Tuesday, May 10, 2022

On The Bobos

What if the people in charge of the system, the corrupt, oppressive system—indeed, who clawed their meritocratic way into the leadership class of that system—are us? Such thoughts, so obvious and yet so impermissible, perforce create an intolerable psychic dissonance. We must disavow, disavow, disavow: disavow not only our position in America, but America itself. Disavow the Founders; disavow Lincoln; disavow Columbus, Thanksgiving, the flag; disavow borders and national interests. “America,” for us, is NASCAR, guns, McDonald’s. “Americans” are fat, lazy, and stupid. Has there ever been another elite that repudiated the very country it led? We may not see ourselves for what we are, but everybody else does: hypocrites.

Read the rest of the William Deresiewicz essay here.

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