Utah is not a banana republic
I’ve been pretty hard on the US recently, but there are some slivers of hope. For instance, while the US as a whole is becoming a banana republic, Utah is one exception. In the current campaign for governor, both candidates agreed to run a civil campaign.
Razib Khan had an amusing tweet:
I’m kind of like that. I’m really shocked when I find out that people have lied to my face. Good to know that Mormons have a very high birth rate.
Lots of people are overreacting to the election. If Trump loses they’ll be overjoyed, and if he wins they’ll be on the edge of despair. Not me; I see Trump as a symptom of America’s banana republicization. Even if he loses, it won’t change the fact that our culture is deteriorating.
Look at the hysterical response from leftists when Senator Feinstein hugged Lindsey Graham after the recent Supreme Court hearings. I hate Graham’s personality as much as the next guy, but what kind of sick person criticizes a 87-year old woman for showing basic human decency to a Senate colleague? I mean just because you differ on politics . . .
Trump sees every one who disagrees with him as an evil person, but must we all become like Trump? Apparently so.
So I have little hope for our future, regardless of who’s elected.
Of course I’d much prefer Biden, who is as old school as Feinstein. But if the internet continues to degrade our culture then these polite old dinosaurs will soon pass from the scene. I’m so glad I won’t live to see the 2040s.
Here’s something else good about the US. While hate speech has gotten worse under Trump, I don’t see any big overall rise in racism in recent decades. In contrast, Asia is becoming a horror show. (And most Earthlings are Asian.) There’s a giant battle between a billion plus Muslims, a billion plus Han and a billion plus Hindus. Overt racism is increasing sharply across all of Asia. A WaPo article describes just one tiny example:
Rahul Gandhi, one of the key leaders of the Indian National Congress, recently tweeted that “the shameful truth is many Indians don’t consider Dalits [untouchables], Muslims and Tribals to be human.” The tweet sparked outrage, including from many liberals. The tweet came in the wake of the alleged gang rape and killing of a lower-caste young woman in the state of Uttar Pradesh by upper-caste men. Police officers burned the body of the victim in the hopes of making the story and justice vanish. The young woman’s parents were gagged from speaking to either the media or any political party, and members of the ruling party rallied in support of the accused. Gandhi hit a raw nerve and exposed the systemic hate against religious and caste minorities, whose women are the most vulnerable.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The human rights situation in “democratic” India has always been bad, but under Modi it’s becoming increasingly acceptable to be an outright bigot. Those who publicly support equality are physically attacked. And of course we all know about Uighurs in China and non-Muslims in the Middle East. Asia’s economy may grow, but the near-term future of human rights looks bleak. Hopefully, economic growth will eventually turn things around.
But that damn internet . . .
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22. October 2020 at 09:41
+1
Nailed it. Minus the ‘ in “Lot’s”
22. October 2020 at 11:18
Don’t be so optimistic. I’d take a bet that you live to see the 2040s.
22. October 2020 at 14:33
Skeptical. I make “Lot’s” of typos.
Danny, Not likely, and quite honestly I don’t want to.
And if I “win”, what do I get out of the bet? 🙂
22. October 2020 at 15:06
“Look at the hysterical response from leftists when Senator Feinstein hugged Lindsey Graham after the recent Supreme Court hearings. I hate Graham’s personality as much as the next guy, but what kind of sick person criticizes a 87-year old woman for showing basic human decency to a Senate colleague? I mean just because you differ on politics . . .”
True
22. October 2020 at 16:20
So now votes are predicated upon whether a person happens to be “polite”? Sorry, but that’s the very definition of moronic.
Words are meaningless. Actions matter. Trumps secretary of state Mike Pompeo has spent this past month in Asia strengthening ties, increasing missions to protect Taiwanese sovereignty, and EXPLICITLY condemning the concentration camps. Biden and Obama never stood up for American interests the way Trump and Pompeo has. Hillary Clinton never condemned the concentration camps.
And speaking of polite and wonderful people: the Chinese are not very “polite”. I’m from HK, and unlike you, I deal with these brainwashed idiots every day.
You call them “wonderful people” after a one week vacation at five star hotels? Try living here a bit longer!! They are the WORST tourists in the world. Yes, even worse than Americans.
22. October 2020 at 16:39
Speaking of Human Rights! Let me tell you a story about Human Rights activists.
There is a small community in Brazil (I won’t name it because they don’t like outsiders) that I’ve traveled to a few times. In this community, for a woman to get married, she must first prove she’s a virgin. That means undergoing a rather invasive non scientific test, that most Western woman would find humiliating and demeaning. But in this community, these woman consider passing the test one of the proudest moments of their life. They want to take the test!
Human rights activists have attempted to destroy those community values, based on western values.
Let me ask you: should this community be allowed to choose what is best for them, without having to conform to outside values? And if so, where does that place Human Rights in the hierarchy of values?
And if you believe that these Human Rights or thirty commandments are somehow above community values – that they are universal – and exist outside the human condition, then what do you say about these recent restrictions on people’s movement? Such restrictions are a clear violation of Human Rights?
In other words, should Human Rights be a “beacon of hope” (Washington, 1964), or should we impose them on others?
22. October 2020 at 20:23
Xu, You said:
“So now votes are predicated upon whether a person happens to be “polite”? Sorry, but that’s the very definition of moronic.”
No, “moronic” is when you don’t know how to read.
You said:
“You call them “wonderful people” after a one week vacation at five star hotels?”
I’ve spend a total of 8 months in China at various times over the years, in all parts of the country. Not in 5 star hotels. Most of the time living with ordinary Chinese people.
I probably know far more about the country than you do.
23. October 2020 at 11:05
Unfortunately for you and Mormons, lies are not the only problem. There is the disturbingly broad acceptance and even exaltation of the gamification of interpersonal dealings and the economy.
Example… Three fellows at the company I worked in were intending to move to a rapidly growing company in a similar industry. One told me that each would sing the praises of the other two in non-verifiable ways, regardless. Regardless. “I’m just average but those two I’ve seen really perform.”. It worked. All three were hired.
For somebody to tell me this unprompted and shamelessly informs you as to the kind of culture we are in.
That young man’s mother also worked at our company which is strange yet not so strange given our broken culture. She was a politician above all else and regardless of the technical facts. This is a human problem. Rational people are weird if it is rational to be ethical. There will be very few rational people and their small number makes them outliers by definition.
23. October 2020 at 11:22
Then there was the recent podcast when TC asked MY if perhaps we should actively talk up religion. That is a symptom of the same problem.
23. October 2020 at 13:22
Brian, Yes, that story is really sad. It’s like integrity no longer matters.
23. October 2020 at 15:25
Romney is also a Mormon, isn’t he. Nevertheless he made this 47-percent commentary, which was idiotic on multiple levels. Being a Mormon doesn’t protect you from making idiotic assessments that massively devalue other people, and even worse: that are completely wrong.
But hey, when Romney’s not having secret background conversations in which he’s a massive asshole, he’s a dear, polite, fair guy, in the foreground, as a facade.
I really appreciate it in Trump that he talks without filters and just says directly what he thinks. Maybe all politicians should say directly what they really think.
I don’t have a good sound on my device, but when I see the video of these two politicians, including the parts I can hear, it makes one puke. This is not politics, this is Romney-forefront-phony-sucking-up-to-the-max.
I don’t trust people who seem to have the most restrictive laws regardings alcohol and sex in their state.
23. October 2020 at 17:24
Out of 180 nations, India ranks 142nd in press freedoms, pretty dismal, though surprisingly, better than Mexico.
This sustains a pattern I have seen for more than a half-century. US elites will fulminate, engage in debates and even send troops to “defend freedom” nearly anywhere on the globe…but to nearby Mexico, not so much.
China, btw, ranks 177th out of 180 nations in terms of press freedom. I guess a guy could live in China his whole life and not have a clue.
You are more likely to read the truth in a newspaper in Belarus, Russia, Iran, the Central African Republic or Congo-Brazzaville than in China.
China does top North Korea, Turkmenistan and Eritrea in terms of press freedoms.
What does the future hold for Hong Kong press freedom? Ask the NBA (No Balls Association). The answer is the answer.
https://rsf.org/en/ranking_table
Odd fact: Singapore ranks rather low in terms of press freedoms. Who knew?
That’s the point. You can’t know what you can’t know.
23. October 2020 at 18:36
Masha Gessen told Sam Harris in his podcast that Russians don’t have political opinions. It is a confusing claim and to this Harris seemed annoyed. I think if every Russian has to repeat the officially accepted lines then you could say that they have no opinions of their own. If an environment of fear makes this possible then press freedom doesn’t make any difference. Still I am in favor of trying to obtain this. Unfortunately Trump doesn’t care about press freedom in China and Russia.
What does China want? To continue to send students to the Anglosphere. What does Russia want? To continue to export oil and gas. It would be interesting to see a quid pro quo. Students accepted only if there is complete internet and press freedom. In connection to Russia, without a deal, oil would be be smuggled into NATO via intermediaries so it will be a little more expensive. Natural gas is harder to smuggle. NATO would buy fossil fuels directly (without intermediaries) in return for complete internet and press freedom. Why is this not a good plan?
If we can lockdown because of a coronavirus, it would seem the absence of some students in the Anglosphere and Europe paying a little more for fuel is not a big economic problem by comparison.
24. October 2020 at 09:06
Christian, I find your taste in people to be “bizarre”. And your explanation makes no sense:
“Romney once said something bad. Trump says thousands of awful things, hence I prefer Trump’s honesty” Huh?
Ben, If you are focusing on press rights in India, don’t you think you are missing the elephant in the room? They have like 400 million Muslims and Dalits. China has 10 million Uyghurs.
Brian, I’ve often argued that public opinion is an amorphous concept. In Russia and China they are told only one side of the story. Who knows what they’d believe if they were told the truth.
24. October 2020 at 17:01
Re Muslims in India.
A government must treat all citizens alike, and only a fool exacerbates sectarian tensions.
Evidently, there is a Muslim press in India, though I know little about it.
From time to time, my professional duties bring me to the India-based Reliance Industries, but other than that I do not know much about India, beyond reading the usual.
I live and work in the Asian Pacific, so naturally I tend to follow events more closely on this side of the Indian Ocean.
I would say Beijing/CCP/China influence in the Asian Pacific is about 100 times that of India’s.
25. October 2020 at 20:46
Christian, it was really only idiotic in the sense that it’s basically true but something strategically best to not mention. There’s nothing devaluing about acknowledging that much of the electorate, by virtue of dependence on checks from the government, has little immediate interest in voting for a guy that wants smaller government.