Posted on 09/17/2009 10:03:09 PM PDT by Bob017
Derbyshire aims in this book to pour cold water on all "schemes for political improvement," both at home and abroad, to argue that our civilization is in its twilight, and to show that while there are things we could do to save the situation, we won't do any of them, because we have sunk into a collective mindset that won't let us. Hence: We are doomed.
It's not a frivolous subject. Still, every sinking ship should, like the Titanic, have a band playing on deck as she goes down. He aims to bring the bad news with a light touch, to highlight some of the ironies, and to emulate the late, great Samuel Beckett, who seasoned his sermons on futility ("we give birth astride a grave") with jokes and slapstick.Furthermore, the acquiescence of conservatives in the happy talk has been a big part of the problem. That should never have happened. Conservatism ought to be pessimistic. It has always had a strong streak of pessimism, from Hobbes and Burke, through Lord Salisbury and Calvin Coolidge, to Pat Buchanan (DEATH OF THE WEST) and Mark Steyn (AMERICA ALONE) in our own time. Derbyshire aims to out-gloom all of them, thereby sparking a needed debate within conservatism as to the proper temperament of the movement.
Additionally, too many conservatives are, for social and psychological reasons, turning their faces resolutely away from the new understandings of human nature beginning to be revealed by the human sciences. Yes (we now know, to high probabilities), there are innate, intractable differences between the sexes, and between races. No, not all nations are capable of rational, consensual government. No, crime is not a consequence of poverty or neglect. No, not every child is educable beyond elementary reading and arithmetic skills. No, parenting style does not determine life outcomes, nor even affect them much. A human being is at least half finished at birth; subsequent interventions have small, and often only temporary, effects.
While conservatives have been failing to face these glum truths about the human condition, liberals have been developing a pessimistic style all their own, preaching the irredeemable corruption of man (at least, of white male heterosexual man) and the advent of catastrophe by global warming or resource depletion. But this is really bogus pessimism, a loss leader for liberalism's real bill of goods. The left is, as it has always been, the party of heaven, seeking to transform us into angels fit to live in their utopia of perfect equality. Conservatives are the true party of earth, seeking in human nature as it is for the drives and restraints that make civilized society possible. No happy talk, no wishful thinking for us; only a cold eye for a cold world, for fallible humanity, and for Western civilization—so painfully won, so precariously held, and now slipping irretrievably from our grasp.
WE ARE DOOMED will seek to reclaim a proper conservative pessimism from the faux pessimism of the left. Why should the Devil have all the best tunes?
Good article. Conservatism is just being realistic. Common sense.
parsy, who has a healthy dose of pessimism
Going to throw in a blurb from Judge Robert Bork:
John Derbyshire contends that a comprehensive pessimism is the natural home for realistic conservatives, a breed that understands human nature better than utopian liberals and ‘happy talk conservatives.’ His argument is wide-ranging, erudite, and invigorating, but, paradoxically, delivered with cheerful panache.”
http://www.amazon.com/Are-Doomed-Reclaiming-Conservative-Pessimism/dp/0307409589
Conservatism is just being realistic. Common sense.
____________________________
Basically, truth must be defended.
Conservative pessimism? Not exactly. Is bad weather coming? Maybe. And? Whats new?
Turn your face toward the storm.
Wear a rain jacket. Carry a thermos of hot coffee, enough so you can share a little. Smoke your favorite cigar and think deep thoughts while you walk.
Quit worrying. Life’s short but its kinda cool. Then you die and live forever.
That story I was thinking of about the man fighting the bureaucrats in order to get his private space venture off the ground would be set in a world far gone in the kind of future Derbyshire talks about. Civilizational decline.
Sunkenciv- They’re going to dig up our artifacts someday.... God help them stay sane
And I agree that we do not have the collective will to do anything about it. My mom knows pretty much everything about what is going on in this administration, but will not even end her AARP membership. My dad talks tough, but does nothing. His generation lost it for us anyway...
Does anyone think we will survive with open borders and up to 600,000,000,000,000 in unsecured debt?
Second, if "conservatives" won't do anything, I guess those 1.5 million people were just visiting the National Art Gallery.
Third, it is only when there is a clear and explicit challenge that conservatives get motivated. This is absolutely a distinction from liberalism, which constantly seeks to advance government. At some point, conservatives will get motivated enough that they won't be satisfied with a Reagan who will "control" government, but will in fact turn the boat over. I don't know if we're there yet or not, but the times, as Dylan said, surely are a'changin' and it won't be long.
The premise then was that the Soviets would eventually win out and all we could do was possibly delay the inevitable.
Jimmy the peanuts "Malaise" speech and his lecture on our "inordinate fear of Communism" fed into that.
Then of course came,...."Dutch",,,"Gipper"..."The Big Boss Man"....Ronald Wilson Reagan.
And all of that crapola went away.
They’ll think everything had a ceremonial purpose. ;’)
I don’t even want to imagine what they’d think. The worst thing is the only perfectly preserved petrified human corps is Helen Thomas.
“They were so ugly back then!”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.