by Robert M. Traxler
Well, it is starting to happen, the inevitable backlash to the over-the-top purely dumb Woke movement.
If you study history this is a no-brainer; society swings left to an extent that only the 2% who are the most dedicated progressive/socialists/wonks will approve of, then the majority move back to center. We witnessed this phenomenon in the late 1970s, ending with the election of President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, who ran on a platform of law and order, anti-communism, fiscal responsibility, and love of country.
The hard core wonks tell us things like we must believe men can give birth, Antifa does not exist, the world ends in seven years, the police are the enemy, canceling the police will make us safer, the United States is the most evil nation in the world, all people are all the same sex, or whatever sex they want to be, Covid-19 naturally occurred only a few miles from a Chinese lab doing gain of function research on the same virus that it caused, according to our government, 1,147,217 American deaths, and more.
The progressive movement has gotten so strange, so strict a socialist inquisition with people saying stupid stuff, it has become way over the top and average folks are starting, just starting, to say enough.
To be frank, I was shocked that Mayor Lori Lightfoot did not make the top two in the Democratic primary in Chicago, a straight white guy was the top vote getter, and he ran on law and order, in Chicago? People are angry at the district attorneys in Democratic cities as crime rages out of control, crime waves are untenable. Woke DAs promised “equity” would make them safer, people believed it until it did not happen, now good folks are saying enough.
Cooking the books on Covid-19, 5% of the world’s population, the United States had 16% of the world’s Covid-19 deaths, a nation with a top shelf health care system compared to most of the world? Folks, do not believe it, it is just too dumb to believe.
We were told to believe it or be a “damned science denier,” and questioning the science, read socialist/progressive gospel, is not allowed. Indeed, a member of Dr. Fauci’s staff admitted that anyone who died of anything, lighting strikes, auto accidents, pre-existing very serious conditions who had the Covid-19 virus in the nose were counted as Covid deaths. She was never heard from again, canceled by the deacons of the church of the woke, progressive, socialist movement.
Comedians such as Chris Rock and Roseanne Barr are now satirizing woke progressives, something that would have gotten them canceled a year ago. We have gotten so politically correct that comedians were terrified of being excommunicated/canceled for making fun of the small number of social influencers who made wokeness and political correctness a religion. Those folks, if crossed, could destroy any nonbeliever with the help of their willing accomplices in the media and academia.
A new socialist cultural revolution, like the one in 1966 to 1976 China, is being waged with a vengeance and folks are starting to object.
Publishers are now being criticized for rewriting books to make them woke, a thing unheard of a few short months ago. Schools are again looking at the classics as period literature and not hate speech, and book banning is starting to be questioned. A long road is ahead of us before we put this socialist cultural revolution on the ash heap of history. It may be apparent in the next election cycle, but I doubt it; things need to get a bit more outlandish before the media, even academia, say enough.
An example of the woke media is the “demonstrations” in Atlanta against a police training academy being built in a former wooded lot. The demonstrations, if even covered, were” mostly peaceful.” Rocks, fireworks and Molotov cocktails, (a munition designed to be an anti-tank weapon) were used against the police. The woke definition of “mostly peaceful” is any act of violence against the police and existing society, no matter how violent.
It will be many more years in the making, but the societal pendulum is swinging back to the center. Not fast enough for me, as it will take years to swing fully, however it is at long last starting to swing back. My opinion.
Best ever Bob. From your keys to God’s ears I hope.
Thanks for the comment. It will be a bit before the tide goes out but we are nearing high-tide.
Mr. Traxler,
I find it interesting that you find the pendulum swinging from the left to center whereas I see that pendulum swinging from the extreme right to center. I guess it’s all in a person’s perspective.
Where you criticize the left for rewriting history books to be more “woke,” I see the right as the ones who are rewriting history books to remove anything which causes White folk to feel uneasy. Or, if they are unable to rewrite them, they wish to remove them from the curriculum, i.e., math books for being “woke.” As you say so often, you can’t make this stuff up.
I view the extreme right as the faction that is removing books wholesale from school libraries until each one is approved by a hand-selected committee – made up of whom, I would ask? – as they are doing in FL.
It is the right who are removing classics from library shelves (Huckleberry Finn, To Kill A Mockingbird, among dozens of other titles) because of the discomfort their children might experience by reading them. I’ve never heard of one single title being challenged by a left-winger. But I’m glad this outrageous trend is abating, even if it’s too slowly.
You and I look at the same things and see them entirely differently, and this happens between and among most other Americans. That’s the natural state of things in a country where we have such marvelous freedoms in addition to free will. And instead of trying to reach the commonality in issues people tend to come at it defensively and emotionally which does not lend itself to reconciliation.
It behooves us all to take what you and I write with a grain of salt, because you and I are blowhards from opposite ends of the spectrum.
Ms. Mandaville
You are correct we are polar opposites politically. In next weeks column will be a more in depth answer to your comment. Thanks for the comment.
It is refreshing to see, at the least, an acknowledgement that a “middle ground” even exists. Unfortunately, I fear it will be short lived with our ever lengthening and increasingly contentious, illogical political cycles. Perhaps this is a symptom of humankind’s propensity towards tribalism and tendency to form and worship in various forms of cults.
These myriad expressions of cultism and polarization are manifest in nearly every assemblage or grouping of people. It is present in most aspects of our world, from the global, and national, to the local and familial -even existing in the internal, personal realm. Most apparent in things like coke vs pepsi, chevy vs ford, paper vs plastic, or gas vs electric. Obviously present in our many religions, and among the sub-sects. It is even becoming a “mode of operation” in our science industry, science or scientism is a new religion if you haven’t noticed. What is undeniable is that whatever “side” someone falls on, and the more righteous or correct they tend to become(or convince themselves of) -the more wrong they usually are. It is likely this propensity to embrace, celebrate, and promote this “perceived correctness” is ironically a strong sign of mental illness or “crazy” to use the outdated and over-applied term from the headline.
As an example, a casual observer may see the prevalent advertisements in this publication, combined with the propensity of some of the messaging to seemingly focus on “pumping up those property values” and conclude that is a major motivation of this outlet. This could obviously be wrong, I suppose “the bills need to get paid” somehow.
The ability to “open your eyes”, and observe a situation with an effort to honestly consider the prevalent polarization, or even(god forbid) consider multiple angles, can be supremely liberating. This is becoming increasingly difficult in our age of spoon fed, cultish-ly curated information. Obviously we all have bias in different forms and areas, it seems as though recognizing these biases is somehow viewed as weakness. The phrase “divide and conquer” feels relevant, in that those who, in-effect, rule over, profit from, and desire to continue control over the masses -simply keep us fighting against each other.
A fair amount of attention has been devoted to wokeness, wokeism, or the woke. However termed, it is rather interesting how those who attempt to define, identify, or even pigeonhole this perceived “movement” tend to come across as being “fast asleep”. It was asserted in a previous article by Lynn Mandaville that a current political movement originated with a specific group in the 1970’s, this may be “specifically true”. Not to discredit the research, opinion, or observation of the obvious weaponization by opposition, but I respectfully disagree. I would contend this business started way before the last century, and that the terminology has been corrupted and likewise degraded the original intent and true definition.
I tend to believe the CORRECT and PROPER terms (and true source of this mentality) are actually the words awakened and enlightened. It is said this standpoint and method or ability to observe and interpret originated with the first Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. Of course this has been manipulated and corrupted into a type of cult as well, especially in modern western society. This part will likely “ruffle some feathers”, a fair amount of speculation theorizes that the Jesus spent his “lost years” studying this method or system of belief. Aside from the specific origins, I cant help but notice how the core intent and methods are continually disregarded and re-framed.
A key aspect is “the middle way”, sounds easy enough, rarely is. Is often on a knifes edge, and will usually be misinterpreted by most as opposition to their own entrenchment. If not vigilant and patient it is very easy to stray from this path and get lost in the weeds. Is not for the faint of heart, although it may be the only way to a realistic understanding, perhaps the only practical way forward. Definitely not for everyone, especially those set in their ways. It feels like y’all have caught a glimpse of this trail, perhaps you even step on it at times. Either way, it is inspiring to see the possibility acknowledged.