{"id":61739,"date":"2020-11-12T12:42:55","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T18:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=61739"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:42:55","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T18:42:55","slug":"61739","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=61739","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Against \u2018Unity\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Political\u00a0unity is an ugly, authoritarian idea. No free place has domestic political unity, nor should it aspire to it.<\/p>\n

What \u201cunity\u201d really means, of course, is capitulation. America is once again being subjected to the inane brand of pseudo-patriotic sloganeering we saw during the Obama years. Now, as then, the media will pretend that the moral fabric of the nation must be mended after Republican rule. It\u2019s pretty transparent. When Democrats win the presidency, we are treated to solemn calls for national restoration and political harmony, and to the expectation that, for the good of the nation, the opposition will embrace decorum and pass legislation they oppose. When Republicans win elections, grown women put on knitted hats depicting their reproductive organs and stomp around Washington protesting, all to a hero\u2019s welcome.<\/p>\n

Time<\/em> magazine, the same publication that helped erode trust in our electoral system with conspiratorial covers of the White House morphing<\/a>\u00a0into the Kremlin, now offers a commemorative cover featuring Joe Biden and Kamala Harris with the words, \u201cA time to heal.\u201d Unlike some of our progressive friends, I don\u2019t believe in\u00a0enemies lists<\/a>\u00a0or censorship, so my healing process is simple: It involves playing whatever small part I can in extinguishing the political fortunes of those who want to weaken the Constitution. I\u2019m not at all interested in finding accord with those who want to overturn the Hyde amendment, thereby making late-term abortion a state-funded practice, or with anyone who wants to \u201creengage\u201d without any genuine preconditions with Holocaust-denying terror regimes such as Iran, or with anyone who wants to further socialize our health-care system by adding a \u201cpublic option.\u201d Like many others, I find disunity quite therapeutic.<\/p>\n

I suspect that, in a few weeks, \u201cpolitical polarization\u201d will once again become an existential crisis of American governance. My favorite post-election\u00a0headline<\/a>\u00a0came from the social scientists at Pew Research Center, who informed us that the \u201c2020 election reveals two broad voting coalitions fundamentally at odds.\u201d\u00a0Two<\/em>\u00a0broad coalitions, you say? Fundamentally at odds? What are the chances?<\/p>\n

Michelle Obama says<\/a>\u00a0we can overcome our divisions, but that Democrats must first remember \u201cthat tens of millions of people voted for the status quo, even when it meant supporting lies, hate, chaos, and division.\u201d She suggests that there is \u201ca lot of work to do to reach out to these folks in the years ahead and connect with them on what unites us.\u201d It\u2019s somewhat difficult to process this level of obnoxious sanctimony.\u00a0Here is a list of demands you divisive Republicans must embrace for the country to \u201cunite.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Get on with it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Anyhow, I reject this false choice in the name of patriotic disunity.<\/p>\n

Not\u00a0one<\/em>\u00a0of those 71 million agents of chaos lied to millions of Americans to strip us of our health-care insurance plans. Not one of those voters has attempted to force nuns to buy contraception \u2014 or sued them when they refused. One day I hope Michelle will stop defending the lies, hate, and division that her husband inflicted on this great nation. Until then, though, we\u2019ll have to agree to disagree.<\/p>\n

We do that sort of thing in Washington. The liberal pivot from \u201cresistance\u201d to \u201cunity\u201d is as swift as it is dishonest. After four years of treating every unexceptional conservative policy victory as one of the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse,\u00a0Washington Post<\/em>\u00a0columnists are already dusting off\u00a0their<\/a>\u00a0columns about \u201cobstructionism\u201d and \u201cminority rule.\u201d After years of blanket opposition to Trump, we are being told that Joe Biden has a national \u201cmandate<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Politics is not a place for unity. It is a place for airing grievances.<\/p>\n

Political unity is an ugly, authoritarian idea. No free place has domestic political unity, nor should it aspire to it.<\/p>\n

What \u201cunity\u201d really means, of course, is capitulation. America is once again being subjected to the inane brand of pseudo-patriotic sloganeering we saw during the Obama years. Now, as then, the media will pretend that the moral fabric of the nation must be mended after Republican rule. It\u2019s pretty transparent. When Democrats win the presidency, we are treated to solemn calls for national restoration and political harmony, and to the expectation that, for the good of the nation, the opposition will embrace decorum and pass legislation they oppose. When Republicans win elections, grown women put on knitted hats depicting their reproductive organs and stomp around Washington protesting, all to a hero\u2019s welcome.<\/p>\n

Time magazine, the same publication that helped erode trust in our electoral system with conspiratorial covers of the White House morphing into the Kremlin, now offers a commemorative cover featuring Joe Biden and Kamala Harris with the words, \u201cA time to heal.\u201d Unlike some of our progressive friends, I don\u2019t believe in enemies lists or censorship, so my healing process is simple: It involves playing whatever small part I can in extinguishing the political fortunes of those who want to weaken the Constitution. I\u2019m not at all interested in finding accord with those who want to overturn the Hyde amendment, thereby making late-term abortion a state-funded practice, or with anyone who wants to \u201creengage\u201d without any genuine preconditions with Holocaust-denying terror regimes such as Iran, or with anyone who wants to further socialize our health-care system by adding a \u201cpublic option.\u201d Like many others, I find disunity quite therapeutic.<\/p>\n

I suspect that, in a few weeks, \u201cpolitical polarization\u201d will once again become an existential crisis of American governance. My favorite post-election headline came from the social scientists at Pew Research Center, who informed us that the \u201c2020 election reveals two broad voting coalitions fundamentally at odds.\u201d Two broad coalitions, you say? Fundamentally at odds? What are the chances?<\/p>\n

Michelle Obama says we can overcome our divisions, but that Democrats must first remember \u201cthat tens of millions of people voted for the status quo, even when it meant supporting lies, hate, chaos, and division.\u201d She suggests that there is \u201ca lot of work to do to reach out to these folks in the years ahead and connect with them on what unites us.\u201d It\u2019s somewhat difficult to process this level of obnoxious sanctimony. Here is a list of demands you divisive Republicans must embrace for the country to \u201cunite.\u201d Get on with it.<\/p>\n

Anyhow, I reject this false choice in the name of patriotic disunity. Not one of those 71 million agents of chaos lied to millions of Americans to strip us of our health-care insurance plans. Not one of those voters has attempted to force nuns to buy contraception \u2014 or sued them when they refused. One day I hope Michelle will stop defending the lies, hate, and division that her husband inflicted on this great nation. Until then, though, we\u2019ll have to agree to disagree.<\/p>\n

We do that sort of thing in Washington. The liberal pivot from \u201cresistance\u201d to \u201cunity\u201d is as swift as it is dishonest. After four years of treating every unexceptional conservative policy victory as one of the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse, Washington Post columnists are already dusting off their columns about \u201cobstructionism\u201d and \u201cminority rule.\u201d After years of blanket opposition to Trump, we are being told that Joe Biden has a national \u201cmandate.\u201d<\/p>\n

He does not. God willing, Washington is headed for more \u201cgridlock\u201d \u2014 a completely healthy, organic reflection of the geographical, ideological, and theological differences of real people in contemporary America. Congress makes laws, and right now that institution is narrowly divided, and unlikely to be able to come together on any of the big-ticket items Biden promised. This is why federalism exists.<\/p>\n

Unity is found in comity with your neighbors, in your churches and schools, in your everyday interactions with your community. Politics is not a place for unity. It is a place for airing grievances. And we\u2019ve got plenty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Against \u2018Unity\u2019 Political\u00a0unity is an ugly, authoritarian idea. No free place has domestic political unity, nor should it aspire to it. What \u201cunity\u201d really means, of course, is capitulation. America is once again being subjected to the inane brand of pseudo-patriotic sloganeering we saw during the Obama years. Now, as then, the media will pretend … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61739"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61740,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61739\/revisions\/61740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}