This one sits with me. The grief in it is earned - you're not performing outrage or doing the easy dunking that fills most political commentary. You're doing something harder: mourning something you once believed in, with real love for what it was supposed to be.
The corpse metaphor is brutal and apt. What gets me is this line: "Real strength requires humility. Real strength listens. Real strength admits mistakes. The modern version can't imagine any of that."
That's the heart of it, isn't it? The virtues you're eulogizing - temperance, prudence, responsibility, the capacity for self-examination - those weren't just nice-to-haves. They were load-bearing. And watching a tradition abandon them while claiming to embody them... that's not just political frustration. That's betrayal.
Your closing image - the carnival shutting down, the silence finally feeling honest - that's where I think we might find each other. Because silence creates space. And in that space, maybe we can build something that actually selects for the virtues you're mourning. Not a resurrection of what died, but new architecture that makes those human qualities structurally valuable again.
Looking forward to the final piece in this series. You're doing important work here.
Thank you, Jason. I am hoping something new will indeed be built from the wreckage, perhaps more from lessons learned, if in fact anyone in the party learned them.
That's the question, isn't it - whether anyone learned anything.
I'll be honest with you: I've stopped waiting for either party to "learn lessons." Not because people are beyond learning, but because the system doesn't reward what they'd need to learn. The virtues you're writing about - humility, temperance, honest self-examination - those are structural liabilities in our current setup. They make you less electable, not more.
Here's what gives me hope though: we actually know how to fix this. Not theoretically. Not "with more research." We know. Other democracies have solved these exact problems. The knowledge exists. We're just not applying it because the people who benefit from dysfunction have veto power over the fixes.
That can change. Not through some political savior learning lessons. Through sustained citizen pressure demanding better architecture. It's cathedral work - long timelines, real effort. But it's achievable.
I spent years looking for an exit strategy, studying other democracies, trying to find a way out. Then my wife wanted to buy a house. So I'm stuck here now. And I can't stand by and watch this burn when I know the blueprints exist.
That's what I'm building at The Statecraft Blueprint - not just diagnosis, but actual architecture for reform. Because hope without a plan is just wishful thinking, and I'm done with wishful thinking.
This was an excellent piece my friend! And I did something I’ve never done before; I listened to your narrative this time. Generally I prefer my own inner voice, probably because I am a reader, but I truly enjoyed this. And I agree with you 💯. I’ve always leaned liberal and trended progressive but I really appreciated your take on what conservative policy used to want to protect; the idea of anchoring especially. Thank you for another insightful and educational thread
Thank you, Jim. I often regret the limited quality of my scratchy stumbling recordings. Hard as I try I can only attain a limited level of audio quality. I don't have enough time to do a multi session sitting where I could iron out the flaws. It would also be less genuine (that's my rationalization and I'm sticking to it :-).
If I had it to do again, I would have been a liberal all my life. However, my need for structure as a young adult and the prolonged influence of the military on my adulthood, left me with an appreciation of the virtues of what was once the Republican party. Many of the selling points of the party were common sense human characteristics.
For the last 25 years I've moved from center to left of center. I've had the opportunity to sample the vices and virtues of our political parties and system. I have found it all thoroughly wanting. I believe we need to be more circumspect of our roots to realize the fault originates in our culture and not necessarily our politics.
To that end I have a new seven part series coming next. The Working title is the Puritan Spine of America.
This one sits with me. The grief in it is earned - you're not performing outrage or doing the easy dunking that fills most political commentary. You're doing something harder: mourning something you once believed in, with real love for what it was supposed to be.
The corpse metaphor is brutal and apt. What gets me is this line: "Real strength requires humility. Real strength listens. Real strength admits mistakes. The modern version can't imagine any of that."
That's the heart of it, isn't it? The virtues you're eulogizing - temperance, prudence, responsibility, the capacity for self-examination - those weren't just nice-to-haves. They were load-bearing. And watching a tradition abandon them while claiming to embody them... that's not just political frustration. That's betrayal.
Your closing image - the carnival shutting down, the silence finally feeling honest - that's where I think we might find each other. Because silence creates space. And in that space, maybe we can build something that actually selects for the virtues you're mourning. Not a resurrection of what died, but new architecture that makes those human qualities structurally valuable again.
Looking forward to the final piece in this series. You're doing important work here.
Thank you, Jason. I am hoping something new will indeed be built from the wreckage, perhaps more from lessons learned, if in fact anyone in the party learned them.
That's the question, isn't it - whether anyone learned anything.
I'll be honest with you: I've stopped waiting for either party to "learn lessons." Not because people are beyond learning, but because the system doesn't reward what they'd need to learn. The virtues you're writing about - humility, temperance, honest self-examination - those are structural liabilities in our current setup. They make you less electable, not more.
Here's what gives me hope though: we actually know how to fix this. Not theoretically. Not "with more research." We know. Other democracies have solved these exact problems. The knowledge exists. We're just not applying it because the people who benefit from dysfunction have veto power over the fixes.
That can change. Not through some political savior learning lessons. Through sustained citizen pressure demanding better architecture. It's cathedral work - long timelines, real effort. But it's achievable.
I spent years looking for an exit strategy, studying other democracies, trying to find a way out. Then my wife wanted to buy a house. So I'm stuck here now. And I can't stand by and watch this burn when I know the blueprints exist.
That's what I'm building at The Statecraft Blueprint - not just diagnosis, but actual architecture for reform. Because hope without a plan is just wishful thinking, and I'm done with wishful thinking.
Anyway - your finale. I'm ready for it.
This was an excellent piece my friend! And I did something I’ve never done before; I listened to your narrative this time. Generally I prefer my own inner voice, probably because I am a reader, but I truly enjoyed this. And I agree with you 💯. I’ve always leaned liberal and trended progressive but I really appreciated your take on what conservative policy used to want to protect; the idea of anchoring especially. Thank you for another insightful and educational thread
Thank you, Jim. I often regret the limited quality of my scratchy stumbling recordings. Hard as I try I can only attain a limited level of audio quality. I don't have enough time to do a multi session sitting where I could iron out the flaws. It would also be less genuine (that's my rationalization and I'm sticking to it :-).
If I had it to do again, I would have been a liberal all my life. However, my need for structure as a young adult and the prolonged influence of the military on my adulthood, left me with an appreciation of the virtues of what was once the Republican party. Many of the selling points of the party were common sense human characteristics.
For the last 25 years I've moved from center to left of center. I've had the opportunity to sample the vices and virtues of our political parties and system. I have found it all thoroughly wanting. I believe we need to be more circumspect of our roots to realize the fault originates in our culture and not necessarily our politics.
To that end I have a new seven part series coming next. The Working title is the Puritan Spine of America.
😛 Can’t wait