Conservatism has been on the rise in recent years. Yet with that rise, it increasingly seems that conservatives, even those who identify as Christians, have begun to trade the essence of the conservative temperament for a right-wing adaptation of postmodern angst and edginess.

Edginess? It’s a fitting word for this spirit for, as Merriam-Webster defines it, “edgy” may mean either being tense and irritable or possessing a “bold, provocative, or unconventional quality.” Both seem to be true of Gen Z, a generation plagued by anxiety yet simultaneously aiming to shock, defy, and provoke.

The “Make America Hot Again” movement is one manifestation of this right-wing edginess. A recent Atlantic article highlights the aims of the movement, namely, the goal of shaking off traditional expectations for women and other traditional commitments in order to widen the GOP’s influence and bring “sexiness” back to conservatism. Those who align themselves with this trend not only defy liberal ascendancy in pop culture and fashion but also challenge virtues like modesty that are historically associated with conservatism.

An even more glaring representation of this edgy temperament is in the language used by conservative politicians or influencers. Until recently, public profanity was considered a mark of ill character and a rarity – for instance, Jimmy Carter made the news for using an expletive in 1979. Now profanity from elected officials of either party is an everyday occurrence.

More heinous than the expletives readily employed by public figures is the provocative language readily exhibited by conservative influencers and their followers. Curse words have become standard; slurs and sexual jokes – the sort of language that St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians called “foolish talk” and “crude joking” (Eph. 5:4) – now must be used to achieve the desired effect of provocation.

Matthew Schmitz writes about such language in First Things, taking last year’s leaked Young Republicans group chat as an example. In the chat, leaders of various Young Republican groups praised Hitler, referred to African Americans as “the watermelon people,” and joked about rape, gas chambers, slavery, and more. Schmitz contends that because certain kinds of transgressive language such as expletives and sexually explicit talk have become accepted in every corner of our society, those who wish to challenge the norms dictated by an increasingly liberal culture often feel they must resort to even more transgressive language like that of the Young Republicans:

When it is ­unremarkable to say ‘f*ck’ in polite company, then other things become sayable as well. And when the thrill of transgression is pursued not only by a daring artistic set but by the culture at large, a great deal of crude transgression will result. …

Seeking a feeling of intimacy and freedom, people say shocking things. But four-letter words no longer suffice. Our society is no longer structured around the observance of sexual propriety; it is structured instead around the value of tolerance. In order to be transgressive, one must speak in intolerant terms.

Conservative commentator Nick Fuentes is one prominent example of Schmitz’s point, as Fuentes has built his brand around questioning, criticizing, and transgressing. Although this brand is compelling to those disenchanted with the norms of liberal modernity, listening to Fuentes’ podcast for only a few minutes brings all sorts of expletives, slurs, and derogatory comments into one’s ears. For someone who claims Christ’s kingship, Fuentes is awfully familiar with the f-word. And he is incredibly comfortable with personally denigrating others, even other conservatives and Christians, as long as they contradict his own agenda and beliefs.

For example, Fuentes recently came under fire from Vice President JD Vance for using slurs and derogatory comments about Second Lady Usha Vance. Fuentes has also called Vance a “fat, gay, race traitor.” Alongside self-proclaimed pimp Andrew Tate and “looksmaxxing” influencer and crystal meth user Clavicular, Fuentes also went viral recently for saluting to Kanye West’s song “Heil Hitler” at a Miami club.

This edginess, which relies on shock value and subversiveness, is a far cry from the ideals of conservatism. Russell Kirk, philosopher and author of “The Conservative Mind,”wrote that “the conservative person is simply one who finds the permanent things more pleasing than Chaos and Old Night.”

For Kirk, the first central principle of conservatism is, in fact, the belief in an “enduring moral order… [that] human nature is a constant, and moral truths are permanent.” A spirit and mind like Kirk’s – one that honors a transcendent moral order, loves the beautiful, and clings to permanent instead of passing things – is rare among many so-called conservatives today.

Virtue, beauty, and the permanent are out; transgression, shock-value, and crudity are in. This is hardly notable as regards our culture at large, for modernism and postmodernism have painted crudity in broad swaths across both high art and pop culture. But such comfort with crudity and edginess is notable as regards the rising generation of those who identify as conservative, especially those who identify, too, as Christian.

As a child, the worst of Paul’s “crude joking” that I was exposed to was potty humor. Thanks to the small and faithful Christian community I grew up in, I rarely heard expletives, slurs, or sexual discussion until my later teen years, and not until college did I comprehend that some conservatives and Christians use such language just as much as their liberal and atheist counterparts.

I fear that, even as my children grow up in tight-knit Christian circles, they may not have the blissful ignorance of profanity that I did. As the broader conservative world begins to normalize such language and adapt an edgy temperament, such things will continue to become more normal amongst everyday Christians.

The Church and the conservative world more broadly should recognize sinful speech and sinful behaviors for what they are and be on guard against them. In short, we should seek to revive a truly conservative temperament. We should follow the example of noble men and women who have gone before us by taking delight in what is eternal and grounding our beliefs, actions, and speech in the moral order given to us by God.

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This article was made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal. 

Image credit: Freerange Stock