The extradition of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro under President Donald Trump has unleashed a torrent of pundits on the Right passing moral judgement on the action. And once again, one might be led to conclude that their differing opinions are yet another symptom of the ‘fragmentation’ of the Right.
From Robert Barnes‘ “strict constitutionalist” conclusion that Trump’s action is an “unconstitutional illegal act,” to Glenn Beck‘s conclusion that “this is the most ‘America First’ thing I have ever seen,” it is understandable that many might interpret these contrasts as evidence of such ‘fragmentation,’ but it is not necessarily so.
For example, despite Beck’s joy over Trump’s America First action, he nevertheless acknowledges that the “strict constitutionalists are absolutely right.” And despite Barnes’ “strict constitutionalist” stance, he too acknowledges that an act can be “illegal and moral” or “legal and immoral” and applies the same standards to policies and laws.
Thus, the real differences of opinion (and seeming contradictions) originate within the context from which they are expressed (i.e., legal, moral, or pragmatic). But which is Right?
At the root of every civilization or nation sits the mechanism and moral justification for the use of force.
It is an error to say, as so many on the Right do, that government if force; but the use of force exists in the absence of government. The reality is that when we speak of ‘government,’ force is what is governed.
Force itself comes in three flavors: initiatory, defensive, and retaliatory.
Thus we require answers to fundamental questions: Given that Trump sees himself as a ‘war-time president,’ is what Trump did an act of war? Did Trump start the war or was this a retaliatory action based on previous circumstances and history? And of course: was his action justifiable?
America’s greatest obstacle on the moral front is that it has the highest ideals and principles of any other nation on the planet. As Ayn Rand explained: “The United States of America is the greatest, the noblest and, in its original founding principles, the only moral country in the history of the world.”
In that light, America is being judged against its own values, while other nations and the Left have no such moral standards against which to be judged. Is this fair, right, or just?
In the final determination of how to frame the Maduro extradition in a way that is Just Right, Robert Vaughan perhaps summarized it best: “It’s a toss up.”
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