Feel My Pain

An open letter published by Harper’s, signed by 153 prominent names, warning against illiberal behavior ...

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An open letter published by Harper’s, signed by 153 prominent names, warning against illiberal behavior received swift pushback online. Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David discuss which socio-political issues of our time are within the scope of reasonable disagreement while also addressing why illiberalism has become such a global phenomenon.

Should schools reopen fully in the fall? Why has the fight over mask-wearing devolved into a culture war issue? Does Trump understand his own constituency? Sarah and the guys weigh in on these questions while also addressing Trump’s Mt. Rushmore speech, and the future of the GOP in a post-Trump era.

Show Notes:

–Harper’s Magazine’s “Letter on Justice and Open Debate,” Vox writer’s retaliatory Twitter response to the letter, The Dispatch Podcast episode with Yascha Mounk.

-Trump’s July Fourth speech at Mount Rushmore, Trump’s Twitter tirade against NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, Forbes interview with Kanye West on a presidential run.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Comments (45)
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  1. Avatar photo
    Dina

    David, you mentioned that Republicans had a chance, during impeachment, to remove this manifestly unfit man from the presidency. But things weren't going too badly, and so they gambled on the American people--and lost. They should have known that crises arise in just about every administration. During impeachment, Adam Schiff warned against this. He said that many people ask, why not wait until the election and let the American people decide? What can happen in just a few months? Well, he answered, a lot can happen. This president still has enough time to inflict a lot of damage.

    How very right he was.

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    Tracie

    Listened to the first 20min of this driving into work, and the discussion about the Harper's letter, and the real issues we're dealing with (or not) helped me articulate to myself a mantra of my current politics.

    Racism is real. The gender unicorn is not.

    Looking forward to listening to the rest on the way home.

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  3. Mads Lindstrøm

    Jonah, you have mentioned multiple times Trump's superise at RNC's reaction when he talked about the Orlando gay nightclub shooting. And you may well be right about it, but I would literally not trust my on recollection of somebodies reaction from four years ago, let alone somebody else's recollection. Thus, please provide a link and let us judge for ourselves.

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  4. Mads Lindstrøm

    Mentioning anybodies, including Trump's, white supremacist retweet without mentioning it had been deleted is bad form. And I would prefer if the dispatch staff would not engage in such behavior.

    I would especially consider it bad form, as there is a straightforward way to explain the retweet as just a mistake. Granted, people can easily come up with other explanations that would indicate nefarious intentions on Trump's part, but that do not change the fact that it very well could have been just a mistake. And it is not like Trump is a careful tweeter user.

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      Tracie

      "And it is not like Trump is a careful tweeter user."

      I'm imagining that said in a Russian accent.

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    Angie

    I wanted to be a journalist...but, I had this very romantic view of being a foreign correspondent..traveling the world ( something I wanted to do anyway, and still do, though not likely at this late date)and facing danger...I am not sure where I got this idea, but, it had to be from books and other things I was reading at the time...I have a little bit of creative writing skill...and was writing short stories and poetry even then...

    But, my first year of college I learned the hard way I suck at the kind of writing needed to be a journalist...I actually didn't quite get it...lol

    That said, I fell into a business degree due to what I was doing as a living to help pay for school..ended up with both a Business Admin and Merchandising and Marketing degree...I was in retail for over 20 years , and the last 20 I have been a bookkeeper/operations Manager for a law firm

    Oddly, I am really a liberal arts major kind of person, and my final dream was a Masters or better yet a PhD in History, I wanted to teach at a University or do research...I went back to school a couple of times, but, divorce and cancer and a few other things just happened and I never did finish it...I kept meaning to, just were too many obstacles and at this point, if I did go back it would be just for the knowledge not to make a living..I love school to be honest...

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      Tracie

      If money were no issue, I'd go back for a physical anthropology degree. Instead, I just read Neil Shubin books.

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    Leticia Vega

    Loved the podcast, as usual. One question I have for David. Did you ever apply to be an astronaut?

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  7. C White

    FGS! U honestly think deaths are going down because we’re proning patients!? Next you’ll b singing the praises of ECMO. Deaths are going down because younger patients — who haven’t lived long enough to get comordidities — are far, far, far less likely to die than older patients. In fact the average age of death from CV19 is older than the age of average death in the US.

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      Tracie

      If you went to school for anything healthcare related, I'm sure you've heard the word "multifactorial." It's complicated.

      For people who end up in ICU, which is fortunately decreasing, improvements in effective treatments - such as proning people - have made a difference.

      For the public at large, the tendency of the young and immortal to be stupid and reckless, and the older and death-aware to be more careful, has certainly contributed to the falling death rate.

      There may also be other factors like attenuation, but now I'm starting to talk like I'm an epidemiologist or ID specialist, and that's what folloaing too many of them on twitter does to ya.

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      1. C White

        I’m a critical care doc who’s been proning patients for more than ten years (before ARDSnet made it cool). My CV-19 pts now — for whatever reason (i.e. multifactorial) are younger — younger — younger — and not as sick as they were back n Mar and April (even the septuagenarians). If it’s anything we do for treatment then it’s the steroids — maybe they finally found some use in sepsis after 50+ yrs

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      2. Anonymous

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          Tracie

          So, do you think the newer strains of the virus are less deadly?

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          1. C White

            Yes. But they’re younger which correlates better w survival. It’s the commodities that do u n. If u are you’re young (enough) then u haven’t lived long enough to have a bunch of medical problems.

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    Victor Clairmont

    So, again, it is a well reminder that cancel culture is real. Especially if Noam Chomsky is against it, and that the Twitteratii universe is affecting us in real life with all this deplatforming and ruining of other people’s lives. The letter itself, made me groan with all the “But first, he’s our confession we are not like republicans!”. People, just grow up and be against cancel culture. Sharks smell fear, and you already see signers rejecting the practice because they do not have enough courage to stand for their convictions. But, better late than never. Welcome on board.

    Good conclusions about the Republican Party and Trump at the moment. But if Trump refocuses all his efforts into to the singular argument about the craziness of cancel culture, casting himself as the only thing standing between “us” and “them”, the tide will turn come November. Of course, this will hinge on Biden’s response. I think just sitting back and relaxing for the next two months will continue to work, but October and November he will have to marshal a plan. There has been no president in the last 100 years that won by doing nothing.

    The ones who have won in spectacular comeback fashion, Truman and yes, Trump in 2016, have.

    Could always be a first though, Trump does have his terrible character going against him. And that, is Trumps fault. After all, character is destiny.

    Great podcast again all.

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      Tracie

      "The letter itself, made me groan with all the “But first, he’s our confession we are not like republicans!”."

      OMG you actually read it! The reviews have been mediocre, so I'm just gonna judge it based on secondhand commentary and who signed it, which is what I've criticized other for doing. But...I have better things to read.

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    Aylene Wright

    I might recycle this Q for the next Dispatch Live, but it occurs to me that most of the TD writers do *not* have a traditional journalism background. Is this just a happenstance, or part of a greater trend? If so, what are the pros and cons?

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  10. ROBERT

    Message to Sarah, and I've said this before: the longer you keep referring to Nathaniel as The Brisket, the greater the likelihood the nickname will stick forever!
    Don't get me wrong, I adore the nickname and he will forever be The Brisket in my mind. And perhaps that is only his stage name here at The Dispatch. But if he is being called The Brisket by his friends in college, remember, you were warned!

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      Angie

      I have a brother whose proper name is Clinton...my one sister and he are a year apart...she being older..she couldn't say baby and it came out Bombi...he is 56 years old and family and close friends still call him that...lol...when we are with non-family or close friends I have to concentrate to call him by his actual name...lol

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    2. linda

      I nicknamed everyone of the kids in my family and their nics stuck into adulthood. We have a Kdizzle, Danny Boy (he's 45), Pangy, Banana, Hails, Alexander B Friendly the 3rd, and on it goes. Brisket sounds pretty good especially if you are an athlete.

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