You'll notice that, in the last few days, LITD has pulled no punches when it comes to pointing out foibles committed on the right side of the sociopolitical spectrum: the cat Giuliani let out of the bag discussed in the post immediately below, Marco Rubio's seeming nod to populism in his latest remarks on tax policy, the horrible treatment Erick Erickson's family came in for at the hands of the harder-core elements of the MAGA crowd, Mike Pence's stupid remark lauding Joe Arpaio, Salem Media's purging of Red State.
Is something afoot? Is there some kind of ideological shift to be detected here?
No, and hell no.
In fact, I could and may well still fill one or more blog posts with the latest outrages from left of center: the Twitter hate directed at the Utah girl for her prom dress, Bernie Sanders' proposal for government jobs for all and any who want them, the California Episcopal church that held a "Beyonce mass," Dick's Sporting Goods hiring two gun-control lobbyists, the University of Texas - Austin's Counseling and Mental Health Center's poster campaign denigrating masculinity.
That garbage goes on apace, and it is the main reason post-America's prospects are not good.
But trying to get a handle on where to start resolving even some small corner of the present madhouse is an exercise of the herding-cats variety. We're not polarized in this country; we're splintered. Per what I say in the first paragraph, the Right has at least two camps that hold each other in contempt. On the Left, Michelle Wolf went even too far for a lot of the liberals in attendance at the White House Correspondents' dinner. Kanye West is in hot water. (Maxine Waters says he "talked out of turn.")
Some right-of-center pundits exhort conservatives to "get engaged on the cultural level."
Fine. Which culture? What album, movie, novel or painting that we'd create is going to reach anyone outside of the confirmation bias that would be its natural audience?
And on the political level, I can't think of a figure vying for any public office for whom I'd bust my tail end to drag over the finish line. All the candidates for the House and Senate in my district and state are competing with one another to associate themselves as closely as possible with the Very Stable Genius. All I have to say to any of them is "stop it." Ted Cruz was willing to write an essay for Time magazine that had a "you-have-to-hand-it-to-him-he's-making-good-on-his-=campaign-promises-and-people-are-happy" tone.
No, principles and ideas are all LITD is ever going to defend, beginning with the Three Pillars.
God never disappoints. Ordered liberty is essential if America is going to be recognizable. A good or service is worth what buyer and seller agree that it's worth. Period. No other entity, certainly not government, has any business being a party to that agreement. There are only two genders, and their distinguishing characteristics, when harnessed in a Godly fashion, are noble. It is impossible by definition for two people of the same gender to be married. Using government to redistribute wealth is tyranny. Systemic bigotry in 2018 is negligible. Appeasement of nation-states that have declared themselves to be enemies of the United States is always foolish.
That's all. Some people pretty consistently uphold all or at least most of these principles, and admiration is due them. But they are fallible and will surely disappoint.
The way forward for anyone concerned about our current juncture is clear: defend the principles and ideas, and be ready to point out instances where someone who seemed to understand them gets wobbly.
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