This is how Americans now interpret freedom: Not as a political condition in a democratic society, but as a constant chant of "you're not the boss of me." This is not freedom, or at least not freedom in any political sense. It's a child-like understanding of autonomy. /1
In "The Death of Expertise," I wrote that people reject expertise as a kind of shout of autonomy, a way of saying that no one can tell them what to do. Thinking adults once understood that this is not the same as "freedom." But we are all about self-affirmation now. /2
This is what happens when people believe that "freedom" means "telling everyone no," whether it's at work, or at a doctor's office, or in a group activity of any kind. It's a stage toddlers go through, but they grow out of it. This is permanent childhood. /3
And yelling "no!" at experts and public safety officials is empowering. But only in the sense children understand power: The raw ability to defy someone else. It's not in any way about citizenship, which is how adults balance group obligation and individual freedom. /4
The protesters demand this empowerment, but without any consequent responsibility. Adults would say: "I accept this risk." Children say: "Let me do what I want and if things go bad, it's not my fault and you have to help me anyway." They just want all this to go away. /5
"Find me someone to blame, pay me for the harm this pandemic has caused me, and don't tell me about any of my obligations to make sure the human or financial costs don't get worse. Just make *me* whole, and let the other kids worry about whether they're getting a cookie." /6
So, be thankful for the adults around you wearing masks, staying in, working with the public at risk to themselves in an ER or even just manning a cash register at the grocery store. Citizens are adults, and we have to get through this despite the overgrown children among us. /7x

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More from @RadioFreeTom

Feb 14
Unrelated to the specific kerfuffle in my TL, here's a thought.

If you are inclined to believe that snotty blue checks don't engage people, do not complain when said blue check engages everyone as best he can.

There's one of me, many of you responding. /1
If you're telling me what to answer, what subjects to cover, or that you think I'm just here to "stir the pot" or other accusations of bad faith, I'll just block you to clear out the TL. I've had enough of that, thankyouverymuch.

I do my best to respond as much as I can. /2
My life would be a lot easier and more fun to just respond to the attaboys or just ignore all comments entirely, but that's never been my approach.

If you don't like the subject, then mute the thread, stop following, or turn off Twitter. You are grownups and have that power.
/3
Read 4 tweets
Jan 24
This was a group of very senior guys, GO/FO level some of them, and I snapped off a few shots of them. My man General Crackdown in the middle was not happy, as you can see.
I pulled the fill roll and made my mom stick it in her bra while was approached by an officer. /1
He, uh, told me to hand it over and come with him. I told him I didn't speak Russian. He switched to German. I told him I didn't speak German, either, but probably shouldn't have admitted I knew it was German. /2
My mother had no idea where she was in Moscow but I told her: "Film in bra, head away from me, I'll catch up."
The officer gave up and I started speaking English *loudly* and waving like Gomer Pyle and walked away. Mom and I made it to the Metro. /3
Read 4 tweets
Jan 17
@MelissaJPeltier @ericowensdc @ScottDguy @RachelBitecofer @tonyserrata @djosephdixon @harrisonjaime @DavidPepper What too many people on the left (in my not humble opinion) is that being *right* about a lot of Trump voters is not a platform. Republicans for years have branded themselves as "the party of everyone not specially favored by the Dems" and this was genius.
Trump blew that up. /1
@MelissaJPeltier @ericowensdc @ScottDguy @RachelBitecofer @tonyserrata @djosephdixon @harrisonjaime @DavidPepper And for a time after 2017, the *Dems* were making a great play for "being the party of everyone except this weird rightist coalition." This was the right play: to make the Dems the party of "we'll make everyone's life better."
But it's so hard for them to just keep doing that. /2
@MelissaJPeltier @ericowensdc @ScottDguy @RachelBitecofer @tonyserrata @djosephdixon @harrisonjaime @DavidPepper For those asking "What's the REPUBLICAN platform, huh?!" you're missing the point. They've gone back to being "not identity-driven and boutique issue Democrats who will hector you like self-righteous college students."
They don't need a platform to do that. /3
Read 4 tweets
Jan 13
In this piece, @Jbarro notes my frustration with people who will not vote to save democracy because they're worried about inflation. I take the point, but I have *always* felt this way about voters reacting to stuff that presidents don't control. /1

joshbarro.com/p/obsessing-ov…
In fact, one of the reasons I became a Republican in the late 70s was that I grew up in a blue collar area where people thought it was the responsibility of the President to find a job for every wage-earner, which isn't the way it works. (And I heard that a lot.) /2
I pleaded with people: You have mayors, state reps, governors. State government. You have to vote at the national level for things of national importance and solve local stuff at the local level. But nope. /3
Read 9 tweets
Dec 22, 2021
I read this piece recommended by @JVLast on how participating in the 1/6 insurrection ruined three lives. I read it trying to summon compassion, as he suggested we all do.
And yet, I'm struggling. /1
@JVLast There's a lot in the piece about protecting people from the consequences of free speech, vulnerable and gullible people. But the only way I can agree with that is to just give up on human agency and accept that a paternal state should have kept these people out of trouble. /2
@JVLast I don't know how to do that. I've always lived with pride in a country that never fears free speech, especially not if it's just nincompoopery writ large. (I don't even like hate speech codes.) So to feel compassion, I have to think of these people as no better than children. /3
Read 6 tweets
Dec 15, 2021
I've been busy all day, but catching up on the Great Mask Outrage confirms to me that
- Americans are terrible at risk assessement
- The goalposts for public health mandates have, for some people, now moved from "temporary emergency measures" to "because you might get a cold" /1
The people who are implying I am a heartless cad (which I am, but not on this) weren't here when I was taking rafts of shit from MAGA world about masking up, locking down, and getting vaxed. All of which I have affirmed with vigor.
But emergencies are not permanent. /2
Wear a mask in the shower if you want to. But it is *bad public policy* to create mandates that the public eventually just tunes out, for reasons ranging from symbolism to incoherence. I just drove through four states that all had different requirements, include *town* rules. /3
Read 5 tweets

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