Gary Horton’s “Rise of the Village Idiots” (commentary, June 17) was well-written, and I appreciate his reference to Benjamin Franklin. Franklin is a good place to start when talking about virtue and self-government. But Franklin’s virtues should challenge all of us, not just the people, sports, or political figures we already dislike.
Horton’s column is called “Full Speed to Port,” so it is no secret where he is coming from politically. That is fine. He is entitled to his opinion. But readers are also allowed to notice when a political opinion is being presented as a lecture on virtue.
Josh Hokit’s comment about Michelle Obama was crude and unnecessary. I do not defend it. But it was also his own unscripted post-fight remark. It was not an official statement from the White House. Taking one fighter’s dumb comment and using it to smear an entire sport, its athletes, and its fans as “village idiots” is not Franklin’s justice. It is a broad brush.
I say that as someone who has competed in mixed martial arts bouts. MMA isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and I understand that. But whatever one thinks of the sport, it takes courage to step in there. It also takes discipline, conditioning, restraint and sacrifice. Those are not the qualities of idiots.
Teddy Roosevelt put it well when he said, “It is not the critic who counts,” and that “the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” That does not make every athlete wise, nor does it make every comment defensible. But it should make us careful before sneering at people who are willing to test themselves in ways most people never will.
Those qualities — courage, discipline, restraint, sacrifice and resolution — are much closer to Franklin than mocking athletes and fans from a safe distance.
If Horton’s real concern is the dignity of the White House, then that concern should be applied consistently. In 2023, guests at an official White House Pride event went topless on the South Lawn. The White House condemned the behavior afterward, but it occurred at the event itself. And long before that, President Bill Clinton certainly did not uphold the dignity of the White House through his conduct with a White House intern.
None of that excuses Hokit’s remark. It does not. But it does show that White House dignity has been challenged in more than one direction.
That is where Franklin’s virtue of humility matters. There is nothing especially virtuous about using education to look down on ordinary Americans. Franklin believed in self-improvement, hard work, restraint, responsibility and self-government. He did not call people to become more educated so they could feel superior to their neighbors.
So yes, let’s talk about Franklin. Let’s talk about sincerity, justice, moderation, resolution, industry and humility. But if those virtues are the standard, they should be applied honestly.
Otherwise, the argument becomes less about virtue and more about selective contempt.
Arthur Tom
Valencia
