Friends, today I bring you two thought-provoking articles, courtesy of American Greatness. The first deals with the question of why American and Western voters more generally are so angry these days, and why they seem to be turning against the elites. I agree with almost everything Hanson says, BUT I also find the degree of rage and self-pity among voters puzzling, in the sense that, objectively and materially, middle class Western peoples have frankly never had it so good. Incomes are up, the cost of many consumer goods is down, we have close to full employment, the social safety net is relatively generous, and crime is low, by the standards of recent decades. These are factors that Hanson doesn't consider. My take? Yes, we have plenty of reasons to be dissatisfied with our elites, but we don't have much reason at all to be angry and deeply unhappy with our lives. But perception is everything, and facts count for little. The people who tell us what to think clearly benefit from cultivating extreme emotional responses in their audience, and boy do they seem to have elevated that to a fine art!!!
https://amgreatness.com/2019/06/12/why-are-the-western-middle-classes-so-angry/
The second article is about impeachment, and again I agree with almost all of it. Impeachment would be a travesty and an albatross around the neck of the Democratic Party and the Left. I beg to differ with Mr. Bardmesser is one critical respect, though. He says that the result of an impeachment vote in the full House is a foregone conclusion. I'm not so sure. I believe that many swing district Democrats would hesitate to vote to impeach the President. Granted, they might, simply to appease their liberal base, but they would risk angering moderate and independent voters in the process, and how can they win reelection without those votes? I believe there won't, in fact, be an official impeachment inquiry, at least not one that ever leaves the House Judiciary Committee, because the Democratic leadership doesn't want to take the risks I've just outlined. And remember -- if and when John Durham starts charging Democrats and liberals with crimes related to the Trump-Russia hoax, any impeachment inquiry against Trump will have to compete for the public's attention with trials of prominent left-wing figures. If I were the Dems, I would investigate Trump like crazy, and I might talk about impeachment, but I wouldn't actually try it.
https://amgreatness.com/2019/06/12/impeachment-is-the-greatest-campaign-strategy-for-trump/
I like Hanson-he is a regular guest on Lou Dobbs and a few other FOX shows. Since I am white and presumably privileged (in jest I say this), I happen to agree with his thoughts on this. I see this every single day--especially being a "senior citizen" on a very liberal college campus where some of the professors are not really teaching but they are instead preaching their values. I don't have a rich mommy and daddy (well, I do, but I am not entitled to their money, grin) who can provide for me. I also blame the parents of these young people; they were not taught patriotism (thanks in part to the former President-which they had 8 years of), they were not taught hard work, they were not taught morals or values and lastly, they were not taught Nationalism (which I choose to capitalize). Just because I was raised wealthy, doesn't mean that I am part of the elite. My dad was a Vietnam vet who worked hard and taught us the value of Nationalism and having pride for ones country. Now, with that said, I don't always agree with both sides of aisle (so to speak). I was bought up to see both sides (and often there are more than two sides)and make choices based on the information that is given and a lot of times that requires research (which is another subject for another time which requires the discussion of how lucky these young people are to have it all at their fingertips).
ReplyDeleteSadly, we now live in a culture where the "me-me" movement is alive and well. I am seeing though, a very slight change back to Patriotism and Nationalism. Maybe its because of the likes of the current president--I am not sure. He is most definitely pointing out the issues, isn't he? I am afraid for the future of this country, Dr. Waddy and like Hanson said, "Because elites have no answers to popular furor, the anger directed at them will only increase until they give up—or finally succeed in their grand agenda of a non-democratic, all-powerful Orwellian state." A very scary thought, indeed. The few of us who protect the Constitution and the rule of law are finding it increasingly difficult to do so, just because of the elites in Washington and elsewhere who want to trample on it. Call it "deep state" or whatever--but it is real. I for one, believe it is worth fighting for.
I also find myself in agreeance with you that we should not be unhappy or even angry with our lives. I also find it amusing to see these "elites" or folks on tv who have this "me-me" or "impeach" or "abort" and the protests--yes they have it down to a fine art. Another great thought provoking post, Dr. Waddy. Please excuse my rambling on.
Dr. Waddy and Linda: This is a really comprehensive and thought provoking article and you were both right in expanding upon it. I'll venture to do the same.
ReplyDeleteI think modern middle class life in the West is a miracle the revelation of which would have overwhelmed perhaps the most prescient and discerning thinkers of 250 years ago (and in England and France that was a time of fecund intellectual contemplation and introspection). The physical comforts we enjoy; medical, dental and psychiatric advances which have alleviated much of the dread, terror,agony and squalor of injury and sickness, both for us and our beloved; the confirmed and enforced protections against oppression by the strong which are our painfully secured heritage; our general freedom from killing manual labor; our abundant leisure (far more even than our Greatest Generation had - eg. long... retirements); our edifying and limitless access to information and any aspect of our culture we crave (all we have to do is call up Handel's Messiah online in a moment - who of the 18th century could have done that)no matter what our financial power; our consequent overview of and understandable expectation of continued well being. There is well informed conjecture that the first person to live 1000 years has already been born; I've assured my own kids that their life span may be extended indefinitely. Unless endless life is somehow achieved, why, this is how life should be led! I rejoice everytime I go in Wegmans, to see the bounty and abundance available there to nearly all. How fortunate we are!
I say this not to chide. Of course we all seek well being, so does all the world. For that part of the middle class which appreciates the incalculable advantages it has and at least some of the pains taken to provide it, the source of its anger may lie in reaction to an increasing reaction to a, yes, elitist, perverse and irresponsible condemnation of its life by the MSM and an ungrateful and detached American left. I was very much struck by the line in the article: "Elites never suffered the consequences of their ideological fiat". That faction, eg. a shamefully leftist compromised American academy, has infected our children in university settings traditionally assumed to be uplifting, with utterly unjustified comprehensive disdain for our Western culture and our country. The ever increasing perception in the common sense middle class of open (since President Trump's election)contempt for its positive and constructive values has produced its anger, I hold.
For that part of the middle class which embraces liberal views, I see in it a perfectionist strain the origin of which lies in baby boomer naivete, due to its salvation from the profound evils and challenges which the Greatest Generation so bravely faced and conquered. They actually think our national faults condemn us and their anger is, I think, the result of their outrage at resistance to views they are assured by the left are irrefutable. Sancta simplicitas.
Linda, please "ramble" to your heart's content. :) I feel a bit sorry for the younger generation too. Sure, they have many advantages, and personally and morally they can be almost unbearable at times, but at the end of the day it's their parents, teachers, etc. who have let them down. Giving kids and young adults smartphones and designer clothes doesn't count for much if you don't also teach them the values they will need to become decent, productive human beings. It breaks my heart how much human potential we are wasting, and how deluded many young people are by leftism. Tsk tsk.
ReplyDeleteThe feedback loop between elite-dominated pop culture and the "tradition" of protest/resistance/rebellion among young people is a fascinating topic. I find it incredible that people who, for instance, despise Trump, think they're being original and heroic, when in fact they're merely parroting the views that the elite has instilled in them. SAD! (as Trump would say).
Jack, your summary of the gifts history has bestowed on the Western middle classes is superb. I wonder if these thoughts have ever occurred to many liberals. I doubt it.
ReplyDeleteAt the very bottom of much leftist thought, I feel, is self-loathing. Liberals hate whites, men, and Christians, of course, despite the fact that many of them ARE white, or male, or Christian. They hate industrial civilization, despite the fact that their way of life depends on it. They hate Western democracy, despite using (and abusing) its freedoms. They assume, in short, that what IS, is bad. Sheer folly!
Dr. Waddy and Linda:The second article paints a very plausible picture. These Dems just cannot comprehend what a gamer and player they have provoked. They are far too arrogant. I wonder, how many of them have Penn. degrees, like the President? Ooops!
ReplyDeleteThey are increasingly confronted by the prospect of the throes of ever approaching disgrace, defeat and disenfranchisement, by this ever so obvious personification of the real America they so very profoundly loathe for that certainty. May they thrash in their death struggle in the House, until we are blessedly rid of them.
Amen, Jack! But I think the Dems are blissfully unaware of their own marginality. They're busy reading polls that tell them that Trump will be a pushover in 2020. Note, though, that the polls predicting a walkover feature Biden and Sanders -- neither of whom may be the nominee. Plus, the Democrats will suffer a lot of self-inflicted wounds between now and the election.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy: Ditto on leftist self loathing. They think it excuses them from the guilt guaranteed by their politically incorrect race, age, nationality, sex, preferences, eating habits and who knows what else. The poor dears.
ReplyDelete