You’ll do better if you search for Fareed Zakaria rather than Farhid Zaccharia.
Actually, my initial google brought up the correct spelling, and I searched on that. I’m really asking for a link to the article referenced.
Just now, I forced a search on the incorrect spelling, and, of course, got bupkis. Well, wrong bupkis.
Hoping Irishman will come through.
Dan
Pretty sure this is it, from season 14 of his GPS show, March 28th of this year:
I’m seriously beginning to question if it isn’t already too late. One of the gravest vulnerabilities we have is that commercialism has created a malignant form of individualism that runs rampant throughout our society. The widespread rebellion against masking and basic public health guidance is an example of this. Some of this is a natural fear of the unfamiliar and unknown, which a pandemic can induce. But a lot of it is just individualism ‘You ain’t the bossa me’ attitude. With climate change inevitably getting worse, we’re entering an age in which collective action of some sort will be required. If people cannot invest enough of themselves to cooperate with each other to solve these kinds of problems with policy, then the alternative is authoritarianism. The regime will decide how resources are allocated, without our input.
Gah. Should have checked that. Stupid, lazy, inaccurate.
CNN Special Report: A Radical Rebellion - CNN Video
I’m not a christian, but I suppose one could make the case that it is in a variety of ways. I mean, it’s God’s reality they are denying, so isn’t that denying him? Also, the commitment to outright refusal to accept reality has become such an involved effort as to be a distraction from God. And of course you point out the dire consequences of the continued obedience to the “philosophy”. Then there is the direct conflict of “freedumb” and “my rights” against the teachings of “do unto others” and “love thy neighbor”. You are your brother’s keeper, but you’re* willing to let the pandemic get him because a mask isn’t comfortable. (*Phrased to match the biblical reference.)
I share your fear. The extent of fracturing of our political landscape leaves us so divided that a country that in any way resembles America under the Constitution is at risk. The result may still call itself America or The United States of America, but that won’t make it functionally the same, or recognizable.
No question that individualism has turned malignant, when wearing a mask to stop the spread of an airborne pandemic is a political statement. People care more about “The gubmint is forcing me” than “my family, friends, neighbors, community is at risk - people are dying.” “You can’t make me take that vaccine!”
And I’m not sure commercialism is really the cause. America has always had a stripe of selfish individualism. That is what drove the ever westward expansion, from colonists seeking religious communities under their own strict set of rules rather than the predominate ones in England to the folks moving west after the Civil War to escape the tensions of a social upheaval that left many dissatisfied and feeling oppressed by the national government. From gold rush dreams to cattle wars (free range vs. fencing), from Mormons going to Utah to white settlers relocating to Mexican territories and then rebelling against the tightening oppression of that Mexican government.
A lot of the mythos of the American West is tied up in that individualism. That same philosophical underpinning is behind a lot of our societal ideas about justice and retribution and vicarious vigilantism via media portrayals - Batman, Pale Rider, Equalizer, Die Hard, Death Wish. Even zombie films take on that characteristic of one person against the world.
You point out an excellent issue where are collective inaction has forced a crisis and collective action is required - not just at the national, but international level as well. And this is a troubling case where authoritarianism seems necessary, which is a scary step for that “slippery slope”. Justification of authoritarianism rarely stays limited in scope.
No biggie. Half the people here can’t spell my username and it’s printed out in black and white in front of their eyes.
I’m reading a book about the progressive movement and it gives an anecdote about why the earlier populist movements failed.
Farmers tried pooling their grain to get higher prices and protect against bad times. One farmer who became the operator of a co-operative silo quit in anger after two years because his fellow farmers kept sabotaging the co-op to sell their grain elsewhere the moment they got a better offer.
Worth noting that the farm states remain heavy Trump territory. They’ve always been suckers for charismatic demogogues.
Adding to the discussion on individualism, consider the growth of technologies such as social media.
It encourages personalities to outgrow themselves (if that statement makes sense). It gives all kinds of people platforms to gain outsized attention. Crap information drowns out good information. People need to have access to quality information in a democratic society if it is to work properly, and we’re losing that.
But we’re also losing touch with the idea that we have to cooperate with each other and sacrifice things from time to time. It was collective cooperation that got us out of the depression and through WWII. And you could make the case that it helped us win the Cold War against communism.
That spirit seems dead now. There is less good citizenship to go around, I am afraid. Not that I necessarily hold myself us some sort of paragon of virtue but merely acknowledging that citizens with rights also have some responsibilities to people that they never come into contact with.
Consider another technology: crypto. This has the potential to undo the nation-state model because it empowers those with extreme wealth and power in a democratic society to weaken the foundations that support it. They can secretly fund antidemocratic movements. They can evade taxation. They can form criminal enterprises.
You’re right, John T; had to get the single segment from YT, the direct link at CNN refused to open. I’ll have to add FZ to my go-to list. Thank you.
Dan
Is this the CNN Special Report that’s on at 10 Central time tonight? I’ve set a recording for it so thanks for the heads-up.
But it’s Russian!
Yeah, it’s the accusations that are demonic.
“Christians” are just as likely as anyone else to commit horrific sins. They add self-righteousness and manipulation on top of it.
Many Christians will be horrified to find out that they were NOT supposed to be self-righteous, NOT supposed to lie and steal, NOT supposed to molest kids and NOT supposed to hate their neighbors based on their political affiliation and \or skin color. Especially when they find out Jesus was a liberal Jew and NOT a white boy.
The facility these people ran is associated with fundamentalist religious groups that have a doctrinal belief in child abuse, they believe it’s a sin NOT to beat your children into submission.
Yes, the reach and access of media platforms through the internet is a double-edged sword. It allows communication and connection in ways we only dreamed before. It allows access to information in government restricted zones and areas of unrest. It provides the ability to find out detailed information about just about any topic from the comfort of home in your pajamas.
However, it also provides unlimited platform for the crazies that used to be stuck with a placard at the town square. It allows the proliferation of unvetted and nonsensical ideas. It allows the building of communities of nonsense.
And social media platforms amplify this by algorithms to tailor content for the viewer. Show an interest in “Why is shit brown?” one time, and suddenly your feed is full of shit links to shit sites. And can you clear that metadata? No.
That kind of filtering is ideal for the deliberate misinformation attack. Start someone with a reasonably sensible question or a skeptical look at a topic, then blast them with ever-increasing intensity of nonsense without filtering for accuracy or sense.
No joke. Sure, Americans will pitch in during a crisis like the Hurricane Harvey response or people reaching out during the cold snap power outage in Texas this year. At the same time, they look at any intrusion in their personal routine or desires as an attack on their liberty. If it’s the government doing it, it has to be evil. “I’M NOT WEARING A MASK!”
Yeah, but they’ve always been doing those things. The advancements that make it harder to do them get circumvented by new advancements that make it easier.
Wait, Jesus was a Jew? He wasn’t even White? Gasp.
I KNOW!!!
All the paintings make him look like Peter O’Toole in The Ruling Class
And riding a dinosaur to boot.
Fuck this guy and anyone who still claims to be a Republican. You stand with this asshole, QAnon, Proud Boys, KKK , FOX commentators and a bunch of smaller evil fuck groups.
Lying, evil sack of shit.
Another lying, evil fuck.
I don’t know why Santorum was ever on CNN – he’s a homophobic, anti-woman, rightwing nutjob. Anytime I saw him on CNN (only during election nights, which is the only time I watch CNN), he had nothing of value to add – either empty platitudes or false statement.
Get fired for lying, lie about why you got fired. Nice.
It’s lies all the way down to his very core. That core being a pitiful hollow space consisting of nothing but used anal lube.