Living up to one’s responsibilities takes strength, which is why the median American woman does so *far more* than the median American man. This is the start of a periodic series.
Wow. This is spot on. I was thinking about how Biden has been portrayed as feeble and weak yet in his "frailty" he ended up doing something incredibly strong. Reminds me of the elders who would purposely fall behind and disappear as their tribe migrated because they knew tribe survival was at stake. Which candidate in a previous election started the whole "anti-wishy-washy" thing, making the strength of admitting one was wrong and reevaluating a position into a weakness? As an educator, I find this the most insidious of "Maga-manliness" criteria. This whole doubling down on what one knows in one's heart to be wrong just to avoid saying I was wrong.
I love this Billy, but one observation I would make is that it’s not just the rightward extremists who cast virtue aside in pursuit of power and ideology but the extreme left falls victim to this as well. Consider the court case in Canada where the trans woman sues the Muslim immigrant because she cannot in good conscience serve her (that is wax her testicles) in her waxing salon (pretty clear reflection of your “MAGA” virtues #1 and #3). “Blue MAGA” is definitely a thing.
I think instead of casting this purely in a left/right frame it’s about whether you find virtue or power/ideology to be the governor of one’s life. (I’ll readily concede that this phenomenon is more apparent in the right, but I don’t think it’s entirely absent in the left is is something that should be guarded against.)
Agree with that 100 percent. But the "leaders" of "the left" (i didn't use the left/right frame, you did. I used the word conservative twice I think, with quotes.) aren't advocating for the "the court case in Canada where the trans woman sues the Muslim immigrant because she cannot in good conscience serve her (that is wax her testicles) in her waxing salon." My frame is men and women. And it's not even really political. Also, this article is about America, not Canada. I don't mean to poke at you. I would argue that no "man of the left" has actually challenged "the left" in Polk County like I did as an elected official and suffered consequences for it. (It wasn't really "the left," but people think of it that way.) I'm acutely aware of what living up to my responsibilities means. If I fail to do so, point it out to me.
Wow. This is spot on. I was thinking about how Biden has been portrayed as feeble and weak yet in his "frailty" he ended up doing something incredibly strong. Reminds me of the elders who would purposely fall behind and disappear as their tribe migrated because they knew tribe survival was at stake. Which candidate in a previous election started the whole "anti-wishy-washy" thing, making the strength of admitting one was wrong and reevaluating a position into a weakness? As an educator, I find this the most insidious of "Maga-manliness" criteria. This whole doubling down on what one knows in one's heart to be wrong just to avoid saying I was wrong.
I love this Billy, but one observation I would make is that it’s not just the rightward extremists who cast virtue aside in pursuit of power and ideology but the extreme left falls victim to this as well. Consider the court case in Canada where the trans woman sues the Muslim immigrant because she cannot in good conscience serve her (that is wax her testicles) in her waxing salon (pretty clear reflection of your “MAGA” virtues #1 and #3). “Blue MAGA” is definitely a thing.
I think instead of casting this purely in a left/right frame it’s about whether you find virtue or power/ideology to be the governor of one’s life. (I’ll readily concede that this phenomenon is more apparent in the right, but I don’t think it’s entirely absent in the left is is something that should be guarded against.)
Agree with that 100 percent. But the "leaders" of "the left" (i didn't use the left/right frame, you did. I used the word conservative twice I think, with quotes.) aren't advocating for the "the court case in Canada where the trans woman sues the Muslim immigrant because she cannot in good conscience serve her (that is wax her testicles) in her waxing salon." My frame is men and women. And it's not even really political. Also, this article is about America, not Canada. I don't mean to poke at you. I would argue that no "man of the left" has actually challenged "the left" in Polk County like I did as an elected official and suffered consequences for it. (It wasn't really "the left," but people think of it that way.) I'm acutely aware of what living up to my responsibilities means. If I fail to do so, point it out to me.