Carrying On From Last Night

[poliphilo]

It feels as though all the energy has drained from the left while the right is buzzing.

After she interviewed the sparking young alt-right guy- Milo Yiannopoulos- on Channel 4 News last night, Cathy Newman turned to a young lefty activist. Where Milo was all ideas, ideas, ideas the lefty woman began her statement, "Um, I mean..." and the rest was similarly flaccid. One side has the wit and daring and the other has the jargon. It's no contest.

The left has occupied the intellectual and cultural high ground for a long time now and has grown lazy. Its wisdom is the received wisdom- a set of unexamined doctrines- passed as a package from brain to brain. It despises the opposition and no longer expects to be attacked by smart people- and when that happens it is totally unprepared.

Comments

[tagryn]

There's a danger in extrapolating from anecdotal evidence. MY has a lot of charisma and isn't afraid to mix it up, which can be difficult to confront the first time if one is used to more staid, academic back-and-forth.

I think the Left will find their energy again as outrage accumulates over this measure and that measure from the Trump administration (regardless of whether it is merited or not). After eight years where the executive branch has been an ally for the most part, it'll take some time for animus to grow again.

[topum.livejournal.com]

I agree. We will find the energy again. What is happening now is just the cleansing fire we needed for a while unfortunately.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

No doubt the left will come back- hopefully chastened by defeat. I think there's a cycle in these things.