So they define it. Anyone not in synch with their "ideology" is radical.
That by definition is a radical position. The rightwing media is so far out of reality, it is beyond characterization. Their reporting/data/information base often cannot be supported by sources outside its own universe.
Yeah, that's what I hear when conservatives speak. It's interesting because traditional conservatism was at least a hodgepodge of ideas somewhat related to foundational principles (weak as they were, there was a "there" there).
But the iteration of conservatism that began with the bankruptcy of ideas within the Tea Party and degraded into the reactionary emotional immaturity of MAGA? They've embraced stupidity, absurdism, and ignorance as prime values and they pour it forth like drunks pissing against the wall outside a bar.
They have no knowledge of even their OWN history, how they came into existence from the seeds planted in previous generations of conservatives. They are the result of Roger Stone's ejaculations since working with Nixon in the 1970s. He and his ilk conceived and birthed the current iteration of idiots -- and I'm not using "idiots" as a disparaging remark about MAGA folk; rather, it's a dry descriptor of who and what they actually are.
If they weren't such despicable human beings independent of their political views it would be easier to have sympathy for them. The irony, of course, was that some conservatives in the past, at least, had dignity and integrity. I'd often disagree with George Will, but I recognized him as thoughtful, considerate, and serious about his political philosophy. He cared enough to study and learn history, philosophy, science, the arts before publishing or saying anything. He didn't want to be a clown for wealth and power; he wanted to be serious about it at least and he recognized the dangers that both democracy and capitalism presented to societies even as he advocated for them.
We'll probably never see a serious thinker involved with conservatism ever again. And that's too bad because it provided a check on certain types of un-democratic political moves from the left and an intelligent and historically-based conservatism could mount legitimate arguments against the excesses of "wokeness" attitudes toward free expression.
It's primarily because of this intellectual absence that I've taken up that mantle a bit because SOMEONE has to put forth an intelligent case that CRT presents dangers to free expression and liberty (which used to be important tenets of conservatism, the tenets I liked the most from their philosophical positions).
There's nothing left of conservatism in public life in the U.S. There's angry racism and spewed hatred of liberals -- they couldn't recognize a liberal if one bit them on the nose. How could they? They have no coherent concepts tying together disparate liberal philosophies. Hell, they don't even know what a concept is!
Turns out, the right amount of people had been voting all those years with 50 percent turnout of eligible voters. The people who weren't voting were doing us all a favor. They were dumb, ignorant, and uninterested and not voting is the right choice for people who don't take citizenship seriously. Unfortunately, those morons have become interested in politics -- but only the fantasy politics of talk radio, Fox News, and online insanity that titillates their underdeveloped senses and tells them who to hate and how to hate them properly.
There is almost nothing human about them, certainly nothing moral or ethical, nothing inquisitive or insightful, nothing worthwhile for humanity at all. The only reason I even care whether they live or die is because I'm not convinced that they are doomed to this fate, that they have the potential to change, the potential to develop humanity within themselves. If I didn't believe that, I would think it best to put them down for the sake of the future of humanity.
richardhanania.substack.com
