Sharp Right Turn

 “Never’s just the echo of forever.” — Kris Kristofferson

One of the more insightful conservative writers, David Brooks, has seen the future of the Republican Party’s base and it is not a pretty picture. In his article “The Terrifying Future of the American Right” (Atlantic), he describes the scene at this month’s National Conservatism Conference in Orlando.

Young conservatives — by definition the future of the party — blame the Left for basically everything they consider wrong with our society. In particular, they see left-wing control of the academy, the media including social media, and the “surveillance capitalism” tech sector, coalescing into what they view as an all-powerful cultural elite.

Without questioning their assumptions, but having been at least a marginal part of all of those sectors for decades now, it is a little bit difficult for this objective observer to perceive their apocalyptic vision of an all-powerful Left, though I realize objectivity is neither a characteristic nor a goal of the sharp edge of this country’s right flank.

It is ironic and sad that a key aim of the youthful conservative movement is to establish the dominance of Christianity as our national religion.

As Brooks notes, that simply isn’t going to be happening. In his words, “America is becoming more religiously diverse every day. Christians are in no position to impose their values—regarding same-sex marriage or anything else —on the public square.”

By contrast, social, racial, cultural, and gender diversity are all seen by the hard right as left-wing plots instead of the genuinely democratic achievements they clearly are. But again, the rising right wing in America is not concerned with truth but with power. And those are two distinct matters.

I cannot in good faith recommend Brooks’s piece to anyone who wishes to remain optimistic about the closing of the political divide in the U.S., because there is no appetite for that among the people he witnessed outside the giant theme park in Orlando.

Like Christianity as the state religion, an authentic political consensus isn’t going to be happening anytime soon in today’s America.

***

In contrast to Brooks’s down-beat report, one bright spot for those of us who have been arguing on behalf of local news outlets is the Time magazine story about the role played by a reporter at small Georgia newspaper in the Ahmaud Arbery case. The convictions in that case bring new hope for racial justice in the U.S. court system, as well as for the renewal of local journalism as well.

In addition, two articles in the Washington Post highlight the critical dangers embedded in the thousands of “news deserts” across the U.S. — towns and regions where there is no viable local news outlet left to inform citizens and keep powerful interests accountable.

The Local News Network, headquartered in Durango, CO, is one modest, hopeful attempt to address this crisis by developing new types of digital news outlets for small-town distribution. And they need support.

Because where news deserts exist, ignorance thrives. In fact, I would argue that there is a direct connection between the rise of an extremist right, as documented by Brooks, and the lack of honest journalism all across this land. Just as there is a direct connection between justice in the Arbery case and a local paper willing to dig out the truth.

We just have to see the pattern and speak out about it.

Thanks to Connie Matthiessen for help on the local news section of this essay.

WEDNESDAY’S HEADLINES:

• The Key Role a Local Newspaper Played in the Trial Over Ahmaud Arbery's Murder (Time)

• “The Terrifying Future of the American Right” (Atlantic)

• What happens to society — and our democracy — when community and regional journalism dries up — In many regions of the country, there is no local news coverage at all, or next to none. It’s in such places that the collapse of local news is being felt most draqmatically. (WP)

• Local news deserts are expanding. Here are some of the stories in danger of being lost. — Since 2005, about 2,200 local newspapers across America have closed. Here are some of the stories in danger of going underreported or untold — as told by local journalists. (WP)

• ‘Did Covid Change How We Dream?’ — All around the world, the pandemic provoked strange nocturnal visions. Can they help shed light on the question of why we dream at all? (NYT)

• The World Health Organization issued its strongest, most explicit warning yet about the risk from the omicron coronavirus variant. While there are "considerable uncertainties" about the variant, preliminary evidence raises the possibility that omicron has mutations that could help it evade an immune-system response, according to the WHO. [AP]

• How Much of a Threat is Omicron to the Economy? (New Yorker)

• Drugmaker Moderna's CEO set off fresh alarm bells in financial markets after he warned that COVID-19 vaccines were unlikely to be as effective against the Omicron variant as they have been against the Delta version. (Reuters)

• Omicron mutations alarm scientists, but new variant first must prove it can outcompete delta (WP)

• Covid live: boosters may protect against Omicron, says Israel’s health minister, as US checks vaccine effectiveness(Guardian)

• Why some researchers think the omicron variant could be the most infectious one yet (NPR)

• Omicron doesn't carry some of the mutations seen with Delta (CNN)

• Omicron variant may have reached Europe earlier than thought (AP)

• Are vaccine makers ready for Omicron? (Reuters)

• As Biden pushes to end pandemic, omicron’s rise points to a longer struggle (WP)

• Covid looms over Biden’s presidency, once more and always (Politico)

• Omicron Unlikely to Cause Severe Illness in Vaccinated People, BioNTech Says (WSJ)

• California Today: How the pandemic changed where we live (NYT)

• On Monday, Los Angeles began enforcing its vaccination mandate for many indoor businesses (LAT)

• Why American Politics Is So Stuck — and What New Research Shows About How to Fix It (Politico)

• Former President Donald Trump's lawyers are set to ask a U.S. appeals court to keep records about his conversations and actions before and during the deadly January 6 Capitol riot by a mob of his supporters away from congressional investigators. (Reuters)

• Pence 2024? — If Donald Trump officially enters the next presidential race, that doesn’t mean his former vice president will stay out of the contest. (Atlantic)

• As Afghanistan’s economy collapses, international community looks for innovative ways to avoid humanitarian disaster (WP)

• Dozens of former Afghan forces killed or disappeared by Taliban, rights group says (BBC)

• The perilous journey for Afghans to reach UK by boat (Financial Times)

• Protesters plan to march across Sudan and on the presidential palacein the latest protest against military rule following last month's coup. Neighborhood resistance committees called the protests despite an agreement last week that reinstated civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. (Reuters)

• Record eurozone inflation of 4.9% (Financial Times)

• Twitter Bans Sharing of Private People’s Photos, Videos Without Consent (WSJ)

• There has been a flurry of new policies and announcements about nuclear power around the world, with the mounting scale of the climate and energy conundrum fueling more money into atomic power. Alexander C. Kaufmannotes that we've heard this tune before — is it for real this time? [HuffPost]

• Trump allies work to place supporters in key election posts across the country, spurring fears about future vote challenges (WP)

• CNN host Chris Cuomo was more deeply involved than previously thought in crafting a defense strategy as his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, responded to allegations of sexual harassment, according to detailed records released by the New York Attorney General’s office. A CNN spokesperson said the documents "deserve a thorough review and consideration." [HuffPost]

• Mike Pence asks Supreme Court to overturn abortion rights (BBC)

• ‘A post-Roe strategy’: The next phase of the abortion fight has already begun (Politico)

• Fukushima evacuees prepare to return home (NHK)

• A study of trees in dozens of cities found that urban heat and light pollution are pushing urban trees to sprout leaves earlier than trees in more rural areas. (NPR)

• Metaverse Real Estate Piles Up Record Sales — Firms’ purchases of digital land in online worlds are bets that property values will rise as more people join in. (WSJ)

• Conservationists flew 30 white rhinos to Rwanda in a huge operation to protect them (NPR)

• Lorne Michaels, part of next class to receive Kennedy Center Honors, still lives for Saturday night (WP)

• Adele announces Las Vegas residency (BBC)

• Struggling Tech Company Almost Desperate Enough To Start Making Actual Product (The Onion)

WEDNESDAY’S LYRICS:

“Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends”

Kris Kristofferson

This could be our last goodnight together

We may never pass this way again

Just let me enjoy 'till its over

Or forever

Please don't tell me how the story ends

See the way our shadows come together

Softer than your fingers on my skin

Someday this may be all

That we'll remember

Of each other

Please don't tell me how the story ends

Never's just the echo of forever

Lonesome as the love that might have been

Just let me go on loving and believing

'Till it's over

Please don't tell me how the story ends

Please don't tell me how the story ends