The End of Argument

Sometimes I like to argue, sometimes I really like it, sometimes I really can't help myself.  That is at least part of why I spend time writing this blog, because there are arguments that I need or want to make, which are not things that I would use my pulpit to put out there.  Sometimes my arguments here make my wife Michele nervous, because while I do draw a line between what I am willing to say here and what I would say from the pulpit, not everyone will appreciate that there is, in fact, a line.

I have found lately that argument is becoming less enjoyable, and I think it's because we have lost something crucial in our public discourse. Donald Trump is an incarnation of what has gone wrong with us.  As I have said before, he is not a cause, he is a symptom, he is an embodiment of our arrogance and our narcissism, he is a manifestation of our tendency to let our own insecurity blind us to the truth and deafen us to Wisdom's voice.

Last night at a rally, he finally got around to mocking Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, for him it was pretty mild, but he clearly fed into the notion that all of Brett Kavanaugh's accusers are nothing but "evil" Democratic operatives, trying to derail a good man. Funny how people who are so very sensitive to the possibility of false accusations are willing to believe something so false in response.  I have said from the beginning of this that the truth is going to be beggared by this process, and that is in no small way because of the strong desire that each side has to confirm what they already believe to be true.

Last week changed very little, the liberal tribe believed Dr. Ford, the conservative tribe believed Kavanaugh, and got a special little charge out of the venom that he and Lindsey Graham brought to the proceedings. That extra little flourish of spiteful rage, was what poker players refer to as a "tell," an almost unconscious action that can give away a player's status. People can have "tells" for different things, sometimes it's when they're lying/bluffing, sometime's its when they know they have a good hand, sometimes it's when they're conflicted.

The decision that Kavanaugh and Graham both made to come out with bile and "righteous" indignation, was calculated to firm up the position of those who already support Kavanaugh.  These two men are both savvy public figures that to read either display as spontaneous would be naive. Their anger was a tactic, and it might work. Trump has demonstrated the immense power that white male grievance can wield in our current situation.  He has repeatedly demonstrated that the only people he really needs to please are the people who will chant with him at his rallies and swell with pride at his latest display of arrogant ignorance.  I think he is, contrary to some opinions, fairly happy with his 40% approval rating,because he has figured out that 40% is what he needs, especially if he can simply outrage, discourage and disgust his way into some of the swing votes.

You see this in the attrition of moderate Republicans, voices who would have wanted more time and more truth to be a part of this moment of consequence, many times just get in line with the tribe, because they know if they don't they will be left without a political home. You cannot persuade people in such a predicament that they should stand courageously for the truth (unless they're about to retire).  That's why we don't seem to be able to argue very well any more, no one really feels safe in advancing their opinion if they are going to run up against people who will simply reply with dogma and rage.

I have noticed a rather disturbing symmetry on two sides of the current tribal divide.  Right and left are both dedicated to portraying the other side as hostile and irrational.  The left will point to Fox News, Breitbart and such as "echo chambers" of conservative talking points and breeding grounds for various and sundry conspiracies about the "Deep State." But the peculiar thing is that, from a right wing perspective, the Washington Post and the New York Times along with pretty much the entire system of academia are doing the same thing in reverse.  Also symmetrical across the divide is the lament that the enemies of the cause are the ones who are playing hardball. Bill Maher often laments on his show that the Republicans have broken faith with our national institutions by doing things like blocking Merrick Garland and blatantly endorsing the numerous lies and half truths that spew from the White House these days.  Oddly enough, conservative commentators make similar claims about Democrats, as we saw erupt out of Kavanaugh and Graham last week.

The problem is that there seems to be no lack of bad faith to go around.  Once you start gouging eyes and hitting below the belt the behavior is contagious.  I'm not equivocating behavior here either, I will admit to some sour behavior on the part of Democrats, going back to how things went during the Clinton administration, but it was Newt Gingrich who really pushed us over the edge of one of those dreaded slippery slopes. He decided that the argumentative, yet productive, relationships of say Reagan and O'Neil were unacceptable and that adversaries must be treated as enemies.  The GOP has always been a step ahead on the way down, leaving the Dems playing catch up, and even occasionally pumping the brakes.  Once Trump happened the brakes failed for both parties. Dirty pool looks different depending on which side of the aisle is playing at the moment, but it is still dirty, and is mounting to the point where it may be a threat to our Republic. We can't argue anymore, because argument requires good faith between the adversaries. Faith in anything other that tribal identity and brute force is lacking at the moment.