As I’ve mentioned before, I regularly check out Rod Dreher’s writing, not because I agree with him, but because he is an important voice in the conversation.
In “Debate Me, Dreher”, Nathan Duffy expresses a sentiment I’ve long held, the bothersome tendency of Dreher to not engage with solid arguments from the Alt Right / NRx:
It’s the only gentlemanly thing to do, Rod. You’ve been ably fielding criticisms of the Benedict Option from your left for months, taking on all comers. Meanwhile your engagement with those to your right has been notably minimal, if not entirely non-existent. Indeed, from the policing of your comment section and blocking habits on Twitter, it seems you’re inclined to flee the field entirely when faced with criticisms from your right.
Dreher also has the annoying tendency — particularly after a horrific terrorist attack — to occasionally drift into identitarian territory, only to snap back into his kneejerk, default mode of Christian liberal humanism.
