibility that he might be wrong. Worse, certainty enables him to commit injustices without a qualm.

     There’s a lot of that going around, just now.

* * *

     My capacity for incredulity is under stress. The reason, as is so often the case, is political. The Left has decided that there’s no point in dissembling any longer: its masters are sending its groundlings to war against us of the Right. Consider the following:

I’m not interested in having a substantive discussion. I’m interested in my political party using its power to damage Elon Musk and his interests as much as humanly possible. Discussion ended the moment Musk did a Nazi Salute and sent DOGE rampaging. Now I want scalps.

— James Raab 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@JamesRaxz) October 23, 2026

     This… person claims to be an engineer. Most engineers are amiable sorts, uninterested in harming anyone. But the above fellow has called for a campaign to damage Elon Musk “as much as humanly possible.” Is it even conceivable that there’s a defensible rationale behind such advocacy?

     What makes such a demand possible is certainty. This man is utterly certain of his beliefs: specifically, that the political Right is malevolent, and that Elon Musk is the chief effectuator of our evil designs. I doubt he’s ever bothered to examine his convictions closely. And of course, his certainty assures him that there’s no point in having a “substantive discussion.”

     That amounts to the cessation of political discourse. Once there’s combat – i.e., active efforts to harm the other side – reasoning ceases. There may be negotiation, but there can no longer be sober discussion of rights, or what constitutes justice. Bullets and bombs don’t speak that lingo.

     But he who elects to go to war must believe that it’s the best of the choices available.

* * *

     Decent people don’t want war. We don’t even want harsh words or bad feelings. But combat is being forced upon us. There may not be a great deal of flying lead, but it will be unsparing even so. Many will be harmed. Civil peace will be set back for years.

     Certainty is the cause. The mass levels in the Left’s structure of political production have been convinced of the Right’s evil. That conviction automatically means war. You don’t argue with Satan; you defeat him. If it’s at all possible, you eliminate him.

     I’ve written about this before:

     An Art Institute of Washington professor recently declared that House Republicans “should be lined up and shot” for their passage of an Obamacare-replacement bill.

     “They should be lined up and shot,” Professor John Griffin posted to his Facebook, according to a screenshot of the post obtained by Campus Reform, even clarifying that he wasn’t being hyperbolic, saying “that’s not hyperbole; blood is on their hands.”

     In another post made just two minutes after his initial comments, Griffin blasted Republican lawmakers as “a f***ing joke,” then turning his attention to their voters, whom he insulted as running “the gamut from monstrous to ignorant...”

     Can you imagine that John Griffin ever entertains any tiny doubts about his exhortations? He went so far as to say they’re “not hyperbole.” He’s committed. He wants others who share his preferences to commit themselves, to the point of violence.

     That was twelve years ago, Things haven’t gotten better since then. If anything, they’re a trifle worse today, at least if we judge by what passes for political rhetoric from the Left.

     I hate to be so depressing at such an early hour. I’m sure my Gentle Readers would prefer something uplifting. Do try to have a nice day.