The Hot List Vol. 1

On the Labor Left, Beyonce, School Shooters, and other hot topics you should be thinking about

Here are a few hot takes on articles, videos, books, and music making their way around the mediascape:

Articles:

-Sohrab Ahmari on “What the Right Doesn’t Get About the Labor Left” and on what traditional (non-identitarian) leftists and the “New Right” have in common. He highlights the cognitive dissonance of how many who claim to advocate for the oppressed covertly impose elitist ideas on them, rendering them further impoverished on a cultural level. He also makes clear how those who are concerned about labor, both on the left and right, need to put aside their disagreements about “culture war” issues and place more focus on collaborating for the sake of workers’ dignity.

-Maximillian Alvarez challenges the idea that we are all “entitled to our own opinions” from a labor-left perspective, attributing this way of thinking to Enlightenment philosophers like Descartes. He goes on to critique bourgeois, liberal multiculturalism and its so-called tolerance: Self-described tolerant liberals, for example, will often argue for treating people of a certain foreign ethnicity (and their culture) with equal “respect” and “understanding” while still reducing their human complexity to a monolithic, culturally determined ideal—or a handful of “charming customs. It seems like many minority groups are capitulating to this reductionist view of their own cultures, holding on to mere surface level postures and pastiche, and exchanging their traditions, beliefs, and cultural practices for a globalist neoliberal foundation. Take sites like Pero Like for example.

Music:

-I seem to fall into the same pattern every time Beyonce releases a new album: people make a fuss about it, ask me if I’ve listened to it, I scoff–refusing to follow the crowd, I listen to it 2 months later, secretly enjoy it, devise a series of hot takes, and write an article about it. Since I am now in the hot take phase of the Renaissance era, I will say this: on the side of the producers, the album is utter genius. The mix of vogue-house music, disco, and afrobeats is both sonically fascinating and socio-historically loaded. On the side of Beyonce herself, this album is a desperate attempt to stay relevant in an industry that has forgotten about her, by pandering to two easy to win over demographics: gays and black studies enthusiasts. Otherwise, Renaissance is an album to listen to while riding through deep Brooklyn. It’s hip in a way that is trying too hard so you know you’re not actually that cool, and postures as if it’s emulating underground minority subcultures while being profoundly elitist and globalist. For a hotter take on the album, read Armin Rosen’s review of it.

-I will not give the algorithm the satisfaction of commenting further on the Kanye debacle. But I will say that if you want to understand him better, you should check out this commentary on Kanye as the “fool for Christ” archetype by Jonathan Pageau and this commentary on his political platform by Marc Barnes.

Clips:

-Russell Brand’s take on the Queen’s funeral reads into the cosmic, archetypal symbolism of the event, pointing out both its sacredness and its absurdity. He highlights the fact that the loss of this “Great Mother”-type figure represents an epochal shift for the UK and offers a chance to reevaluate its metanarratives about culture and politics. I comment further on Brand’s take in my article for the American Mind.

-After the Queen’s passing, I rewatched a few episodes of The Crown, and was reminded of how awestruck I was when hearing the story of Princess Alice. I went ahead to do some more research on her story, and was even further amazed by what I found. Princess Alice struggled with mental health issues, was “put away” by the Royal Family to “save face,” underwent torturous electric shock treatments, converted to Greek Orthodoxy, and founded an order of nuns dedicated to serving the sick and poor in Athens. The story sheds light on the contrasting attitudes in Anglo vs. Southern European cultures toward mental health, spirituality, cultural respectability/“normalcy,” and reality in general. It called to mind the plot of The Light in the Piazza, which explores similar issues in the context of WASP American vs. Italian cultures. I highly recommend watching Episode 4 of Season 3 of the Crown.

-Katherine Dee (aka the Default Friend) appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show to discuss the impact the internet is having on younger generations, and the role it plays in inspiring mass shooters. One of the most nuanced takes on internet culture that I’ve heard in a while. 

-I highly, highly recommend watching all 3 seasons of Ramy on Hulu. It’s one of the most fair, nuanced, and compelling depictions of religion on television right now. It avoids both woke reductionism and kitschy proselytism…a rarity in today’s mediascape. Ramy Youssef, the show’s creator and star, has a knack for using humor to dig into the many facets to the issues that divide our culture. Just when you think he’s using a joke to pander to a particular “side,” he uses the punchline to abruptly flip it in the opposite direction, catching you off-guard with his genius use of irony and wit. (Watch his debut on the Colbert Show to see how he plays on both woke and conservative tropes about Trump, God, and gender). Take his approach to diversity and inclusion in casting. One of the show's co-stars, Steve Way (Youssef’s childhood friend), has muscular dystrophy. When asked about writing Steve’s role, Youssef said that he wrote the role not for a “generic” disabled person, but for Steve. To write a good role, he says, you have to start with the particular person, who cannot be replaced with just any other person of the same minority group…these kinds of roles cannot be written in a vacuum. Further, he makes it clear that the show is not designed to tell people what or how to think. Rather, it is meant to stimulate conversations about tough issues. The show makes its mission concrete through the series of 10 discussions posted on Hulu’s YouTube channel, featuring cast members, writers, and outside experts exploring a variety of complex issues over a glass of Egyptian tea. The most fascinating one in my opinion was the discussion on sexual repression. Also, check out my review of it for NCR.

Books:

-Shadi Hamid’s book The Problem of Democracy questions whether democracy and liberalism must always go hand in hand, and explores the US’s complicated relationship with illiberal democracies in the Middle East. He spoke on my podcast about the topic recently. You can also read an excerpt in his recent Atlantic article.

-Richard Reeves’ new book Of Boys and Men accomplishes what Jordan Peterson aims to were he to be less ideological, performatively inflammatory, and were he to base his assertions on hard research. He demonstrates the need to provide young men certain resources, without denigrating the positive effects of feminism or resorting to overused conservative tropes. He discusses his book in a recent podcast interview with Shadi Hamid. A lot of what they said called to mind much of what Camille Paglia wrote about boys, the US education system, and school shooters in Salon years ago.

A final thought:

-The more I read into the trad trend (whether in its doctrinal, moralistic, or aesthetic/ironic “vibe” flavors), the more I’m convinced of two things:

1-Without a living “charism,” religion is useless and ultimately a self-indulgent distraction from reality. This holds true for both trads who are fixated on the past and progressives who focus on a future of doctrinal change. As Pope Francis recently stated, charisms–given by the Holy Spirit and verified and protected by the authority of the Church–integrate the importance of the past, present, and future in a way that human effort and intelligence alone cannot manage. Fidelity to charisms enable us: “to remember, that is, to restore to the heart, to recall the encounter with the Mystery that led us up to here; and to generate, looking ahead with confidence, listening to the cries that the Spirit expresses newly today…The humble give life, attract others and push onwards towards the unknown that lies ahead. The proud, on the other hand, simply repeat, grow rigid […] and enclose themselves in that repetition, feeling certain about what they know and fearful of anything new because they cannot control it; they feel destabilized… because they have lost their memory.” And the reality is that the only places where veritable charisms are alive and active are in the ecclesical lay movements (Neocats, CL, Focolare, Sant’Egidio, etc) and in religious orders. The lack of a “generative” missionary spirit among many trads and the lack of regard for “memory” and tradition in more progressive circles ultimately evade looking at the event of the Incarnation, at the person of Jesus himself, who is a presence in our past, present, and future. The communal nature of these entities give flesh to the beliefs of Christianity, saving them from being reduced to mere abstract ideas or moral principles.

2-Young trads and liberal “spirit of Vatican 2” boomers keep talking past each other, each ignoring that points are being made on both “sides” that are worth hearing and taking seriously. The elders run the risk of turning away or radicalizing the youth…who ultimately are going to be running things in the future since the boomers aren’t going to be alive as long. And the youth run the risk of burning themselves out with their starry-eyed zeal, lacking the wisdom, realism, and lived experience of those who have been around longer than themselves. This deadlock calls for a heavy dose of humility and a renewed appreciation for intergenerational dialogue. Once again, lay movements and religious orders can serve as spaces for intergenerational communities. The objectivity of their charisms allow room for members to argue and debate with each other while maintaining a deeper sense of unity and charity.

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