When a few people in my orbit reacted to the death of Her Maj flippantly I felt kind of sad for them. Leftish liberalism’s failure to grasp why certain things are felt as sacred by less ‘enlightened’ people is a revealing weakness. No wonder its most fervent torch bearers are so miserable all the time.
That Janan Ganesh makes a good point about America's weird and insanely boring racial obsession but I've seen a lot online that makes it seem as if Britain is importing it. One really vivid example was some BBC chick talking about "white fragility" in a British accent, which almost made me die of embarrassment. What do you think, Ed? You guys _did_ import massive George Floyd protests for no reason.
Though to be fair, the race obsession in America is mostly the domain of upper-middle class white liberals plus a subset of creepy activist-brained blacks of all classes. So it's not totally unavoidable here. But it nonetheless is really, really bad in many white-collar work environments. I'm just happy I don't have to work with any American companies in the course of my own trade.
Agree with some of what you say, but it is amusing when Americans talk of a 'British accent'. There is no such thing. Try comparing Liverpool's accent with Godalming's, Yeovil's with Llanfairfechan's, Glasgow's with Wolverhampton's, or even Sunderland's with its neighbour Newcastle (just ten miles away). I used to think I had a Northern English accent until I first met people from the northeast, who appeared to be speaking Norse.
surely all British accents are recognisably similar to Americans. Although I think Americans can generally tell northern v southern English? Maybe I'm wrong.
Although I think of Irish and American accents as being closer to each other than to English accents.
Know what you mean. I'm Anglo-Irish and have relatives in Wicklow and Sligo. Have heard your mum speak and she's pretty posh :-) Hope her book's selling.
During the crisis of the 1930s the Dutch government controlled the prices of agricultural products to help the farmers, it meant also that you couldn’t produce margarine without a license, including home production of margarine (which is very easy I understand). In 1936 a woman was fined ƒ 0.50 for home production, even though the government also produced leaflets explaining the procedure so that people could save money during the crisis. A Dutch newspaper described the fine as akin to fascism or nazism and others thought the government was in cahoots with Unilever to protect their profits. As always, the ordinary decent people are exploited.
Random thoughts and observations to go with your weekly round-up:
A number of friends and family here in the US commented they saw in the Queen parallels with their own mothers and grandmothers. The Queen was the living personification of a bundled set of values, including fortitude, consideration, stoicism, duty, charity, and unfashionable to point it out these days, strongly rooted in late Victorian Christianity, but which allowed her to resonate with people across all sorts of backgrounds and origins who had been raised in the same metaphysical worldview and whose lives were also greatly shaped by great world wars and depressions and family tragedies. With her passing is surely the last of this worldview and everyone privately knows something great has been lost.
The inherent challenge of conservatism is that it's not and has never been about big ideas. That's not the point of conservatism. When a liberal accuses a conservative of not having bold radical ideas, the liberal will be right. But the liberal also doesn't understand why it's besides the point. The conservative just wants to be left alone. Which doesn't require bold new ideas. And the conservative doesn't want change for the sake of bold new ideas. Conservatives can be radical and come up with bold ideas but those are always in reaction to great crises (Thatcher's economic revolution, for example, was a repudiation of post-war quasi socialism and state interference in the marketplaces). This inherent phenomena is also why wings of conservatives who agitate for more reactionary responses also get frustrated with moderate conservatism who are happy to just be brakes against change rather than forces of change, even if the former has a point that it's only a matter of time before the progressives get back into power and push forward even more change.
Regarding race in the US, I work in the consulting sector and we do a fair amount of Federal consulting work. In recent years there's been a steady creep of diversity requirements in our work. What's wanted is a demonstrated commitment to a diverse consulting team. It's usually couched in terms as "advisory" rather than explicitly required because surely it's in defiance of key Constitutional Acts. But we all know the evaluators of the proposals are now looking at the racial makeups of the consulting teams, so it's less and less about merit and accomplishments and more and more a new ideology. However, we all also know that diversity doesn't really mean having plenty of, say, South Asians or East Asians and Middle Eastern heritages on the team. It really means one specific race.
It goes without saying the US has a deeply problematic history surrounding the African American experience. Segregation was still legal within living memory in large swathes of the country. At the same time, the sudden shift from seeking race-blindness as the goal to anti-racism, which is distinctly not race-blind and sees all disparities in outcome solely due to race, has created a new ideology that is fundamentalist in outlook and like all fundamentalist movements, cares little for existing laws and constitutions and precedence and pesky things like tolerance and understanding. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years, especially as the Supreme Court is now scheduled to hear a case over the constitutionality of affirmative action, and if the court overturns it (quite probably based on recent rulings), all hell of a sorts might break lose. Either way, the shift to anti-racism has made the racial dialogue much more bitter.
Last comment for the day, and one that is actually related to a post of yours last week. You commented on the sharp movement towards woke progressives among young women. The same has been seen in the US, with one notable exception, the movement is among young university educated women. American women who do not go to universities remain much less woke, and in these days, much more moderate in their outlook and the gap between men-women in outlook is also much smaller. I suspect you'd find the same in Britain. That suggests to me the problem is really the universities. They have become ideological eco chamber and indoctrination institutions. Why that affects women more than men is surely another topic for another day (I do have some thoughts, but they are unfashionable ones and might make me suffer the fate of Larry Summers, former president of Harvard).
I recently read the NY Times piece where they reported that the University of California was saying it needs to add racial criteria to admissions to ensure proper “racial diversity.” The UC class entering is 37% Latino, 34% Asian, 20% White, and 5% Black.
Everyone of course understands what is meant by “diversity” is not actual “diversity,” and Californias oh-so-progressive voters denied the racialization once again in 2020. Because while many may deplore Trump, giving up their kids spot at Berkeley for the cause is beyond the pale.
And to your first point re the Queen I completely agree. She is the last global public figure of that generation, now all the old folks will be those who came up after the war in the long summer of peace and plenty. And like Sullivan writes that ethos she embodied will die with her.
I am extremely grateful that when I was young old folks were the Greatest and Silent Generations.
I've made notes for a piece on this issue now and I saved that article. When people say diverse now, they mean 'black'.
The DEI proposal that my son's school sent around repeatedly mentioned how everything had to mention the black experience, perspective etc. No mention of any other group, even though the school has a larger Asian % (I think) and Britain more generally has a much larger Asian pop.
Similarly, with colour-blind casting. I saw the first new GoT and, considering east Asia must be a huge market, strange that there weren't any East Asians among the incongruously non-European-looking Valryians.
Personally, I’m sick and tired of the whole thing. Something just popped up from National Review about how more black diversity training is being targeted for K-12 school children. Is someone making money from this? I honestly don’t see how it is benefitting blacks.
well, it's benefiting those black people who make lucrative careers as diversity co-ordinators in HR. But as you say, the others not so much.
There is some evidence that the Pharisee effect works in companies where people made to waffle on about the importance of diversity as a statement of faith then hired fewer women or minorities, but I don't know if the study has replicated.
I like people, I really do. But as a group we can be so disappointing. We are such followers, and so easily persuaded by being told something needs to be done to make up for previous horrors, or whatever. It’s important for us to be seen as doing the right thing, to the point that we aren’t even willing to question some things.
There has been so much written about white American anxiety in a changing racial demographic. But what is not remarked on is the possibility that BLM itself is at least partially the black reaction to this change, a way for to say to all others that “we drive the bus.” Whether that’s the Democratic Party, our cultural institutions, or the aforementioned meaning of the word “diversity.” I think the Valeryons and their platinum dreadlocks are a nice touch, but Vice Presidents chosen because solely because they match a criteria while then saying those same criteria have held them back their whole lives…
I wonder how much of the Latino movement to the right is fueled directly by this.
The Pharisee class is deliberately undermining our nation for its own gains. That is becoming more and more obvious.
This has to be my favorite newsletter. I don’t always have time to read everything, but the weekly round-up is a great overview, and makes me glad I subscribed. (Thanks again, Cynthia!)
I want to comment on everything, but I won’t. David French had a link to a video on Twitter (of all places) that showed the support the U.S. received when the Star Spangled Banner was played at the Changing of the Guards right after 9/11. I was already welling up (as I am now, thinking about it), but then I saw British people waving small U.S. flags and wiping tears from their own eyes.
All leaders have flaws, but I still miss Ronald Reagan. He was the one president whose speeches I never missed. They were positive, uplifting, and often quite funny. He gave us hope and strength, as a people and as a country, despite all the complaining on the left. He didn’t embarrass us with foreign leaders, and he didn’t make a fool of himself by chasing after young women who worked for him, or otherwise. Plus, he liked horses!!
Diversity in the U.S. has become a contest, and no one is winning. I’m tired of reading about it, and I’m tired of feeling as though I should make sure I’m behaving *properly* around everyone who isn’t considered *white.* I don’t live in an area where there are a lot of blacks, but I’ve met quite a few, and they were MUCH nicer and easier to be around than the people who are constantly lecturing us about how racist we all are.
Yes the scene after 9/11 was very moving. I went to the US embassy memorial on the first anniversary and I remember quite a few British people there paying their respects.
And agree re: Reagan. There's a nice statue of him in Budapest if you're ever there!
Sullivan’s piece was the best piece I read on the Queen’s passing. He managed to put into words why I liked the Queen (note: I’m wasn’t born a Brit) and why I believe the monarchy is an important institution worth preserving.
The referendum itself would be only the backdrop to the real drama!
The Dauphin meeting Yellow Vests and hearing their pleas, bare chested Marianne blazing forth during the hot summer days, the Emperor returning from his Island ‘exile’ (Britain this time, ironically) and telling his greeters they may kill him if they wish…
Since the Great Man resigned in ‘69 it’s been too long without real romance in a country that needs it.
When a few people in my orbit reacted to the death of Her Maj flippantly I felt kind of sad for them. Leftish liberalism’s failure to grasp why certain things are felt as sacred by less ‘enlightened’ people is a revealing weakness. No wonder its most fervent torch bearers are so miserable all the time.
I said something similar in David French’s newsletter this morning.
God Save the King
That Janan Ganesh makes a good point about America's weird and insanely boring racial obsession but I've seen a lot online that makes it seem as if Britain is importing it. One really vivid example was some BBC chick talking about "white fragility" in a British accent, which almost made me die of embarrassment. What do you think, Ed? You guys _did_ import massive George Floyd protests for no reason.
Though to be fair, the race obsession in America is mostly the domain of upper-middle class white liberals plus a subset of creepy activist-brained blacks of all classes. So it's not totally unavoidable here. But it nonetheless is really, really bad in many white-collar work environments. I'm just happy I don't have to work with any American companies in the course of my own trade.
Agree with some of what you say, but it is amusing when Americans talk of a 'British accent'. There is no such thing. Try comparing Liverpool's accent with Godalming's, Yeovil's with Llanfairfechan's, Glasgow's with Wolverhampton's, or even Sunderland's with its neighbour Newcastle (just ten miles away). I used to think I had a Northern English accent until I first met people from the northeast, who appeared to be speaking Norse.
surely all British accents are recognisably similar to Americans. Although I think Americans can generally tell northern v southern English? Maybe I'm wrong.
Although I think of Irish and American accents as being closer to each other than to English accents.
Fair point. And the Cork accent is very 'American'.
I have often got Irish and American people confused, even though my mum is Irish (albeit with quite an Anglicised Dublin 4 accent)
Know what you mean. I'm Anglo-Irish and have relatives in Wicklow and Sligo. Have heard your mum speak and she's pretty posh :-) Hope her book's selling.
thank you!
I'm aware. This person sounded vaguely similar to the usual accent you hear on the BBC.
Unilever is a Anglo-Dutch merger so in the Netherlands it is celebrated as a Dutch company.
an Anglo-Dutch venture for which we take credit. Like capitalism itself I suppose
During the crisis of the 1930s the Dutch government controlled the prices of agricultural products to help the farmers, it meant also that you couldn’t produce margarine without a license, including home production of margarine (which is very easy I understand). In 1936 a woman was fined ƒ 0.50 for home production, even though the government also produced leaflets explaining the procedure so that people could save money during the crisis. A Dutch newspaper described the fine as akin to fascism or nazism and others thought the government was in cahoots with Unilever to protect their profits. As always, the ordinary decent people are exploited.
That distinction between diversity and cosmopolitanism is fantastic. I must remember it!
Random thoughts and observations to go with your weekly round-up:
A number of friends and family here in the US commented they saw in the Queen parallels with their own mothers and grandmothers. The Queen was the living personification of a bundled set of values, including fortitude, consideration, stoicism, duty, charity, and unfashionable to point it out these days, strongly rooted in late Victorian Christianity, but which allowed her to resonate with people across all sorts of backgrounds and origins who had been raised in the same metaphysical worldview and whose lives were also greatly shaped by great world wars and depressions and family tragedies. With her passing is surely the last of this worldview and everyone privately knows something great has been lost.
The inherent challenge of conservatism is that it's not and has never been about big ideas. That's not the point of conservatism. When a liberal accuses a conservative of not having bold radical ideas, the liberal will be right. But the liberal also doesn't understand why it's besides the point. The conservative just wants to be left alone. Which doesn't require bold new ideas. And the conservative doesn't want change for the sake of bold new ideas. Conservatives can be radical and come up with bold ideas but those are always in reaction to great crises (Thatcher's economic revolution, for example, was a repudiation of post-war quasi socialism and state interference in the marketplaces). This inherent phenomena is also why wings of conservatives who agitate for more reactionary responses also get frustrated with moderate conservatism who are happy to just be brakes against change rather than forces of change, even if the former has a point that it's only a matter of time before the progressives get back into power and push forward even more change.
Part II (can't have long comments apparently!)
Regarding race in the US, I work in the consulting sector and we do a fair amount of Federal consulting work. In recent years there's been a steady creep of diversity requirements in our work. What's wanted is a demonstrated commitment to a diverse consulting team. It's usually couched in terms as "advisory" rather than explicitly required because surely it's in defiance of key Constitutional Acts. But we all know the evaluators of the proposals are now looking at the racial makeups of the consulting teams, so it's less and less about merit and accomplishments and more and more a new ideology. However, we all also know that diversity doesn't really mean having plenty of, say, South Asians or East Asians and Middle Eastern heritages on the team. It really means one specific race.
It goes without saying the US has a deeply problematic history surrounding the African American experience. Segregation was still legal within living memory in large swathes of the country. At the same time, the sudden shift from seeking race-blindness as the goal to anti-racism, which is distinctly not race-blind and sees all disparities in outcome solely due to race, has created a new ideology that is fundamentalist in outlook and like all fundamentalist movements, cares little for existing laws and constitutions and precedence and pesky things like tolerance and understanding. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years, especially as the Supreme Court is now scheduled to hear a case over the constitutionality of affirmative action, and if the court overturns it (quite probably based on recent rulings), all hell of a sorts might break lose. Either way, the shift to anti-racism has made the racial dialogue much more bitter.
Last comment for the day, and one that is actually related to a post of yours last week. You commented on the sharp movement towards woke progressives among young women. The same has been seen in the US, with one notable exception, the movement is among young university educated women. American women who do not go to universities remain much less woke, and in these days, much more moderate in their outlook and the gap between men-women in outlook is also much smaller. I suspect you'd find the same in Britain. That suggests to me the problem is really the universities. They have become ideological eco chamber and indoctrination institutions. Why that affects women more than men is surely another topic for another day (I do have some thoughts, but they are unfashionable ones and might make me suffer the fate of Larry Summers, former president of Harvard).
I recently read the NY Times piece where they reported that the University of California was saying it needs to add racial criteria to admissions to ensure proper “racial diversity.” The UC class entering is 37% Latino, 34% Asian, 20% White, and 5% Black.
Everyone of course understands what is meant by “diversity” is not actual “diversity,” and Californias oh-so-progressive voters denied the racialization once again in 2020. Because while many may deplore Trump, giving up their kids spot at Berkeley for the cause is beyond the pale.
And to your first point re the Queen I completely agree. She is the last global public figure of that generation, now all the old folks will be those who came up after the war in the long summer of peace and plenty. And like Sullivan writes that ethos she embodied will die with her.
I am extremely grateful that when I was young old folks were the Greatest and Silent Generations.
I've made notes for a piece on this issue now and I saved that article. When people say diverse now, they mean 'black'.
The DEI proposal that my son's school sent around repeatedly mentioned how everything had to mention the black experience, perspective etc. No mention of any other group, even though the school has a larger Asian % (I think) and Britain more generally has a much larger Asian pop.
Similarly, with colour-blind casting. I saw the first new GoT and, considering east Asia must be a huge market, strange that there weren't any East Asians among the incongruously non-European-looking Valryians.
Personally, I’m sick and tired of the whole thing. Something just popped up from National Review about how more black diversity training is being targeted for K-12 school children. Is someone making money from this? I honestly don’t see how it is benefitting blacks.
well, it's benefiting those black people who make lucrative careers as diversity co-ordinators in HR. But as you say, the others not so much.
There is some evidence that the Pharisee effect works in companies where people made to waffle on about the importance of diversity as a statement of faith then hired fewer women or minorities, but I don't know if the study has replicated.
I like people, I really do. But as a group we can be so disappointing. We are such followers, and so easily persuaded by being told something needs to be done to make up for previous horrors, or whatever. It’s important for us to be seen as doing the right thing, to the point that we aren’t even willing to question some things.
There has been so much written about white American anxiety in a changing racial demographic. But what is not remarked on is the possibility that BLM itself is at least partially the black reaction to this change, a way for to say to all others that “we drive the bus.” Whether that’s the Democratic Party, our cultural institutions, or the aforementioned meaning of the word “diversity.” I think the Valeryons and their platinum dreadlocks are a nice touch, but Vice Presidents chosen because solely because they match a criteria while then saying those same criteria have held them back their whole lives…
I wonder how much of the Latino movement to the right is fueled directly by this.
The Pharisee class is deliberately undermining our nation for its own gains. That is becoming more and more obvious.
As a U.S. citizen, I enjoyed your comments. I think you’ve nailed it in so many ways!
This has to be my favorite newsletter. I don’t always have time to read everything, but the weekly round-up is a great overview, and makes me glad I subscribed. (Thanks again, Cynthia!)
I want to comment on everything, but I won’t. David French had a link to a video on Twitter (of all places) that showed the support the U.S. received when the Star Spangled Banner was played at the Changing of the Guards right after 9/11. I was already welling up (as I am now, thinking about it), but then I saw British people waving small U.S. flags and wiping tears from their own eyes.
All leaders have flaws, but I still miss Ronald Reagan. He was the one president whose speeches I never missed. They were positive, uplifting, and often quite funny. He gave us hope and strength, as a people and as a country, despite all the complaining on the left. He didn’t embarrass us with foreign leaders, and he didn’t make a fool of himself by chasing after young women who worked for him, or otherwise. Plus, he liked horses!!
Diversity in the U.S. has become a contest, and no one is winning. I’m tired of reading about it, and I’m tired of feeling as though I should make sure I’m behaving *properly* around everyone who isn’t considered *white.* I don’t live in an area where there are a lot of blacks, but I’ve met quite a few, and they were MUCH nicer and easier to be around than the people who are constantly lecturing us about how racist we all are.
thank you!
Yes the scene after 9/11 was very moving. I went to the US embassy memorial on the first anniversary and I remember quite a few British people there paying their respects.
And agree re: Reagan. There's a nice statue of him in Budapest if you're ever there!
Sullivan’s piece was the best piece I read on the Queen’s passing. He managed to put into words why I liked the Queen (note: I’m wasn’t born a Brit) and why I believe the monarchy is an important institution worth preserving.
Janan is spot on, as always.
Have a great Sunday Ed, thanks for sharing.
You too!
Great recommendation. I was already interested, but now I’ll go back and follow that link.
Macron made some beautiful tributes. Wonderful.
A huge part of France was formerly part of the realm so it would be entirely appropriate to invite France to join our family of nations.
On the other hand, the Orleanist/Legitimist/Bonapartist pretenders wrangling over a ceremonial throne could be precisely what France needs.
The referendum itself would be only the backdrop to the real drama!
The Dauphin meeting Yellow Vests and hearing their pleas, bare chested Marianne blazing forth during the hot summer days, the Emperor returning from his Island ‘exile’ (Britain this time, ironically) and telling his greeters they may kill him if they wish…
Since the Great Man resigned in ‘69 it’s been too long without real romance in a country that needs it.
RVTURN