What is Virtue Signaling?

The religion of broadcasting one's good character in order to feel good about oneself.

By JOHN LEAKE

All of us desire to see ourselves—and to be seen by others—as good. We crave to feel good about ourselves, and because we are hyper-social beings, we obtain much of our self-esteem from the positive recognition of others.

True virtue is often a lonely and difficult business that involves doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Most of the time, being virtuous means being conscientious to your family, friends, and business associates.

As Aristotle pointed out in his Nicomachean Ethics, virtue is acquired by the formation of good habits. Good habits are acquired through the steady repetition of virtuous actions.

For example, if you are naturally inclined to be a curt and rude person, you can acquire the virtue of courtesy by practicing courteous actions every day. Every day you make an effort to be polite to others in word and deed, and after a while, being polite becomes your second nature.

Aristotle presented a distinctly secular system of ethics with the objective of achieving personal excellence and the positive self-esteem that naturally follows from it. In a religious context, virtue has been understood as dedicating oneself to God and his laws and observing the associated rites and customs in accordance with such dedication. Again, such dedication is often a matter of saying one’s prayers, making sacrifices, and observing customs, even when no one is watching.

In his famous “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus offered a notable distinction between true virtue and virtue signaling.

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

It seems to me that of the innumerable vices of our time, VIRTUE SIGNALING is the most vulgar and destructive. As the Columbia University professor of linguistics, John McWhorter, pointed out in a recent interview, virtue signaling (especially about matters of race) has become a religion unto itself.

Professor McWhorter characterizes career Virtue Signalers as “THE ELECT,” borrowing John Calvin’s term for that segment of humanity that has received God’s grace.

The vice of virtue signaling often begins with the fear of seeming not good, especially with respect to one’s attitudes towards underprivileged groups. In his interview, Professor McWhorter confesses his own fear of being perceived as a male chauvinist. And so he has found himself going out of his way to signal that he has great respect for women.

During the pandemic, we witnessed how virtue signaling was harnessed to bully people into social distancing, wearing masks, and getting experimental gene therapy injections. Wearing a mask or getting a shot (and announcing it on social media) was a way to signal that you “cared” about your fellow man and were “doing your part” to protect the community.

The trouble with virtue signaling is that it’s usually more a matter of self-aggrandizement and promotion than helping others. In the context of race relations, Professor McWhorter gives examples of virtue signaling activists who do grave harm to the group they loudly proclaim to be helping.

I strong recommend watching Professor McWhorter’s interview in full.