The Closing of the Liberal Mind

Come for the usual hypocrisy, stay for the bracing honesty.

Charles J. Sykes May 10, 2018

This piece by Eric Levitz has been around for a few days and has already been widely panned. But I think it’s worth more discussion, if for no other reason than its unusual honesty.

Writing in New York Magazine's “Daily Intelligencer,” Levitz argues that in its quest for “diversity,” the liberal media doesn’t need conservatives. He’s not simply calling for the defenestration of provocative writers like Kevin Williamson; he argues that liberal publications can do without any conservative voices at all.

Levitz makes two general points:

• Conservative ideas have no merit because the right is wrong just about everything and that conservative intellectuals have no constituency to speak of.
• “Donald Trump’s election exposed the irrelevance of conservative intellectuals,” he writes, “and thereby, the incoherence of many a liberal publication’s mission statement.” ...........

In other words, Levits would turn liberal publications into a caricature of what conservatives have always suspected they are; just more turgid, intolerant, and boring..............For all that, Levitz’s piece is bracing, because it is so candid in its insularity, intellectual bigotry, and closed-mindedness. That makes it valuable as an artifact of the mindset that has done so much to alienate conservatives from much of the media and that has contributed so much to the ghettoization of our political discourse. Not surprisingly, when you tell roughly half of the country that they are benighted bigots whose ideas are no even worth hearing, they go elsewhere. ...........To Read More....

My Take - I know this will probably shock you but I agree with Eric Levitz.  Never Trump writers have no constituency to speak of, so why bother to print their smoozie clabber?  He wants them to be openly honest about what they believe, what they want and who they are.  How bad could that be for conservatives?

• This Levitz wants leftist publications to talk about abolishing capitalism as an answer to climate change and imposing worldwide eco-socialism to avoid barbarism.  Perhaps he would openly discuss the disasters of human rights all these worker's paradises became - after millions starved to death, which of course was good because that made jobs available when those who starved to death didn't show up for work. .
• He wants to legitimize the Supreme Court against reactionaries.  I couldn't possibly make that up.
• When he says he wants discussion on whether or not the Constitution is bad - what he's saying is he wants to have discussions on the elimination of the Constitution.  After all, the end all for all socialists, including those two big early 20th century progressives, Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson was the elimination of individual rights in favor of societal responsibilities, with them determining those responsibilities. 
• He wants to discuss the right to own ideas.  I have no idea what that means, which is what leftists like that way they can juggle, shift and mold that discussion to fit any narrative that's popular at the moment. 
• And he wants to discuss the abolition of prisons.  I really couldn't make that up.  I think that would be a wonderful discussion for the left.  I would really like to see their answer to crime, violence and how to protect honest citizens against thieves, murders and thugs. 

Let's face it - if the left abolishes conservative, or supposedly conservative writers, only I had George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Jonah Goldberg types in mind, and only talk about what they really want - they might lose readers sure, but think about this.  They would finally honestly educate society about who they are and what they really want for not only the United States but the whole world.  Venezuela, with them in charge!

So let them take that road and maybe it will be as good for them as Stormy Daniels has been for CNN.  How bad can them be for real conservatives? The George Will "conservatives" will be either marginalized - or gone - and real conservatives will be ascendant. 

As for the title "The Closing of the Liberal Mind", well that was meant as a joke..... Right?  It was meant as a joke..........wasn't it?