When a few people in my orbit reacted to the death of Her Maj flippantly I felt kind of sad for them. Leftish liberalism’s failure to grasp why certain things are felt as sacred by less ‘enlightened’ people is a revealing weakness. No wonder its most fervent torch bearers are so miserable all the time.
That Janan Ganesh makes a good point about America's weird and insanely boring racial obsession but I've seen a lot online that makes it seem as if Britain is importing it. One really vivid example was some BBC chick talking about "white fragility" in a British accent, which almost made me die of embarrassment. What do you think, Ed? You guys _did_ import massive George Floyd protests for no reason.
Though to be fair, the race obsession in America is mostly the domain of upper-middle class white liberals plus a subset of creepy activist-brained blacks of all classes. So it's not totally unavoidable here. But it nonetheless is really, really bad in many white-collar work environments. I'm just happy I don't have to work with any American companies in the course of my own trade.
Random thoughts and observations to go with your weekly round-up:
A number of friends and family here in the US commented they saw in the Queen parallels with their own mothers and grandmothers. The Queen was the living personification of a bundled set of values, including fortitude, consideration, stoicism, duty, charity, and unfashionable to point it out these days, strongly rooted in late Victorian Christianity, but which allowed her to resonate with people across all sorts of backgrounds and origins who had been raised in the same metaphysical worldview and whose lives were also greatly shaped by great world wars and depressions and family tragedies. With her passing is surely the last of this worldview and everyone privately knows something great has been lost.
The inherent challenge of conservatism is that it's not and has never been about big ideas. That's not the point of conservatism. When a liberal accuses a conservative of not having bold radical ideas, the liberal will be right. But the liberal also doesn't understand why it's besides the point. The conservative just wants to be left alone. Which doesn't require bold new ideas. And the conservative doesn't want change for the sake of bold new ideas. Conservatives can be radical and come up with bold ideas but those are always in reaction to great crises (Thatcher's economic revolution, for example, was a repudiation of post-war quasi socialism and state interference in the marketplaces). This inherent phenomena is also why wings of conservatives who agitate for more reactionary responses also get frustrated with moderate conservatism who are happy to just be brakes against change rather than forces of change, even if the former has a point that it's only a matter of time before the progressives get back into power and push forward even more change.
Obviously commentary this week has been dominated by tributes to the Queen (I particularly like Sullivan's take on her regarding the modern scourge of narcissism, thank you for bringing it to my attention); I suspect after the funeral more attention will be paid to Charles and the sort of monarch he will be. I hope he will use his influence, subtly, to nudge Britain's leaders on making our built environment more beautiful, in line with his sensible ideas on vernacular architecture and the horror of modernism.
By the by, did you notice how the most eloquent official tributes to the Queen by far were those from the Elysee palace? I regard this as yet further evidence of my theory that the French yearn deeply to submit to the authority of a monarch, and that out of courtesy to our friends across the Sleeve we should extend an invitation to join the Commonwealth.
This has to be my favorite newsletter. I don’t always have time to read everything, but the weekly round-up is a great overview, and makes me glad I subscribed. (Thanks again, Cynthia!)
I want to comment on everything, but I won’t. David French had a link to a video on Twitter (of all places) that showed the support the U.S. received when the Star Spangled Banner was played at the Changing of the Guards right after 9/11. I was already welling up (as I am now, thinking about it), but then I saw British people waving small U.S. flags and wiping tears from their own eyes.
All leaders have flaws, but I still miss Ronald Reagan. He was the one president whose speeches I never missed. They were positive, uplifting, and often quite funny. He gave us hope and strength, as a people and as a country, despite all the complaining on the left. He didn’t embarrass us with foreign leaders, and he didn’t make a fool of himself by chasing after young women who worked for him, or otherwise. Plus, he liked horses!!
Diversity in the U.S. has become a contest, and no one is winning. I’m tired of reading about it, and I’m tired of feeling as though I should make sure I’m behaving *properly* around everyone who isn’t considered *white.* I don’t live in an area where there are a lot of blacks, but I’ve met quite a few, and they were MUCH nicer and easier to be around than the people who are constantly lecturing us about how racist we all are.
Sullivan’s piece was the best piece I read on the Queen’s passing. He managed to put into words why I liked the Queen (note: I’m wasn’t born a Brit) and why I believe the monarchy is an important institution worth preserving.
When a few people in my orbit reacted to the death of Her Maj flippantly I felt kind of sad for them. Leftish liberalism’s failure to grasp why certain things are felt as sacred by less ‘enlightened’ people is a revealing weakness. No wonder its most fervent torch bearers are so miserable all the time.
God Save the King
That Janan Ganesh makes a good point about America's weird and insanely boring racial obsession but I've seen a lot online that makes it seem as if Britain is importing it. One really vivid example was some BBC chick talking about "white fragility" in a British accent, which almost made me die of embarrassment. What do you think, Ed? You guys _did_ import massive George Floyd protests for no reason.
Though to be fair, the race obsession in America is mostly the domain of upper-middle class white liberals plus a subset of creepy activist-brained blacks of all classes. So it's not totally unavoidable here. But it nonetheless is really, really bad in many white-collar work environments. I'm just happy I don't have to work with any American companies in the course of my own trade.
Unilever is a Anglo-Dutch merger so in the Netherlands it is celebrated as a Dutch company.
That distinction between diversity and cosmopolitanism is fantastic. I must remember it!
Random thoughts and observations to go with your weekly round-up:
A number of friends and family here in the US commented they saw in the Queen parallels with their own mothers and grandmothers. The Queen was the living personification of a bundled set of values, including fortitude, consideration, stoicism, duty, charity, and unfashionable to point it out these days, strongly rooted in late Victorian Christianity, but which allowed her to resonate with people across all sorts of backgrounds and origins who had been raised in the same metaphysical worldview and whose lives were also greatly shaped by great world wars and depressions and family tragedies. With her passing is surely the last of this worldview and everyone privately knows something great has been lost.
The inherent challenge of conservatism is that it's not and has never been about big ideas. That's not the point of conservatism. When a liberal accuses a conservative of not having bold radical ideas, the liberal will be right. But the liberal also doesn't understand why it's besides the point. The conservative just wants to be left alone. Which doesn't require bold new ideas. And the conservative doesn't want change for the sake of bold new ideas. Conservatives can be radical and come up with bold ideas but those are always in reaction to great crises (Thatcher's economic revolution, for example, was a repudiation of post-war quasi socialism and state interference in the marketplaces). This inherent phenomena is also why wings of conservatives who agitate for more reactionary responses also get frustrated with moderate conservatism who are happy to just be brakes against change rather than forces of change, even if the former has a point that it's only a matter of time before the progressives get back into power and push forward even more change.
Great roundup, Ed.
Obviously commentary this week has been dominated by tributes to the Queen (I particularly like Sullivan's take on her regarding the modern scourge of narcissism, thank you for bringing it to my attention); I suspect after the funeral more attention will be paid to Charles and the sort of monarch he will be. I hope he will use his influence, subtly, to nudge Britain's leaders on making our built environment more beautiful, in line with his sensible ideas on vernacular architecture and the horror of modernism.
By the by, did you notice how the most eloquent official tributes to the Queen by far were those from the Elysee palace? I regard this as yet further evidence of my theory that the French yearn deeply to submit to the authority of a monarch, and that out of courtesy to our friends across the Sleeve we should extend an invitation to join the Commonwealth.
God Save the King!
This has to be my favorite newsletter. I don’t always have time to read everything, but the weekly round-up is a great overview, and makes me glad I subscribed. (Thanks again, Cynthia!)
I want to comment on everything, but I won’t. David French had a link to a video on Twitter (of all places) that showed the support the U.S. received when the Star Spangled Banner was played at the Changing of the Guards right after 9/11. I was already welling up (as I am now, thinking about it), but then I saw British people waving small U.S. flags and wiping tears from their own eyes.
All leaders have flaws, but I still miss Ronald Reagan. He was the one president whose speeches I never missed. They were positive, uplifting, and often quite funny. He gave us hope and strength, as a people and as a country, despite all the complaining on the left. He didn’t embarrass us with foreign leaders, and he didn’t make a fool of himself by chasing after young women who worked for him, or otherwise. Plus, he liked horses!!
Diversity in the U.S. has become a contest, and no one is winning. I’m tired of reading about it, and I’m tired of feeling as though I should make sure I’m behaving *properly* around everyone who isn’t considered *white.* I don’t live in an area where there are a lot of blacks, but I’ve met quite a few, and they were MUCH nicer and easier to be around than the people who are constantly lecturing us about how racist we all are.
Sullivan’s piece was the best piece I read on the Queen’s passing. He managed to put into words why I liked the Queen (note: I’m wasn’t born a Brit) and why I believe the monarchy is an important institution worth preserving.
Janan is spot on, as always.
Have a great Sunday Ed, thanks for sharing.