Shortly after Donald Trump was elected, I sent out an email to the effect that American society was coming apart.
And it’s only gotten much worse.
When people of a particular political persuasion are the victims of violent assault, the media downplay it and half of social media suggests they had it coming.
Absurd smears are leveled at dissident voices. (Even some libertarians, to their shame, have jumped on this bandwagon.)
Ideological and cultural differences have reached a point at which huge pluralities simply loathe each other. What one group considers holy and praiseworthy the other considers abominable and deplorable.
This was not always the case. Check out an episode of the old show What’s My Line? on YouTube. Panelist Bennett Cerf was one of the founders of Random House publishing. He was a left-liberal by the standards of his day. But he was gentlemanly, well dressed, charming, affable, courteous, well mannered — the very opposite of his counterparts today.
And he still believed in that now discarded idea: the honorable disagreement. He could call Ayn Rand a “brilliant woman” while still disagreeing with her “cockamamie philosophy.”
Whatever political disagreements there were, Americans shared quite a bit in common culturally, morally, and in the most basic standards of civilized behavior.
That’s all gone now.
And COVID has dramatically exacerbated the problem.
The ruling elite and the millions of ordinary Americans who follow them uncritically view their opponents as incorrigible morons for not cheerfully carrying out the orders of their betters. The vaccine passport programs have nothing to do with health — vaccinated people can also transmit the virus, after all — and everything to do with revenge.
The point is to punish heretics and unbelievers. It is punitive only. The “expert” class and their lackeys despise people unlike themselves.
I have to admit: even though I knew the status quo — the low-intensity civil war brewing beneath the surface in America — could not go on forever, I am surprised at how quickly things are changing.
I see two groups: one, full of ideological imperialists, wants to impose its vision of the world on everyone, destroying the careers and reputations of anyone who resists.
The other group, which is plenty divided and certainly not without its own problems, prefers not to be lectured to, demonized, or ruined.
Everyone once took for granted that the goal was to seize the federal apparatus and impose their vision on the country.
How about just abandoning this crazy, inhumane task?
Why not admit the differences are irreconcilable, and simply go our separate ways?
Is this not obviously the most humane solution?
Or is there some expectation that somehow, down the road, we’ll all be reconciled?
How?
I’m serious about that question: how would this ever happen?
To the contrary, it’s only going to get worse.
Pointlessly forcing these irreconcilable parties to continue along in this way is what normal people would call “extremist.”
Radical decentralization and secession, on the other hand, is what our betters call “extremist.” Yet these are the obvious and humane solution.
I realize that the idea of secession is not to be found on the 3×5 card of allowable opinion — but then nothing sensible ever is.
It’s the kind of idea that I’ll bet would have horrified even many people who subscribe to this very newsletter.
But now: who can deny that it’s the only answer?
You think you’re going to convert tens of millions of evidence-resistant COVID crazies?
They’re no more reasonable on any other issue, I’m sorry to report.
If you’re the kind of person who evaluates causes on their merits, and might even sometimes support ideas even when they’re not approved by the New York Times, then you’ll enjoy what goes on inside the Tom Woods Show Elite, my indispensable private group:
••••
The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)
••••
Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.
••••
Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
••••
Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Leave a Reply