to make the arguments worth arguing against. Where is today’s William F. Buckley of conservatism? Where is today’s John Kenneth Galbraith of liberalism? Where’s the Republican Ronald Reagan? Where’s the Democratic Tip O’Neill? Where’s the Milton Friedman extolling free markets? Where’s the John Maynard Keynes critiquing free markets’ effects? Where, especially, is the Martin Luther King, Jr., making the current protests peaceful, dignified, and powerfully effective?
3. A disconnect I wish we could make...
If only we could disconnect ourselves from the Internet and its earthquake leveling and tornado flattening of all our structures of rational discourse. No hierarchies of thought, no norms of debate, no frameworks of logical deliberation can be erected on social media’s shaky ground in the howling wind of viral content. The Internet’s pandemonium keeps the voices of reason and sense from rising above the clamor of the mob. Everyone is handed a bullhorn and no one is given a pulpit. Leadership is trivialized by the Internet. Its tide of vulgarity sweeps away leaders of every kind and deposits them beyond the reach of public attention. There is no one to make the arguments worth arguing for. There’s no one even
And where are we without these leaders? Well, look around at America’s streets, at America’s businesses, and, indeed, at America’s hospitals... Without leadership, we’re right here where we are now. THE STATE OF AMERICA TODAY From the American Consequences Staff Here at American Consequences , we respect and support the rights of all Americans to free speech – no matter what they say and no matter whether we agree or disagree. We also respect and support the right of everyone to be free from the manifest injustice of racism. But we frankly admit that we have few, if any, of the right answers to the question that is most relevant in America right now: How do we create a freer, more equitable, more prosperous American society... and continue the progress that America has made in the past century, the past decade, and perhaps, even the past year? We do not unequivocally support the demands of the protestors. We also do not unequivocally support the state and its authorities and their responses to the protests. We do not even unequivocally agree with each other, much of the time. Our sympathy will always lie with individuals – rather than with institutions, identity groups, or cultural categories.
American Consequences
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