Here's another conversation with Georgetown political-science prof Joshua Mitchell, this one from July of last year. Again, I'd recommend taking in just the first fifteen minutes and seeing if anything lands.
For me there's a host of new angles and helpful framings, including Mitchell's idea that "identity politics" (Mitchell's preferred term) is the latest in a line of "incomplete religions" that includes Marxism and the French Revolution, all of which are characterized by identifying the innocent and the guilty, which, to Mitchell, is a fundamentally Christian trait but which here, in these secular systems, is applied incompletely (e.g., no redemption in social justice/privilege theory for the scapegoated category of white male).
You don't need to be a Christian or a god-believer of any sort to appreciate Mitchell's approach, which fundamentally is that, in the "complete" idea-system of Christianity, guilt is carried by each of us (this is the original sin concept; the Fall; the Garden); there are no innocent. We are all, each of us, responsible. (This can apply in a secular idea-system as well.) So social justice's grasping at scapegoats is a desperate attempt to secure innocence (very Old Testament idea; the literal goat upon which the society's sins are placed, and then that goat is forced out of the settlement, carrying away the sin and securing the society's redemption/innocence).
Mitchell's approach strikes me as incredibly powerful and, probably, the most correct and most complete analysis I've come across in our collective five years of study. (The book in which he codifies all this, though he talks about having thought more about it since then, was published back in 2020; the paperback in 2022.)
Fundamentally, the human animal is both spirit and flesh. We cannot exist without a "religion" of some kind, which is to say, some idea-system that clarifies good and bad; guilt and innocence; the condition of the spirit. Indeed, Mitchell points out what most of us have long recognized, which is that the U.S. (and the West more broadly) does, indeed, have a state religion, and that religion is/has been Wokeness (or however we want to name it).
https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/joshua-mitchell-the-roots-of-the?utm_source=publication-search
Hi everyone, I haven't been active in Solid Ground for a while, but I am still alive and kicking! I now work as personal assistant to a mind-bendingly weird and diva-esque artist-lip-syncher-performer named Fiona Blueberry. She is blissfully clueless about politics and seems to be completely unaware of the culture wars. Working with her is a breath of fresh air. If you need a mood lift, I encourage you to watch this video we made together. Happy 4th, everyone! Wishing you fun/love/peace on this holiday. :) www.fionablueberry.com
Our very own @YayRain (after having imbibed some golden nectar), shares with us yet one more problem with CRT....
Here's Emily Jasinsky's take on the kerfuffle around that clip of Jillian Michaels on Abby Phillip's CNN show. Posting what I would otherwise ignore as general b.s. political noise bc of Jasinsky's take, something that hadn't occurred to me, which is, as terrible as the "conversation" was, at least it was public conversation on a network that, in prior years, would never have allowed that viewpoint at the table.
That's interesting. Of course, they let it at the table only to do their level best to patronize and sneer at it, but still, it's at the table. That's a legitimate and significant change from preceding years when it comes to mainstream outlets.
Jasinsky also points out that, of all CNN's programming, Abby Phillip's show is the only one that consistently punches through to make headlines and to get passed around on social media. Which further suggests that Phillip is, of course, (not sure how I missed this) being intentionally combative--not for ideological reasons, but ...
