Secondary Things
A response to Megan Basham
At American Values Coalition, we are committed to honoring our core principles and living by the values we preach. In an online age of clickbait and inflammatory arguments, we seek to be truth tellers and peacemakers, even when given the temptation to “fight” like the rest. In fact, it’s right there in our mission statement: “Growing a community of Americans empowered to lead with truth, reject extremism and misinformation, and defend democracy.” Big picture: We aim to be quick to listen, slow to anger, and slow to speak.
A couple months ago, several conflict entrepreneurs launched a smear campaign against us with the goal of discrediting one of our projects—the J29 Coalition. For those who’ve followed and supported us closely, you may already be familiar with this work. If not, you can learn more here.
We initially reached out to the ringleader (Megan Basham, author and writer for The Daily Wire), offering her the chance to speak with us privately, but she asked us to wait until August, citing personal health issues. We honored her request and wished her the best. Two days later, she published an article in First Things full of falsehoods and misleading information about our mission and funders. Her smear campaign has continued over the last two months, as she has continued to repeat these slanderous talking points through several media outlets. She even brought in right-wing influencers like Allie Beth Stuckey and Charlie Kirk to amplify these untruths.
So, we’ve taken some time to reflect and are now ready to respond in a manner that honors our mission with truth and integrity. The time to speak is now.
First off, Basham’s accusations are simply untrue. If you have the time and want to hear more about the specific falsehoods quoted in the First Things piece, our Executive Director Napp Nazworth debunked them here. He also published this Dispatch piece to address the theological offenses related to her attacks.
Secondly, we wanted to offer the public an opportunity to get to know the truth about who we actually are here at American Values Coalition. Ironically, combatting false narratives and slander in this political climate is exactly why we founded the organization in the first place. In today’s media ecosystem, we are flooded with information—both truth and lies. When so many bad actors hold the microphones and flood the zone, the health of our country and our shared social contract suffers. We have witnessed the way politics has divided families and friends over the past decade and believe the only way out is through fighting extremism and lies.
For most Americans with jobs, families, and communities, it can be overwhelming and unfruitful to find time worth spending on sifting through the mounds of content for one thread of actual truth. We see you. And we agree that the profit incentive to be as outrageous and divisive as possible is perverse. In response, we seek to provide our readers with trusted sourcing and sound commentary on the issues of the day.
As Christians, our mission has expanded to equipping “evangelicals for faithful political engagement that cultivates healthy communities across America.” We refer to ourselves as “evangelicals for truth, civility, and democracy.” We’ve witnessed firsthand the way the MAGA movement has perverted the sacred mission of Christ, using political power as a means to a destructive end. In our minds, the ends never justify corrupt means. As Christians, we’re thankful that God, through Jesus, provided a model of service and unconditional love to the world, which is worth following far more than the worldly temptations of dominion, money, and power. We have hope of an eternal kingdom, “where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in a steal.” And what a relief that is, especially in this day and age.
Finally, we’d like to take this moment to thank our supporters, readers, and followers over the years for entrusting us to be a fruitful voice during this moment of upheaval in America. Finding fellow “remnants” (credit to Jonah Goldberg for the term) of Americans still dedicated to decency and the hope of a more united, prosperous America is a gift to us. We can heal from this tense moment, but only if we refuse to allow bad faith actors to divide us from the inside. Our team will continue to speak the truth with dignity and respect, and we hope you stick around for the ride!
What Else We’re Reading
The Bulwark: “Toward Darkness or Dawn”
Make no mistake: In the race between those working to damage our republic and those trying to resist, the damagers are in the lead. But the resisters are rallying a bit. Not yet enough, to be sure. But perhaps they’re on a trajectory that will ultimately vindicate Thomas Fuller—and that would make John McCain proud.
The Dispatch: “Truth and Consequences”
Intimidation is his, and MAGA’s, one neat political trick. When all you have is a hammer, every 'disloyal' bureaucrat’s job looks like a nail...Authoritarians are gonna authoritarian.
The Next Move: “A Saddam-Style Response to a Bad Jobs Report”
One of democracy’s key advantages over dictatorship is that the professionals are able to do their jobs without fear of retaliation. Elected officials, chosen by the people, have the final say on policy, not appointed bureaucrats. But the statisticians and intelligence analysts and military officers can’t be summarily dismissed for sharing forecasts that politicians don’t like.
New York Times: “Inside Trump’s New Tactic to Separate Immigrant Families”
Officials have begun separating children from their families in small numbers across the country, in what appears to be a more targeted version of one of the most explosive policies of President Trump’s first term.
The New York Times has uncovered at least nine cases in which parents have been separated from their children after they refused to comply with deportation orders, according to internal government documents, case files and interviews.
CBN: “ICE Arrests Lead to Huge Chilling Effect on Latino Churches, Iranian Christian Asylum-Seekers”
Salguero released the following statement about Fuentes Espinal's arrest:
"The detention of an evangelical pastor who is working hard and helping his neighbors is not the way forward on immigration. Pastor Espinal is an example of how someone who has for years tried to navigate the broken system and get legal status, and the bureaucracy has failed him. This is exactly the kind of indiscriminate immigration enforcement that is not in keeping with a vow the Administration and its allies made to target violent criminals. Rather, together with the overturning of TPS, the allowing of immigration enforcement in sensitive locations like churches, and the attacks on birthright citizenship, we are seeing a broader pattern that includes moms, dads, workers, and even clergy."
NPR: “Christian refugees caught in the crosshairs of U.S. immigration policy”
Religious persecution is one of the many reasons individuals can claim asylum or apply to be a refugee. But the Trump administration's overhaul of the U.S. asylum and refugee systems has taken a toll on people fleeing religious persecution — many of whom saw the U.S. as a symbol of religious freedom.
CNN: “A Korean university student and daughter of a priest was detained by ICE. Faith leaders rallied to secure her release”
A South Korean student at Purdue University and the daughter of a beloved Episcopal priest was released from federal immigration detention late Monday, days after her arrest drew outcry and an outpouring of support from faith leaders.
Yeonsoo Go, known as “Soo” to friends and family, spent five days in custody after agents with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested her as she left what lawyers described as a routine visa hearing in Manhattan on Thursday.
Religious News Service: “'This is domestic terror': Shaken by ICE raids, pastors rethink ministries”
RNS has identified at least 10 instances of apparent immigration enforcement activity conducted by ICE or other federal agents on or immediately near church grounds since Trump’s inauguration. DHS officials have repeatedly declined to confirm whether many such incidents — enacted by uniformed men in masks who sometimes do not identify which agency they work for — were government-sanctioned operations. The episodes are spread across five states and Puerto Rico and, so far, have impacted Christian communities — namely, Catholic, evangelical, Cooperative Baptist and mainline Christian churches.
What We Are Watching
The Maga Grift: Trump’s presidency became a money-making machine
The Guardian (LINK)