When Virtue Signaling Replaces Character

It has never been easier to feel virtuous without making much of an effort.

Put pronouns in an email signature, repost the slogan of the day, or join the online denunciation of someone who used the wrong word. In many circles, such gestures are expected. A person can take part with little at stake and still come away feeling that he has done something morally worthwhile.

The trouble begins when support for fashionable causes is treated as proof of good character.

Traditionally, classical virtues have been concerned primarily with conduct. Courage requires action when there is something to lose. Temperance means controlling one’s appetites. Prudence calls for sound judgment, while justice requires fairness, including toward people one dislikes.

A person acquires these traits by practicing them and working on himself. He must make the right choices repeatedly, often when nobody else knew or cared.

At about the age of 14, George Washington copied into his schoolbook 110 maxims known as the “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.” The exercise reflected an understanding that character had to be cultivated. Decades later, in an Aug. 28, 1788, letter to Alexander Hamilton, Washington described “the character of an honest man” as the most enviable of all titles.

Today, public allegiance often stands in for that hard work. Use the accepted vocabulary, support the cause of the moment and condemn whoever has fallen outside the boundaries of respectable opinion. That alone can be enough to earn a reputation for goodness.

When slogans and public denunciations attract the most praise, young people may conclude that morality is less about how they behave than about showing that they are on the right side. Expressing an opinion is much easier than governing one’s own behavior.

A teenager who admits to a lie that could have remained hidden takes a real step toward honesty. Another who refuses to join classmates in humiliating someone has shown strength of character. Keeping a promise after it becomes inconvenient inculcates responsibility.

But social media magnifies the problem by rewarding what can be seen and counted. An angry accusation can bring hundreds of likes within minutes, while years of decent conduct may attract no notice at all.

Too often, young people are taught to judge actions by the reactions they receive rather than by whether they are right.

That habit can follow them into adulthood. Someone who treats his politics as proof of goodness has little reason to ask whether he is arrogant, dishonest, or selfish. He can spend the day condemning strangers and still go to bed convinced of his own moral superiority.

Speaking publicly for a cause can be honorable when doing so carries a genuine risk. A person who defends an unpopular truth at the possible cost of his job or reputation has demonstrated something real. But repeating a popular view before an approving audience proves far less.

And that temptation is not confined to the Left. Conservatives can fall into the same trap. Opposing abortion, defending religious liberty or supporting traditional family values may reflect deeply held convictions. But holding the right position does not necessarily make someone a good person.

A man can speak passionately about the importance of the family and still be a neglectful husband or father. What matters is not only what we believe, but how we behave.

Ordinary life provides far better tests of virtue.

How does a person treat his family? Does he keep his word when breaking it would be convenient? Does he admit when he is wrong? How does he speak to a relative who tries his patience, an employee who cannot help his career, or a waiter who makes a mistake?

No social media profile can tell us how a person behaves in those moments.

Parents and schools should teach that virtue is not something a person announces about himself. It grows from choices made day after day.

That means giving children real responsibilities and holding them accountable. They should be expected to finish what they begin, admit wrongdoing without making excuses, and occasionally do something kind without telling anyone about it. They already know how to show that they hold fashionable views. Adults need to teach them how to govern their own conduct and treat others fairly, including those with whom they strongly disagree.

This matters not only for the formation of individual character but for the health of the country. A society depends on citizens who accept responsibility, exercise restraint, honor their obligations, and deal honestly with one another. When virtue signaling replaces those habits, public life becomes angrier, harsher, and less capable of sustaining genuine disagreement.

America does not need another generation skilled at advertising its virtue.

It needs one capable of actually practicing it.

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