Summary – Here James Howard Kunstler looks at the Left and its Democratic Party – in ClownWorld! He captures its spirit, which is beyond rational analysis. See the For More Info section for posts about the Right and its Republicans (don’t look to them for help).
“When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen’s off with her head …”
— Lyrics from “White Rabbit” sung by Jefferson Airplane (1967).
Rude Awakening
James Howard Kunstler at his website.
Reposted with his generous permission.
Now that everyone and everything not “woke” is a racist, a white supremacist, and a domestic terrorist, the mau-mauing of America is complete.
The mug of strong English tea on my desk (a beverage from the worst modern colonialist nation) happens to be white. It is ashamed and disgusted by its privilege of holding captive eight ounces of a beverage-of-color. The beverage’s final indignity, of course, is to be ingested in my white body, and turned into countless chemical reactions there that benefit me while annihilating the beverage’s existence, which surely amounts to cultural appropriation, a kind of servitude, and ultimately murder! My wickedness will never be forgiven. Ironically, I drink strong English tea at 6:50 a.m. in order to get “woke.” Maybe I should switch to Yogi Detox Tea. (Warm milk would only accentuate my loathsome privilege and put me back to sleep.)
You see, I’m trying to imagine something like the thought process of the average Wokester. If the Left were a person, it would be in a locked ward by now on twenty milligrams of haloperidol QID. But we gave up on mental hospitals decades ago. So, the Left is on the loose out there in streets, threatening to “stab motherfuckers in the heart” one moment and ululating against gun violence in the next. I suppose stabbing motherfuckers in the heart is progressive because it allows you to get up-close-and-personal and share your lived experience with the motherfucker in question just prior to inserting the blade. Guns are so… white!
Pretty soon, America might have to start asking: what exactly is “progressive” about going insane? I think we’re getting close to answering that, and the answer is: nothing. The Left has managed to drain the meaning from the word “progressive.” We will not be able to take it seriously for generations to come (if there are any generations to come). The Left has applied every possible gimmick from the bad faith trick-bag to disable thinking in this republic generally, and the language that serves thinking. But its contorted maledictions are working mainly against itself as one preposterous idea after another bursts out of its collective pie-hole and into the blue-checked Twitter windows.
Speaking of “stabbing motherfuckers in the heart,” why are the “progressives” who moiled outside Senator Mitch McConnell’s house the other night not cooling their heels in a federal lock-up for threatening to assassinate a public official? That’s the usual procedure. How difficult would it be to locate them? Nobody has even asked – a peculiar development.
Twitter boss Jack Dorsey took the predictable “progressive” action of banning Senator McConnell’s election campaign account for posting a video of the very mob looking to “stab motherfuckers in the heart” outside his house. That should be good, at least, for a hearty lawsuit against Twitter that might raise the consciousness of the 23-year-old wokester myrmidons Jack Dorsey hired to pretend that their diligent bannings of non-woke Tweeters are the work of supposed “algorithms” – as well as Mr. Dorsey himself, the arrogant prick behind it all.
Any decent psychological detective can conclude why the Left, including especially the Democratic Party – formerly a pillar of our political system – has gone insane. Losing a national election two and half years ago traumatized the base. In the process, the party made the rueful discovery that it was devoid of reality-based political ideas. This prompted the adoption of reality-optional excuses for failure masquerading as political ideas: Russia did it! Trump was “Putin’s puppet.” That clinically paranoid meme, and the massive investigatory activity it provoked, ended in more failure, so profound that the party still can’t face it.
But the Democratic Party must sense that it is about to be held accountable for all that. The Deep State officials who acted out that shadow-play on its behalf, with all its seditious overtones, are about to be frog-marched into the grand juries any week now. The party itself, or at least its executive gang, the DNC, may be included in the clean-up operation. It’s really hard to see how the party survives that. Its loyal historians will probably say that some motherfucker stabbed it in the heart. More factually, the Democratic Party first lost its mind, and then committed suicide.
—————————————-
Editor’s afterword
Don’t tell people we are in ClownWorld! That would scare them.
Kunstler understands how to report ClownWorld, with mockery. Our politics have become beyond analysis.
Still, Kunstler retains his optimism that our institutions still work – enough, for example, to indict those responsible for the RussiaGate caper. But in ClownWorld our institutions fall like dominoes, becoming dysfunctional one after another. For example, see Victor Davis Hanson’s description of RussiaGate, a politicized farce with little resemblance to what the news media have reported for two years (also see former Federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthey’s analysis). We will see this in the investigations of Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide, likely to tell us nothing about this bizarre event (details here).
In ClownWorld, public policy arena is obsessed with festivities such as RussiaGate and the Affair Epstein, neglecting America’s urgent and serious problems. But fear not! While we are entertained by clickbait news, the 1% will govern America (to their benefit, of course).
About James Howard Kunstler
James Howard Kunstler (Wikipedia) worked as a reporter and feature writer for a number of newspapers, before working as a staff writer for Rolling Stone Magazine. In 1975, he began writing books on a full-time basis. Kunstler is the author of 12 novels and has been a regular contributor to many major media, writing about environmental and economic issues. He is a leading supporter of the movement known as “New Urbanism.”
He has lectured at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, MIT, and many other colleges. He has written five non-fiction books. See more about the most recent one below.
- The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-Made Landscape
(1993),
- Home from Nowhere: Remaking Our Everyday World for the 21st Century
(1996),
- The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition
(2001),
- The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Cent
(2005),
- Too Much Magic: Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation
(2012).
(1993),
(1996),
(2001),
(2005),
(2012).See some of his recent posts about America. They’re all well worth reading!
- Marching to Gilead – About our detente with North Korea.
- Sunset Boulevard with Chimp – About Michael Jackson.
- The Blind Leading the Deaf and Dumb – about the resistance.
For More Information
Ideas! For some shopping ideas, see my recommended books and films at Amazon.
Please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more information see all posts about RussiaGate, about the Democratic Party, about the Republican Party, about the Left and the Right, about ways to reform America’s politics, and especially these …
- Craig Murray reveals the mysteries of Mueller’s investigation.
- Visions of America if the Left wins.
- Campaign 2020 shows who will mold America’s future.
- The Democrats show us the politics of ClownWorld.
- Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide: a whodunit for 21stC America.
Books revealing the Deep State
I strongly recommend reading The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government
The American Deep State: Big Money, Big Oil, and the Struggle for U.S. Democracy
Put the democratic party on suicide watch! Oh wait…
“Still, Kunstler retains his optimism that our institutions still work – enough, for example, to indict those responsible for the RussiaGate caper.”
I assume you’re referring to this laughably naive prediction:
“The Deep State officials who acted out that shadow-play on its behalf, with all its seditious overtones, are about to be frog-marched into the grand juries any week now.”
Frog-marched by whom? When has that ever happened to any Deep State official? Someone is going to indict the great bipartisan Deep State hero Robert Mueller? You cannot be serious.
Gloucon,
“When has that ever happened to any Deep State official?”
Deep State officials have been prosecuted and convicted. For example, Mark Felt was an Associate Director of the FBI – its #2 spot (he was also “Deep Throat” in the Watergate episode). He and Ed Miller (FBI deputy asst dir) were convicted of violating the civil rights of the Weather Underground, despite testimony by ex-president Nixon and a gaggle of former AG’s – and a crowd of FBI agents cheering them outside the court. They could have gotten ten years in prison, but only got fines of $5000 and $3500.
Five months later, President Reagan pardoned them.
Justice was done!OK, that proves your point.Watched Ozark last night, the old guy says to Marty “Flag Match”, about the football, don’t reckon they will be allowed to have that by the time you are my age, it is that feeling in US, UK and Australia etc, that frustrates people.
Add flat wages, rising prices, asset inflation, more zero hour contracts, I firmly believe we are at a type of fourth turning and we must turn it around or the people will. I’m too old and my kids too young, but I see the guys and girls in their 20’s and 30’s working three casual jobs, they are often feed up with the Circus and don’t find the Clowns in the Government funny anymore.
Just a Guy,
“about the football, don’t reckon they will be allowed to have that by the time you are my age,”
What’s the problem? Parents deciding the injury rate is too high for their kids? I agree. The team owners unhappy when the players sue? No sympathy.
“Add flat wages”
Wages are only flat for lower-skilled workers. Perhaps allowing in so many lower-skilled immigrants depresses wages (that supply-demand thing). But a majority of American’s want it, so let’s not whine about the consequences. Wage growth is slow (not flat) because the 1% harvest most of the gains. That’s politics. Whining won’t help. We won’t get off our butts and govern America, others will do so – and will do it in their interests.
“rising prices”
Inflation was roughly 3% from 191-2008, and roughly 2% since then. That’s excellent. The Fed tries to keep it at 2%, because deflation is a killer for people with debt (ie, most Americans).
“asset inflation”
National average home prices have been rising at 1%/year – less than the inflation rate – for the past 13 years. Take out the few bubble-like areas, and it probably is pretty flat since 2006. Other than homes, I don’t know what prices you are unhappy about.
“but I see the guys and girls in their 20’s and 30’s working three casual jobs”
Where are you located? That’s not true in most of America.
Larry,
I should have written from an Australian perspective, but same in UK and Europe.
Middle class is doing well mainly, I am not so sure about the working class, from what I see in the college I work in. The students there doing beauty and hairdressing, nursing as nursing assistants for hospitals or old people’s homes. These guys are not dong that great, mainly the import of cheap workers, they get the supply and demand thing, over supply of workers and casual contracts. But how much of the middle class economical situation is due to the immigration and would decline if it stopped. There lies the rub, to stop this madness needs a decline in consumption and as you know Rome only kept going in the end with the huge Circuses and welfare payouts.
You can’t have it both ways, the economy and nation is doing wonderfully, low inflation, debt – no problem, wages rising slowly, but above inflation so all is well, and be in clown land where it is only politically mad.
I see a lot of huge straw houses, with German branded cars on lease, that is their choice, but it isn’t for me. We now have a Mitsubishi and Toyota, with an old Ford Ranger, vastly more than my parents had. We had friends round, they have a Mercedes and an Audi on hire purchase, they have a weekend beach place, they could lease out when they don’t use it, but won’t. Their house has a loan, the beach house is on interest only (its so low now), as are the cars. I find the way we now live as part of the clown world.
America is like the first carriage in the train of the west, whether is goes down a good or bad path. That’s why I like this site, it is a good insight into what will happen in Aus, UK, NZ and EU in 2-5 years time.
I just wonder if we are ready for the decline in debt fuelled wealth we may need to have, but I may be wrong.
Just a Guy,
“I should have written from an Australian perspective, but same in UK and Europe.”
Great point! Everything here is assumed to refer to the US unless stated otherwise. Americans are parochial, perhaps more so than most!
I completely agree that we’re living in a clown world. I used to enjoy using my meager knowledge of the world and its trends to try make general predictions about the economy, the stock market, politics, and so on. But over the last couple years, I’ve largely given up on that because I can no longer wrap my head around the craziness. I appreciate Kunstler’s ability in this essay to expose some aspects of that craziness to the light where he can mock them.
More importantly, I want to thank you for all of the time and energy you put into this blog. In my opinion, it’s one of the diamonds among the rubbish of the Internet. Even when I occasionally disagree with your conclusions I am still impressed with the logic and thought that you’ve put into the process. You have also done an impressive job of finding and sharing bright, articulate writers that have expanded my knowledge and forced me to think: Kunstler, Bowman, Maximilian Forte, van Creveld, Lind, and the list goes on. I have spent a fair amount of time exploring some of the diverse sites that you’ve mentioned over the years, such as Chateau Heartiste (fun while it lasted), 4chan, Dalrock, etc. They are all illuminating in their own way.
I don’t know whether you hear this enough, but thanks again for all you do. I appreciate your effort.
Green,
“Even when I occasionally disagree with your conclusions”
In ClownWorld each of can only guess at what’s happening. As the song goes, “the world has turned upside down.” Today transvestites read at the public library’s children’s hour. Perhaps tomorrow pi will equal 3. Disagreement is inevitable. Certainty of one’s conclusions is a serious error. I try to paint clear pictures for people against which people can measure their own conclusions. I scatter statements about uncertainty throughout the text to the extent I can without it become boringly academic.
“but thanks again for all you do. I appreciate your effort.”
It is rare, but appreciated. Comments are overwhelming critical. I took me a long time to realize it, but that’s a feature – not a bug. I try to keep our content on the cutting edge of what’s known. That means that most people will disagree with it. I’ve been reposting content from 3 – 5 years ago – material that was vociferously opposed back then, but has gotten mostly favorable comments now. That suggests I need to push further ahead into the unknown.
I would like to second Green’s appreciation of your efforts.
Well done, sir. Always leave them wanting more.
Lots of varied reading material and intelligent discussion.
It is quite illuminating to read a blog that isn’t attempting to be an echo chamber for some specific group(s).
It is now Clown World, but what’s probably not said enough is that it has been so for quite some time, but the clowns were wearing masks. Perhaps the favorable comments on previously opposed old material is evidence of both that and the social change that seems to be accelerating.
I often wonder where we will go next after so many citizens have been deemed “white supremacists” intent on continental genocide. Perhaps we will find out tomorrow! Or the day after, either way it won’t be long.
And yes, push ahead for sure, I, for one, try not to be to put off by personal insults, often it is a clear indication you are over the target, just not always the target you think.
As a recently retired medical worker I would describe myself as culturally progressive, but fiscally conservative.
Reflecting on my life, I was culturally conservative, aside from the motorcycles, race cars, alcohol, drugs and women, and fiscally irresponsible for the most part, but I did a good job on home, family, education and such and we are a mixed race family.
And yes, I am a white Christian heterosexual male of English German Jewish descent from brothers that came to America in the late 1780s, a blacksmith, a horse thief, and a doctor. Two out of three ain’t bad according to Meat Loaf.