As important as lighting can be in a large household, we can't let a volunteer firefighter pause to arrange lighting while flames crawl across the roof like a Shakira dance line falling into a pit.
The volunteer firefighter moves towards the heat, trusting his experience while knowing that any applause belongs at the end, not in the moment.
Public service works the same way. That is, if it works at all.
Eric Swalwell decided things a little differently.
The Californian Congress critter circulated imagery that showed immigration raids against the Nativity scene, with Jesus lying in the manger as armed officers closed in.
What that genius aimed for was instant moral clarity, which led the clip to go viral on social media.
Instead, what followed was a sharp public rebuke from a Border Patrol commander describing the portrayal as dishonest and insulting to agents who risk their lives every time they walk out the doors of their station — the same dangers law enforcement officers face.
When another critic brought up Swalwell’s alleged relationship with a Chinese spy named Fang Fang — which the congressman denies – Bovino quipped, "Oh yes, how could I forget to mention that."
Other commentators slammed Swalwell for appearing to misstate the underlying facts of why Joseph and Mary had gone to Bethlehem and why they fled to Egypt soon after Jesus Christ’s birth — a storyline immigration activists sometimes use to counter pro-border security arguments.
One cited a passage from the Gospel of Luke, which recounts that Caesar Augustus ordered a census across the Roman Empire, requiring each man to return to his ancestral town. Joseph, a descendant of King David, therefore traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, David’s birthplace.
What Swalwell Put Into the World
There wasn't anything subtle about the symbolism: Federal agents became villains, turning a sacred Christian scene into a stage, an implication without nuance, where enforcement equaled cruelty, opposition equaled compassion, and moral authority belonged to the politician sharing the post along with an emoji.
Obviously, accuracy never mattered.
Among many of immigration enforcement's primary tasks, three stand out: stopping traffickers, intercepting cartel operations, and arresting repeat criminals.
Human trafficking’s consequences are far-reaching and include the following:
- Individual trauma. Trafficked victims may endure physical violence, sexual abuse, forced labor, and deprivation of basic needs, so they often experience severe physical, psychological, and emotional trauma resulting from their exploitation. The trauma can have long-lasting effects on their mental health, self-esteem, and ability to trust others. In fact, the trauma can be so severe that many don’t identify themselves as victims or ask for help.
- Social stigma. Trafficked victims often face stigma, discrimination, and social rejection due to misconceptions about their experiences. This can further isolate them from support networks and prevent them from getting the help and services they need.
- Community impact. Human trafficking perpetuates cycles of exploitation, poverty, and vulnerability. It drives organized crime and illicit economies, destabilizing communities and undermining the rule of law.
Despite working constantly under threat, agents rescue migrants abandoned in deserts while seizing lethal narcotics, as agents continue patrolling dangerous terrain under constant threat. They’re not raiding churches or targeting babies, but the most challenging test is turning that reality into a cartoon that doesn’t challenge policy, replacing it instead with reality and outstanding performance.
The Border Patrol Response
Recently, a senior Border Patrol commander publicly responded and rejected the portrayal and defended agents operating under extreme pressure, citing fentanyl seizures, the rescue of migrants left for dead, and the arrest of violent offenders who exploit porous borders.
The senior commander wasn't looking forward to praise, just to correct the record: Agents don't need religious metaphors from lawmakers; they need honesty from elected officials who understand the consequences.
Why Swalwell Did It
Swalwell doesn't have the intellectual capacity to stray from the path set before him long ago; he decided to follow a familiar political pattern.
Emotion has always been the fuel for all sorts of engagement, which is fueled by outrage, at least for the left. Engagement sustains relevance, which feeds ambition.
While social imagery promises a reaction, even among people who reject religion entirely, it wasn't an accident that caused the backlash; the amplification of the message took precedence.
In the end, provocation became the point.
There's a sweet spot for politicians who find themselves stuck between committee rooms and cable panels; moral theater offered visibility without the required responsibility. Posting doesn't cost a cent, but governing costs credibility.
Leader or Performer
Because his career momentum wasn't quite getting him there, Swalwell started presenting himself as a national figure, someone who sits a level above all the available meme theology.
Leadership on the left demands choices, tradeoffs, and accountability, while rewarding shock, symbolism, and, of course, applause.
One of those paths produces outcomes, while the other produces engagement metrics.
And nothing else.
Swalwell's manager scene didn't offer any policy messaging and didn't address any trafficking networks, drug flows, or border failures. The scene existed only to signal virtue, without offering solutions to anything.
The three choices that leadership demands seem straightforward: choices, tradeoffs, and accountability. However, performance rewards shocks, symbolism, and applause. Only a single path produces outcomes, while the other produces engagement metrics.
People looking at Swalwell's manger saw no policy or effort to address any of the trafficking networks, drug flows, or border failures.
The only purpose was to signal virtue without providing a solution to anything.
Faith as a Political Weapon
As much as I hate to admit it, the left is extremely crafty when it comes to sacred symbols. There is such great messaging behind those symbols, and the left has been primed to use that messaging to their own benefit, because they know how sacred symbols lose meaning when pressed into partisan service. Faith becomes a prop when it's wielded for reaction rather than reflection. People of faith don’t need scripture repurposed for social media; expecting restraint and respect, which reduces the Nativity to nothing more than a political cartoon, which insults belief across denominations while resolving absolutely nothing.
Eric Swalwell didn't come close to elevating any debate. Instead, the gummy-brain simply hollowed it out.
A Broader Pattern
The righteous gas-indignation from Fang-Fang's squeeze reflects a wider drift where serious issues are flattened into shareable images across platforms. Complexity disappears, moral gravity evaporates, and problems become content.
The adults in the room realize that border security involves sovereignty, safety, and human dignity. Adult questions intended for mature brains. Unfortunately for Eric, he brought a notepad, hoping to share a list of notes with everyone in the room. Instead, his goal of turning any idea into a graphic to be shared signals surrender to spectacle.
Final Thoughts
When that firefighter stops what he's doing for applause, he loses the house. The driver, ignoring the motor's knock, pulls over to deal with a failed engine shortly after, and politics built on spectacle eventually collapsed under pressure.
The manger image produced by Eric Swalwell didn't offer any clarity, because it traded credibility for attention. What little Eric hasn't realized is that leaders fix problems, and performers chase reaction.
A difference voters still recognize.
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