No Neutrality

The American Mind ^ | 08/23/21 | Matthew J. Peterson

[PoliticallyShort]

There is no “neutrality” for American business. We either band together or get swept away by the woke tide.

The substance of political discourse today rarely revolves around particular matters of policy: instead, public political debate consists of delegitimizing the other side. You and everyone else is called a fascist and a racist if you hold a position contrary to the ruling class. As I said a few years ago, what was at stake in nearly every attack on Trump was “not a normal matter of policy but the legitimacy of the Trump presidency itself and its power to set policy.”

After five years of non-stop investigations, Trump, who will still likely be prosecuted if the opportunity arises, is banned from social media. The most powerful institutions in our nation, including the national security complex itself, are now busy delegitimizing his supporters. The phrase “American Taliban” was trending on Twitter as a name for Trump supporters even as Kabul was overrun. Figures like former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden, a retired US Air Force four-star general, publicly echo the sentiment.

But the United States of America is a big country. To treat half of the citizenry as if their opinion is illegitimate and get away with it requires two things: firm control of most major institutions, especially in leadership positions, and the continual expenditure of an enormous amount of political, cultural, and commercial capital.

By declaring total political war against everyday Americans years ago, the ruling class risked “the legitimacy of the administrative state itself.” Further, “the legitimacy of the old media as a whole” hung in the balance. This stage is now over. Perhaps at no time in our history has the government or the media been so distrusted.

[Fungi]

Great post. Thank you.

[libertylover]

Perhaps at no time in our history has the government or the media been so distrusted.

When we blame Biden and his administration, the military, the CIA and NSA, don't forget to include the media, especially the NYT and WP and the alphabet soup of TV "news".