{"id":84354,"date":"2022-08-09T12:56:30","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T17:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=84354"},"modified":"2022-08-09T12:56:30","modified_gmt":"2022-08-09T17:56:30","slug":"84354","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=84354","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing<\/em>. Acts 17:21-31<\/p>\n

BLUF
\nNone of this is to say that whatever the Current Thing happens to be is trivial or unimportant; it\u2019s only to say that Current Thingism<\/em> is a sign of democratic decay that erodes the vital role of deliberation that is essential for our system of government. With all this in view, the fact that so many of the self-professed defenders of Our Democracy are so adamantly devoted to the Current Thing calls their motives into question. The next time you see an American flying a Ukrainian flag, ask yourself: could they find the nation on a map?<\/p>\n

The Tyranny of the ‘Current Thing’<\/a><\/p>\n

There is no better evidence of the managed<\/em>\u00a0nature of what passes as \u201cdemocratic deliberation\u201d than the recent development of \u201cCurrent Thingism.\u201d Even if you aren\u2019t familiar with the term, you know the phenomenon well. There are many crises unfolding in contemporary America, and the \u201cCurrent Thing\u201d is whichever one our elites insist should be the focus of our attention at the present moment.<\/p>\n

For a while, the Current Thing was #MeToo. From 2016 until 2018, the Current Thing was Russian collusion. After that scheme unraveled, we moved through a series of Current Things, each of which was said to compound the grave threat Trump supposedly posed to Our Democracy: in March 2020, it was Covid-19; for a few months that summer, it was systemic racism; then, it was the Delta variant; finally, for a stretch of early 2021, it was the January 6th<\/sup>\u00a0\u201cinsurrection.\u201d And when Russia invaded Ukraine, Ukraine became the Current Thing. You knew it was the new Current Thing because all the\u00a0smart people<\/a>\u00a0suddenly changed<\/a>\u00a0how they<\/a>\u00a0spelled and<\/a>\u00a0pronounced \u201cKiev.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

So, you know what the Current Thing is. What, then, is \u201cCurrent Thingism\u201d? Current Thingism is the default mindset of a certain segment of the American population: typically, the professional, liberal, educated, urban caste of society. Current Thingism is an enduring assumption that whatever the Current Thing happens to be, it should, in fact, be\u00a0<\/em>the Current Thing\u2014the issue among issues.<\/p>\n

Current Thingism also enables some judgment on the part of the Current Thingist. Because the Current Thing deserves our total attention and deference, anyone who disputes the existence or the urgency of the Current Thing is a problem. The person who does not concede the urgency of the Current Thing is dumb, dangerous, or both. Remember\u00a0the treatment of those<\/a>\u00a0who doubted the efficacy of masks? Those who\u00a0were reluctant<\/a>\u00a0about mRNA vaccines? Those who\u00a0doubted the wisdom of sending billions of dollars<\/a>\u00a0to fund Ukraine\u2019s defense? Such is the fate of those who don\u2019t get in line with the Current Thing.<\/p>\n

Although America has many pressing problems, Current Thingism itself is a threat to the nation. To some degree, it is a threat\u00a0because<\/em>\u00a0America is facing so many crises. Current Thingism artificially elevates one political concern over all the others, which justifies inaction on other matters that may, in fact, be more urgent. Some will argue that while the term \u201cCurrent Thing\u201d is new, the phenomenon is not: they might say that certain issues have always been prioritized over other issues. They\u2019re right and wrong.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Manufacturing the \u201cIssues\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The concept of the \u201cissue\u201d has always been, well, an issue. It is common to hear people ask where someone\u00a0stands on \u201cthe issues,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0or for them to implore others\u00a0to \u201cfocus on the issues.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0But what\u00a0are<\/em>\u00a0\u201cthe issues\u201d? In theory, the issues are the various concerns that a majority of citizens agree that the government needs to address. If the issues were allowed to rise organically, through a process of broad public deliberation, that would be fine. But that\u2019s not how it works. In our era\u2014in which mass media has vastly more power in controlling the flow of information than ever before\u2014\u201cthe issues\u201d are not determined by the public. Instead, media outlets (which\u00a0overwhelmingly<\/a>\u00a0share a set of political and cultural biases) decide what the issues are\u00a0to them<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Because media platforms now form the (virtual) space of public deliberation, these platforms can\u00a0simply refuse<\/a>\u00a0to address the public\u2019s concerns. Take, for example,\u00a0the broad public perception<\/a>\u00a0that we have an urgent problem at our southern border with illegal immigration\u2014a problem with economic, educational, cultural, and national-security dimensions. Although a large percentage of Americans see this as a pressing matter, most legacy media outlets\u00a0studiously ignore\u00a0<\/a>it. In effect, they ensure that the topic can never really rise to the level of being \u201can issue.\u201d This severely restricts the presence of immigration in public discourse, which gives elected officials carte blanche to disregard it.<\/p>\n

What we refer to as \u201cthe issues\u201d have always reflected the preferences of an educated, urban elite, who exercise sole power in deciding what problems count as valid public concerns. Current Thingism is an advanced manifestation of this phenomenon, because it insists upon a monomaniacal focus on a\u00a0particular<\/em>\u00a0issue. Counterintuitively, though, when a particular issue takes on the status of the Current Thing, it doesn\u2019t intensify the debate on that topic. On the contrary: when a problem becomes\u00a0the<\/em>\u00a0issue among issues, mainstream media and the liberal establishment enforce an artificial consensus on every question even peripherally relevant to that concern. Thus, whereas the defining of \u201cthe issues\u201d was meant to narrow the focus of which topics need to be debated by the public, Current Thingism serves to narrow that focus to a\u00a0single<\/em>\u00a0issue and to push it beyond the realm of debate entirely.<\/p>\n

Consider the pandemic. When Covid-19 was the Current Thing, deliberation was actively suppressed. To doubt the efficacy of masks was considered stupidity. To question the necessity of lockdowns was deemed selfish. To press for the reopening of the schools was framed as\u00a0a desire to kill teachers<\/a>. To note the 99 percent survival rate was\u00a0to be a callous, heartless person<\/a>\u00a0who wants to kill grandma. Reluctance to take a largely untested vaccine was\u00a0to be \u201canti-science,\u201d which is, of course, to be a moron<\/a>. Despite the fact that\u00a0there were<\/a>\u00a0a number<\/a>\u00a0of scientific debates<\/a>\u00a0regarding the virus, the public was simply commanded to \u201cFollow the Science.<\/a>\u201d In other words, a consensus was invented where none existed. This is the very purpose of Current Thingism. It is rhetorical intimidation meant to disable public deliberation so that a false \u201cconsensus\u201d can be imposed without resistance.<\/p>\n

The Warm Embrace of the Current Thing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

But why, then, are there so many private citizens devoted to Current Thingism\u2014a phenomenon that clearly shrinks their own rightful role in democratic debate? Why are there so many people who feel compelled\u00a0to announce<\/a>\u00a0their total compliance<\/a>\u00a0with CDC recommendations on their\u00a0need for a booster shot<\/a>? Why are there\u00a0so<\/a>\u00a0many<\/a>\u00a0people<\/a>\u00a0who dutifully place a Ukrainian flag next to their name on social media? Do they care deeply about what is happening in Ukraine?<\/p>\n

The answer, of course, is no. How do we know? The same people\u00a0who are outraged<\/a>\u00a0that anyone would refuse to recognize the sovereignty and borders of Ukraine are the\u00a0same ones<\/a>\u00a0who variously ignore or celebrate the fact that millions of people are refusing to recognize the sovereignty and borders of the United States? These people don\u2019t care about Ukraine. So what gives?<\/p>\n

Current Thingism is a way for these people to comfort themselves. Current Thingists are almost always leftists (although many would insist upon the label of \u201cmoderate\u201d). They are usually leftists because the statist establishment consists of leftists. This ensures that the Current Thing is always something that flatters the leftist\u2019s political sensibilities. Although it erodes his own role in democratic life, the private citizen who always supports the Current Thing supports it partly because he intuitively understands that doing so will help place the issue off-limits for those who want to debate how to address it.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s more to it. The \u201cmoderates\u201d and leftists are surrounded by people on the right\u2014people who insist that the crisis we face isn\u2019t simply this or that\u00a0issue<\/em>, but is fundamentally about the regime\u2019s general unwillingness and inability to effectively address\u00a0any crisis at all<\/em>. In short, the political opponents of the Current Thingist tell him a number of things that he doesn\u2019t want to hear: that the state can\u2019t reliably diagnose our problems, and that it is not equipped to resolve these problems even if it knew what they were. In short, the political right insists that the health of the regime\u00a0itself<\/em>\u00a0is\u00a0the\u00a0<\/em>issue among issues, if only because the state is plainly corrupt and demonstrably inept. These ideas strike fear into the heart of the Current Thingist. But who can blame him? All of these things ultimately hint at the unpleasant truth that the experts and the establishment can\u2019t save us.<\/p>\n

Current Thingism, then, is not about Ukraine, or Covid-19, or Russian collusion, or any other issue that rises to the status of the Current Thing. Rather, Current Thingism\u2014the reflexive support for every new Current Thing\u2014 is really about reassuring oneself that\u00a0everything is fine<\/a>. It\u2019s a way to convince yourself that the problems we face aren\u2019t particularly dire, and they certainly aren\u2019t terminal. We can regain a state of political normalcy. We can meet the crisis.\u00a0The Adults Are In The Room<\/a>, and if we\u00a0trust the experts<\/a>, then everything will\u00a0be fine<\/a>. Current Thingism is a way to trick yourself\u2014a way to avoid seeing a million problems by pretending that there is only one. Beyond that, the Ukrainian flag on your social-media account simply amounts to trolling: a reminder for your political opponents that they\u2019re crazy. Because everything\u00a0is\u00a0fine<\/em><\/a>! No matter what they say.<\/p>\n

It is of note, though, that despite Current Thingism\u2019s laser-focus on a particular issue, none of the issues that rise to the level of the Current Thing are ever resolved. Did #MeToo stop sexual harassment? Was Russian collusion ever discovered or prosecuted? Has \u201csystemic racism\u201d been dismantled?\u00a0Certainly not<\/a>, according to those who constantly bring it to our attention. It seems we always move on to a new Current Thing before we solve the old one. Covid was still with us when we switched to Ukraine. And in all probability, we will be ushered along to a new Current Thing before Russia has withdrawn. Not only does this call attention to the state\u2019s inability to solve what we are told are out most pressing problems, it also shows that Current Thingism is a\u00a0cynical strategy<\/a>\u00a0to distract the public from the state\u2019s inaction on the actual problems we face \u2013 or, at the very least, to undermine their status as \u201cissues\u201d that would otherwise be the subject of democratic deliberation.<\/p>\n

None of this is to say that whatever the Current Thing happens to be is trivial or unimportant; it\u2019s only to say that Current Thingism<\/em>\u00a0is a sign of democratic decay that erodes the vital role of deliberation that is essential for our system of government. With all this in view, the fact that so many of the self-professed defenders of Our Democracy are so adamantly devoted to the Current Thing calls their motives into question. The next time you see an American flying a Ukrainian flag, ask yourself: could they find the nation on a map?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing. Acts 17:21-31 BLUF None of this is to say that whatever the Current Thing happens to be is trivial or unimportant; it\u2019s only to say that Current Thingism is a … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crap-for-brains","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84354","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=84354"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84355,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84354\/revisions\/84355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}