On Friday, The Bully Pulpit podcast featured a stimulating discussion about Matt Walsh’s new movie Am I Racist? Among other things, the four hosts discuss the ethics of deception in Walsh’s film. Andrew Walker stood alone in arguing that Walsh’s use of deception in the film was not morally justified. I think Walker is spot-on about that.
The truth is that—in spite of Walsh’s claims to the contrary—the film repeatedly engages its subjects through deception. Walsh defends the film in a video arguing that his methods were necessary in order to expose the DEI grift. While that claim is disputable, the more important point is the structure of his argument. Fundamentally, he’s arguing that the end justifies the means. The means are not to be questioned if they result in the noble outcome of defeating DEI. Thus, Walsh’s defense is a form of consequentialism—an ethical theory at odds with a Christian view of our moral duties (Romans 3:8).
Walker points this out in the podcast discussion, and he was right to do so. He also points out that if the tables were turned and a wokester used the very same methods in a film to humiliate conservatives, conservatives would be howling. Conservatives wouldn’t be defending those tactics if they were turned against our own side.
The podcast has some good-spirited disagreement among brothers, and I commend it to you. The Apple and Spotify versions of the podcast are linked below.
