I’m receptive to the idea that it’s a pointless partisan exercise, gilded with fake pageantry and dignity. But in light of the fact that the corrosion of civil society is partially aided by the cynicism concerning the same, I wanted to watch and listen.
The first 12 minutes roughly was about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There is a large amount of agreement between our leaders on both sides, and the president ably pointed it out. I have deep concerns that these sanctions are simply going to hurt Russian citizens, and not Putin or his enablers. I don’t think war is ever preferable, but we shouldn’t think economic sanctions are cost-free.
I have to say that I don’t have strong opinions about traditional economics, but when the president turned to domestic policy, a little voice kept replying, “I don’t know if that’s going to work.”
There’s an inherent tension it seems, between economic growth, and the shift to renewable energy. From a moral perspective, I think policymakers should simply do the latter, and absorb the consequences, in terms of public spending on social support. I’m not of the opinion that climate change concerns are exaggerated, or fictitious. In fact, the problem is urgent. There aren’t enough silly progressive pieties to wish this away. We have to do better than cultural sniping. On the other hand, a good number of folks have decided that not getting a life-saving vaccine to “own the libs” is preferable to reality. Clearly, we have a long way to go.
But speaking of silly progressive pieties, the most significant is the idea that abortion is health care, and that it is morally neutral, or even good. The grisly reality is the destruction of an innocent person. It’s the gravest moral crime against our common human dignity.
The rest of sexual politics—including everything that attaches to “gender theory” or gender ideology—is actually related to abortion. Abortion is actually firstly an affront to the social dimension of human dignity, because it destroys families, the foundation of society. It’s a strike against the notion of non-negotiable obligations to others. We’re seeing sexual politics play out this way, because we have become convinced of the idea that only individual self-actualization matters.
I’m not the one to tell a bunch of people that their sexual self-expression is the shirking of obligation, and the fractured attempt to find a truer identity that has been lost in trauma and pain, but someone should.
The rest of Biden’s speech was the usual laundry list of policy promises. Someone described it as “deft,” but I don’t apply that word to things that bore me.
Which is not to say that I found the Republican response any better. It was vicious, partisan, and pointless. And much too long. I would immediately vote for her opponent, out of spite, and simply to avoid a speech like that again. I’m glad I don’t live in Iowa. If that’s “Iowa nice,” I’ll pass.
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