In Defense Of Honest Bias

Why admitting our moral leanings strengthens honesty, preserves liberty, and separates conviction from prejudice.

An image of several white balloons and one blue balloon in the middle rising above them all

My children often accuse me of bias when I speak about politics. They say, “Dad, you’re not being empathetic — you’re biased!” And they’re right. I am biased. I am biased toward conservatism, toward the free market, toward America, and toward the timeless principles of Christian ethics that shaped this great nation. I am biased toward liberty over coercion, merit over entitlement, and truth over political convenience. And I make no apologies for that.

The real question is not whether one is biased, but whether one is honest about it.

The Myth of Objectivity

We live in an age obsessed with “objectivity.” Every media outlet, university, and social platform claims to be neutral, yet their fruit reveals their true roots. Objectivity has become a carefully tailored costume worn by institutions that, in reality, are deeply partisan.

Take, for instance, the BBC. For decades, it has wrapped itself in the noble cloth of impartial journalism. Yet, its producers on one of its flagship programs, Panorama, blatantly misrepresented President Trump’s words on January 6th, splicing together two separate parts of the speech 54 minutes apart to create the false narrative that Trump had blatantly incited the crowd to violently attack the US capitol.

Those who still claim the BBC is “neutral” and “objective” rushed to defend the egregious bias as a simple error in judgement. But if Fox News had made a similar error in the opposite direction, the outrage would have been seismic. The difference is that Fox never pretends to be neutral, and that honesty is its saving grace.

Bias, when declared, helps the listener interpret context. It offers transparency. But bias concealed behind false objectivity breeds deception and distrust.

The Nature of Bias

Bias, at its core, is simply preference, a directional leaning born of values, experiences, and convictions. It is the compass of the human soul. Every person is biased because every person believes something to be true.

If I believe that life is sacred, I am biased against abortion.
If I believe that freedom produces prosperity, I am biased toward capitalism.
If I believe that America, though imperfect, remains the last great hope for liberty, I am biased toward its preservation.

These are not blind prejudices, they are value-based convictions shaped by reason, faith, and history. Bias becomes dangerous only when it blinds us to evidence, hardens us against truth, or masquerades as neutrality.

The Line Between Principle and Prejudice

Here lies an essential distinction. Not all bias is moral.

Bias toward immutable characteristics such as race, ethnicity, or gender is not virtue but prejudice. It denies the dignity of the individual and reduces a human soul to something they did not choose. This form of bias is the root of racism and discrimination, and it has no place in a moral or free society.

Likewise, bias toward or against entire groups based on collective identity is not conviction but bigotry. It denies the God-given right to think, act, and be judged according to one’s own choices.

Conservatism, rightly understood, rejects such prejudice because it honors the individual above the collective. We believe that each person should rise or fall on their merit, not on the color of their skin, the accent in their voice, or the tribe to which they belong.

Moral bias elevates; immoral bias diminishes. One is rooted in truth, the other in fear.

The Noble and the Necessary Bias

There are, of course, professions where bias must yield to impartiality. A judge must weigh evidence without favor. A police officer must enforce the law without prejudice. A doctor must treat every patient with the same compassion and skill, regardless of background. These are sacred trusts where fairness is the foundation of justice.

But outside such contexts, bias is not merely inevitable — it is necessary.

Would we prefer a pastor who is neutral on sin?
Would we trust a teacher who is unbiased about truth?
Would we follow a leader who has no moral compass?

Bias, in its noble form, is the moral muscle of conviction. It is the fire that drives reformers, patriots, and prophets to stand for what is right even when it’s unpopular. It is what made Abraham Lincoln biased toward liberty, what made Martin Luther King Jr. biased toward equality, and what makes countless Americans today biased toward preserving the constitutional order that guards our freedom.

The Honest Bias vs. the Hidden Agenda

The real crisis in our culture is not the presence of bias, but the hypocrisy of those who hide it.

When conservative outlets like Fox News declare their worldview openly, it empowers viewers to weigh its perspective intelligently. When a liberal outlet like CNN insists it is “objective,” while simultaneously editorializing every story through an ideological lens, it insults the intelligence of its audience.

Honesty about bias builds trust. Deception about bias destroys it.