Fashion >> Logic
Toxic beliefs are persistent
The LA meetup on Saturday, 12/23 at 10 AM will be at the Green Door. I got the name wrong the other day, but the address is correct. 295 S. Robertson, near the intersections with Gregory.
Jewish organizations are sending me frantic emails telling me that we need to overcome antisemitism. They claim that the way to do this is with education. I doubt that this is correct.
There are many beliefs out there that I think are toxic and out of touch with reality. “Queers for Palestine!” “Keep Government’s Hands Off My Medicare!” And so on. Antisemitism is just one crazy belief among many that have caught on with young elites.
Rob Henderson uses the term “luxury beliefs” to describe beliefs that are impractical and harmful unless you have the affluence to afford them. I prefer the term fashionable beliefs.
A fashionable belief is one that will raise, or at least maintain, your status among your peers, regardless of whether it makes sense. For example, I speculate that young, affluent teenagers are increasingly declaring themselves LGBTQ+ because it is fashionable to do so.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump is not qualified to be on the ballot. To me, the logic of this ruling could not be flimsier. If anything, its reasoning is so twisted that it should disqualify the judges who voted for it. But it will be a fashionable ruling, at least in some quarters.
I see Mr. Trump’s opponents as stoking unreasonable fears about another Trump Presidency. At the same time, I see his supporters as failing to realize that there are better alternatives in the Republican field. But I have no hope that fashions will change. It looks to me as if the most likely outcome in 2024 is a Trump victory, followed by massive street demonstrations, strikes, and other forms of disruption (dare I say “insurrection?”)
A couple of years ago, Wall Street experienced the phenomenon of weak businesses, most notoriously GameStop, becoming fashionable to mobs of investors. Professional money managers heaped scorn on these “meme stocks.” But I wonder if today’s “magnificent seven” companies are not meme stocks. Are they good investments at current price/earnings ratios, or are they just fashionable to buy?
Andrey Mir has sold me on the idea that what I think of as rational, scientific thinking comes from the way that our minds are shaped by reading. But as the written word gives way to electronic media, we are going to retreat from logic, objectivity, and the pursuit of truth.
Reason will not overcome antisemitism. We are in the process of becoming a society where fashion is more powerful than logic.
Have a nice day.
Kling wrote:
"I see (Trump's) supporters as failing to realize there are better alternatives in the Republican field."
Were DeSantis looking to wrap up the nomination by March, he would be facing the exact same lawfare attacks Trump is facing- the Rubicon had been crossed by the Democrats over 6 years ago. Even worse for the GOP, however, is this- without Trump on the ballot, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are not competitive states- all three lean 4%+ to the Democrats and states like Iowa and Ohio still lean 1-2% to the Democrats. Had Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, or Marco Rubio been the GOP candidate in 2016, Hillary Clinton would today be finishing her second term as President. The Democrats have a lock on the Electoral College that only Trump was able to pick, and only the one time. If Haley or DeSantis is the nominee, Biden or his replacement will win the election by simply holding all the states Biden won in 2020 with the possible exceptions of Arizona and Georgia.
Yes- I also believe DeSantis would make a far superior President to Trump, but I don't see how he wins a general election given the massive edge the Democrats already hold in a fair election, and we now have massive mail-in-voting that only enhances that edge.
Antisemitism never died in America. People who have made antisemitic remarks in my presence did so not realizing that I am Jewish. I think my experience is fairly typical. Antisemitic remarks don't particularly bother me, as I figure they go with the territory, and in at least one instance I recall a fellow tribe member and I sharing amusement over an antisemitic comment made in our presence, but calling for the mass extermination of Jews crosses one of my red lines. I have to add that I am a bit annoyed about these wealthy Jewish donors withholding their donations to Harvard and other elite universities only after the events of October 7th and the testimony of those 3 women college presidents. I stopped donating to my alma mater at least a decade ago, and I made it clear at the time that antisemitism was my top concern, though I also mentioned the social justice crap the alumni magazine was peddling. Where have these people been?