Brooks ask the right questions. So where are we headed? As an advocate and journalist I will continue to strive for excellence and I refuse to accept the “Trump standard of acceptable behavior.”
In every war, nations come to resemble their enemies, so I suppose it’s normal that the anti-Trump movement would come to resemble the pro-Trump movement. But it’s not good. I’ve noticed a lot of young people look at the monotonous daily hysteria of we anti-Trumpers and they find it silly.
This isn’t just a struggle over a president. It’s a struggle over what rules we’re going to play by after Trump. Are we all going to descend permanently into the Trump standard of acceptable behavior?
Or, are we going to restore the distinction between excellence and mediocrity, truth and a lie? Are we going to insist on the difference between a genuine expert and an ill-informed blow hard? Are we going to restore the distinction between those institutions like the Congressional Budget Office that operate by professional standards and speak with legitimate authority, and the propaganda mills that don’t?
There’s a hierarchy of excellence in every sphere. There’s a huge difference between William F. Buckley and Sean Hannity, between the reporters at this newspaper and a rumor-spreader. Part of this struggle is to maintain those distinctions, not to contribute to their evisceration.
Thanks for the comment Kirk. Hope all is well with you.
For many the urge to tune out is getting stronger, but I hope it does not become the default position. Please continue to write and hold the bastards accountable.
Fish together this spring?
He’s correct. I mentioned to my wife that the CNN home page had, as its lead story for almost 48 hours, Trump’s insane quote about being “like, really smart.” Their insistence about the importance of this quote made me ignore it, and made me quickly ignore the quote. And didn’t visit CNN for about 3 additional straight days. There are so many people in this nation who cannot manage their bank account, claiming to understand the federal budget. So many people who think their speeding ticket is “entrapment” who think they can comment on the minutiae of federal policy, it is all getting easier to tune out and instead, simply support the organizations that matter, who are taking the fight to the federal courts.