Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Jonah has an interesting piece (from yesterday) on NRO. Havta take issue with it, though. To wit:
Jonah,
Enjoyed your column (re Culture War), as always. But I have to take issue with its general theme. I understand your cautionary point that we shouldn't get all giddy about our progress in the "war," and thereby risk losing the focus that's got us so far in the first place.
However, the title of Brian's piece was, after all, "We're Not Losing the Culture Wars Anymore." And I've read commentary on Brian's piece that reflects that less-than-triumphant understanding of what he wrote. And I agree with that rather tepid assessment.
I am also, however, heartened by it all the same. It's a point I've made to friends and commented on via my own little corner of the blogosphere.
The crucial thing here, and I think Brian's point, is that we needed a status check of our progress, and should take some well-deserved inspiration from the recently revealed fact that conservative progress is being made, and that more is possible through these new organs available to us. That is something to note, and to celebrate: Big Mo has moved to our side, and knowing that it's possible for us to provide an effective challenge to the left will continue to build confidence and an enthusiasm not available to those who think there's no chance of success.
To stalwarts like William F. Buckley, et al, this was never a problem. But malaise (regarding political progress) has been a dominant theme in the hearts of the everyday conservatives for a long time. Morale was low because the Conservative Street found itself fighting a sometimes-less-than-organized retreat.
And it is that, the hopelessness arising from, among other things, never seeing a conservative point of view fairly portrayed in the mainstream media, which has now changed. That change has now been presented, as it should be, as a rallying cry of hope. It's not starry-eyed optimism; it's hard-nosed refocusing. We've been demonstrably shown that, as we'd always kind of known, when our ideas are placed on an even (i.e. fair) battlefield with those of the left, our ideas prevail.
That's all we needed: a reasonable chance at a fair fight. The merit of our ideas will do the rest. We're experiencing the exhilaration that is the natural consequence of our recently having had the chance to take a swipe at the bloated underbelly of the liberal behemoth. And that belly is soft.
The fact that we've been able to make so much progress, while at the same time so massively outgunned, is a vastly hopeful sign. That's what's being celebrated now, not phantasms of false victory.
And who knows? Maybe someday we'll actually get good reports of progress by the Horowitz Division against the Ivy League?
As to the South Park Republicans: you're right that this is not the best that conservatism has to offer. Nor is it the final form we'd want it to take. But I'm thrilled at the popularity of the show (and the attitude) because it's an excellent barometer indicating that, at last, the ideological taboos against ridiculing the left's icons has been thrown off. It's an in-your-face rejection of the glass ceiling we'd allowed low morale to impose on our thinking and what we say in polite (or not so polite) company. It's a bare-knuckle reflection that conservative (or anti-Left, at least) minds have been liberated.
And who knows what kind of dynamism that will release?
Regards,
...
Jonah,
Enjoyed your column (re Culture War), as always. But I have to take issue with its general theme. I understand your cautionary point that we shouldn't get all giddy about our progress in the "war," and thereby risk losing the focus that's got us so far in the first place.
However, the title of Brian's piece was, after all, "We're Not Losing the Culture Wars Anymore." And I've read commentary on Brian's piece that reflects that less-than-triumphant understanding of what he wrote. And I agree with that rather tepid assessment.
I am also, however, heartened by it all the same. It's a point I've made to friends and commented on via my own little corner of the blogosphere.
The crucial thing here, and I think Brian's point, is that we needed a status check of our progress, and should take some well-deserved inspiration from the recently revealed fact that conservative progress is being made, and that more is possible through these new organs available to us. That is something to note, and to celebrate: Big Mo has moved to our side, and knowing that it's possible for us to provide an effective challenge to the left will continue to build confidence and an enthusiasm not available to those who think there's no chance of success.
To stalwarts like William F. Buckley, et al, this was never a problem. But malaise (regarding political progress) has been a dominant theme in the hearts of the everyday conservatives for a long time. Morale was low because the Conservative Street found itself fighting a sometimes-less-than-organized retreat.
And it is that, the hopelessness arising from, among other things, never seeing a conservative point of view fairly portrayed in the mainstream media, which has now changed. That change has now been presented, as it should be, as a rallying cry of hope. It's not starry-eyed optimism; it's hard-nosed refocusing. We've been demonstrably shown that, as we'd always kind of known, when our ideas are placed on an even (i.e. fair) battlefield with those of the left, our ideas prevail.
That's all we needed: a reasonable chance at a fair fight. The merit of our ideas will do the rest. We're experiencing the exhilaration that is the natural consequence of our recently having had the chance to take a swipe at the bloated underbelly of the liberal behemoth. And that belly is soft.
The fact that we've been able to make so much progress, while at the same time so massively outgunned, is a vastly hopeful sign. That's what's being celebrated now, not phantasms of false victory.
And who knows? Maybe someday we'll actually get good reports of progress by the Horowitz Division against the Ivy League?
As to the South Park Republicans: you're right that this is not the best that conservatism has to offer. Nor is it the final form we'd want it to take. But I'm thrilled at the popularity of the show (and the attitude) because it's an excellent barometer indicating that, at last, the ideological taboos against ridiculing the left's icons has been thrown off. It's an in-your-face rejection of the glass ceiling we'd allowed low morale to impose on our thinking and what we say in polite (or not so polite) company. It's a bare-knuckle reflection that conservative (or anti-Left, at least) minds have been liberated.
And who knows what kind of dynamism that will release?
Regards,
...
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