‘As for Trump, I find it difficult to hold him morally responsible for anything. He’s a creature of appetite and instinct who hunts and feeds in a dark sub-ethical realm. You don’t hold a shark morally responsible for mauling a swimmer. You just try to keep the shark at bay—which the American people failed to do.‘
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Dark sub-ethical realm is beautiful. It’s very very good writing. Maybe all the way to poetic.
June 5th, 2025 at 8:50PM
The conclusion to your previous post, “It’ll be interesting to see whether the government’s attempt to strangle vox populi through incredulous contempt will work,” generalizes. Incredulous contempt from the likes of George Packer (I’m familiar with his stuff, and not a fan) toward his fellow citizens (inhabitants of that “dark sub-ethical realm,” perhaps?) contributes to the return of Trump.
June 6th, 2025 at 9:28AM
Stephen: I haven’t read enough of Packer’s work (only a couple of other articles) to know if you’re right that this is his attitude. If I can find a piece of his which brings incredulous contempt to the Trump voter, I’ll read it.
June 6th, 2025 at 3:01PM
UD, you could start with his Last Best Hope from 2021, it’s the sort of plague-on-everyone-who-thinks-differently punditry that puts me off. (And he supports mandatory voting after trashing all those schools of thought. Sad!)
June 6th, 2025 at 3:19PM
Thanks! Will do.