Apocalyptic Pessimism — Or A Big Beautiful World? April 26, 2021April 25, 2021 Give it up for conservative David Brooks . . . . . . When asked in late January if politics is more about “enacting good public policy” or “ensuring the survival of the country as we know it,” 51 percent of Trump Republicans said survival; only 19 percent said policy. The level of Republican pessimism is off the charts. A February Economist-YouGov poll asked Americans which statement is closest to their view: “It’s a big, beautiful world, mostly full of good people, and we must find a way to embrace each other and not allow ourselves to become isolated” or “Our lives are threatened by terrorists, criminals and illegal immigrants, and our priority should be to protect ourselves.” Over 75 percent of Biden voters chose “a big, beautiful world.” Two-thirds of Trump voters chose “our lives are threatened.” This level of catastrophism, nearly despair, has fed into an amped-up warrior mentality. “The decent know that they must become ruthless. They must become the stuff of nightmares,” Jack Kerwick writes in the Trumpian magazine American Greatness. “The good man must spare not a moment to train, in both body and mind, to become the monster that he may need to become in order to slay the monsters that prey upon the vulnerable.” . . . Liberal democracy is based on a level of optimism, faith and a sense of security. It’s based on confidence in the humanistic project: that through conversation and encounter, we can deeply know each other across differences; that most people are seeking the good with different opinions about how to get there; that society is not a zero-sum war, but a conversation and a negotiation. . . . [A]pocalyptic pessimism has a tendency to deteriorate into nihilism, and people eventually turn to the strong man to salve the darkness and chaos inside themselves. → Read the whole thing? Share with your Trump friends and family? Our cities are not burning! The economy has not collapsed! Your first $400,000 of income will not be taxed more heavily! No one’s coming for your guns! We love you — and share so much common ground! Speaking of common ground . . . what fun listening to John Boehner’s new book. How one longs for a Republican party one could disagree with on many issues, yet still sit down to have a beer with. BONUS: It is a big beautiful world: Betty Lou? You bought yaw last pair o’ shoes!!!