There's a paragraph that really stuck with me in your column today: "Here’s the problem with that thinking, and with hoping for an exercise of conscience by congressional Republicans: Political ideology isn’t guided by morality. In fact, research shows that it’s more likely that our political feelings will shape our moral judgments, rather than the other way around."
I suspect that one paragraph wraps up life in the US these days. Both sides see themselves on the moral high ground, whether the issue is abortion or immigration or book bans or LGBTQ issues (I hope I got those initials correct). And if it's a matter of morality, people will give no quarter, make no compromise. Thus we have folks so solidly locked into one side or the other, almost equally matched, that the only result can be chaos. A frightening smart commentary, Rex.
King Lear's two elder daughters, and their husbands, were similarly locked in. Each claimed to love their father more, because each wanted to take his place.
Their younger sister, Cordelia, told her father that a daughter's love is not quantifiable, and for this the mad old patriarch banished her.
Edmund, who had an axe to grind with "the national establishment" took advantage of the failing patriarchy and the stark, self-confirming partisanship which had formed between the elder sisters, whose husbands would go to war against each other, by leaning into the division. He had affairs with both of the elder sisters, and told them lies about each other to ensured the divide would grow enflamed.
Kent was one of the people who did everything in his power to serve the integrity of the nation. (Kent's descendants in America would adopt an undocumented migrant refuge baby, and name him Clark, but that's another story).
We need people like Cordelia and Kent right about now
I heard both Jill Stein and Newt Gingrich this morning. What I came away with is that maybe i have to approach incoming ideas like I do consumer products.
Like, I need a new pair of shoes, and all the candidates are selling shoes. They all say they are for shoes that work, and that i should want their shoes. I have to learn about the shoes though, before I can decide which is going to best suit the most of my needs. Not just look at which one looks most like "me."
The ideas I heard this morning, resonated with things inside me, which is what they were designed to do. Just like the ads for shoes are designed to get a customer to identify with a brand, the statements of the political pitch-people are designed to make us not think and just feel.
Stein said true things about the status quo looking too slow on climate, and too reliant on oil. What about context? How about strategy? Europe needs us to be too reliant on oil right now, because of Putin's invasion of Ukraine and resulting claim on Ukrainian resources (energy, minerals, agriculture) ... A strong Green Party strategy from a leader might be to vote Green in Blue, vote Blue in Purple, but she didn't talk at all about what would be a realistic strategy for Greens to leverage the little numbers they have. All ideas, but no strategy.
Gingrich said he's for government by the people for the people. That resonates. But, he seems to maybe need, in his own head, to consider people "... 41.5 million more voters than their Republican colleagues..." as not people at all,... otherwise he might support electing the President by popular vote, rather than referring to the 30ish percent of Europeans who voted for parties formed by Nazis. He left out the majority of Americans, included the minority of Europeans, tied it Trump, "stuck a feather in his cap, and called it" Giorgia Meloni
when it comes to incoming ideas and information, i'm practicing "caveat emptor", Americans can be good at that, when we set our minds to it
Recent edition of Stoller's BIG Substack says new billionaires made in homebuilding by not building homes. What's up with that?
There is no one i enjoy reading more than Rex Smith.
There's a paragraph that really stuck with me in your column today: "Here’s the problem with that thinking, and with hoping for an exercise of conscience by congressional Republicans: Political ideology isn’t guided by morality. In fact, research shows that it’s more likely that our political feelings will shape our moral judgments, rather than the other way around."
I suspect that one paragraph wraps up life in the US these days. Both sides see themselves on the moral high ground, whether the issue is abortion or immigration or book bans or LGBTQ issues (I hope I got those initials correct). And if it's a matter of morality, people will give no quarter, make no compromise. Thus we have folks so solidly locked into one side or the other, almost equally matched, that the only result can be chaos. A frightening smart commentary, Rex.
Agreed, Cranky Yankee, agreed
King Lear's two elder daughters, and their husbands, were similarly locked in. Each claimed to love their father more, because each wanted to take his place.
Their younger sister, Cordelia, told her father that a daughter's love is not quantifiable, and for this the mad old patriarch banished her.
Edmund, who had an axe to grind with "the national establishment" took advantage of the failing patriarchy and the stark, self-confirming partisanship which had formed between the elder sisters, whose husbands would go to war against each other, by leaning into the division. He had affairs with both of the elder sisters, and told them lies about each other to ensured the divide would grow enflamed.
Kent was one of the people who did everything in his power to serve the integrity of the nation. (Kent's descendants in America would adopt an undocumented migrant refuge baby, and name him Clark, but that's another story).
We need people like Cordelia and Kent right about now
I heard both Jill Stein and Newt Gingrich this morning. What I came away with is that maybe i have to approach incoming ideas like I do consumer products.
Like, I need a new pair of shoes, and all the candidates are selling shoes. They all say they are for shoes that work, and that i should want their shoes. I have to learn about the shoes though, before I can decide which is going to best suit the most of my needs. Not just look at which one looks most like "me."
The ideas I heard this morning, resonated with things inside me, which is what they were designed to do. Just like the ads for shoes are designed to get a customer to identify with a brand, the statements of the political pitch-people are designed to make us not think and just feel.
Stein said true things about the status quo looking too slow on climate, and too reliant on oil. What about context? How about strategy? Europe needs us to be too reliant on oil right now, because of Putin's invasion of Ukraine and resulting claim on Ukrainian resources (energy, minerals, agriculture) ... A strong Green Party strategy from a leader might be to vote Green in Blue, vote Blue in Purple, but she didn't talk at all about what would be a realistic strategy for Greens to leverage the little numbers they have. All ideas, but no strategy.
Gingrich said he's for government by the people for the people. That resonates. But, he seems to maybe need, in his own head, to consider people "... 41.5 million more voters than their Republican colleagues..." as not people at all,... otherwise he might support electing the President by popular vote, rather than referring to the 30ish percent of Europeans who voted for parties formed by Nazis. He left out the majority of Americans, included the minority of Europeans, tied it Trump, "stuck a feather in his cap, and called it" Giorgia Meloni
when it comes to incoming ideas and information, i'm practicing "caveat emptor", Americans can be good at that, when we set our minds to it
Recent edition of Stoller's BIG Substack says new billionaires made in homebuilding by not building homes. What's up with that?