Was my decision to refrain from domestic issues commentary on TDR back in the spring a reflection of the so-called vibe shift in American society that rejects woke politics? I think the ease of staying in my lanes was bolstered by a subconscious conclusion that America had finally reached Peak Stupid. Yet facts don't care about my feelings. So we'll have to see how things unfold. But I'm now optimistic in the near term rather than just in the long term as I've felt for a decade and a half.
Back in April I vowed to stop commenting on domestic political issues. My lanes are national security and defense issues. And I wanted to return to my roots. Plenty of other people take on politics. Why do I need to do it, too? Even if I really think I have a massively clever observation or meme to contribute? It's been easier than I thought it would be. And I've tried and failed before to stop, scale back, or limit the scope of out-of-lane commentary. So why was this easy?
When I started blogging it was easy to stay in my lanes. I worked for the state legislature as a non-partisan research analyst. So it was easy to not offer my opinion on things within the state legislature's scope of responsibility. Staff from both parties trusted me and many of both parties seemed to assume I was with them. And I really was with them. I was with all of them. My job was to provide information. Nobody elected me and if I ever got the notion I knew more or had more right to guide policy, I could damn well leave my office and run for political office.
And practically speaking, I was an at-will employee. My hiring had been confirmed by a joint committee of the legislature and I could be fired for any reason whatever with no notice required for longer than it would be required to fill a box with my personal stuff. I had children to take care of. There were really high curbs for my lane. Even after the election of President Obama. That's when the woke partisan anger was really born. And after I retired early in his presidency it was easy to drive over the curbs.
Why do that? Well, it was hard not to comment on what seemed like insanity. Or perhaps dishonesty. Unfair insanity/dishonesty. Rage-fueled, unfair insanity/dishonesty. Punitive, unfair, rage-fueled insanity/dishonesty. Punitive, unfair, media-sustained, rage-fueled insanity/dishonesty that was undermining our basic freedoms. I was outraged at this. In a dignified sort of way, naturally.
I'm only human!
So for several years I commented on politics and other issues, in addition to national security and defense issues. A series of decisions to reduce my number of posts did help to contain that urge. And the election of President Trump in 2016 fed my sense of outrage at the unfairness of it all. The attacks on him--and more importantly, on his supporters--seemed so unfair and unjustified that it drove me to comment even more outside my lanes. But eventually the Weekend Data Dump provided an outlet for that with no limits. As I eventually began to write, "You think you hate and distrust the media enough. You do not."
And consider that I started out despising Trump as a typical big-spending New York City liberal masquerading as a Republican! There was plenty for me to criticize! Couldn't his foes stick to what he did? Why make stuff up or turn the outrage dial to eleven over every banal issue?! The
simple fact that he was treated so unfairly allowed me to judge him
more rationally. I don't do hero worship. Ever. So that didn't--and won't--happen.
So that was my mode for four years. And the election of President Biden didn't ease the sources of my outrage. I was ready to move on from Trump but the left just couldn't quit him. The unfairness was turned to 11. And a constellation of woke activists seemed to take control behind the facade of a centrist politician. The media mocked and demonized any expression of the bloody obvious that questioned woke orthodoxy in many areas. So my ratio of dignified-to-rant remained lower than I was comfortable with. Not true-believer level or even close. But over the line by my standards. I remained uncomfortable straying outside my lanes even as I tried to fence off political commentaries away from national security and defense issues.
To be clear, I remained very consistent within my lanes across presidential administrations. But I worried I might turn off some readers by my political commentary. I hadn't let my beliefs interfere with my career responsibilities. Yet I gave my bosses no reason to doubt me because my work spoke for itself without my commentary on irrelevant issues undermining it. So in the spring, April 28, 2024 to be specific, I swore off swerving out of my lanes:
I'm having another bout of "Jesus, I hate commenting on politics." Despite my concerns over rule of law, media bias, freedom of speech, global warming hysteria, free markets, and woke Peak Stupid issues, I resolve to let others take those on and stay in my national security lanes in Weekend Data Dumps.🤞
I obviously feared I'd fall off the wagon all too easily--as I had before. Although I don't know if I ever put my resolve down on "paper" ahead of time until last year.
I've avoided political--or even just interesting non-security--news and issues this week. It's difficult. And some issues span the firewall. Which makes this tougher than expected. A work in progress.
Yet I have not faltered. Two assassination attempts and a palace coup shortly after I made my vow did not shake my resolve. Sure, there have been some Weekend Data Dump entries that touched on political issues, but I've been very good. I know I made one meme that touched on politics, but I thought it was humorous more than anything. Really, I've been extremely good through a very tough campaign where the things that could outrage my sense of fairness truly were turned to 11.
And perhaps part of my decision to start writing on Substack, too (The Dignified Rant: Evolved--go ahead and subscribe, eh?), was wanting a clean slate for national security and defense issues without the baggage of TDR archives.
Since Trump won the 2024 election, the publicly proclaimed rage and Resistance of 2016 did not reappear. So-called Hitler was basically accepted. Woke trends began to slide in reverse and it really did seem like we'd reached Peak Stupid at long last. People began to comment on this "vibe shift" on a broad front of issues.
Had I felt that so-called vibe shift in April? I had been confident that Trump would win. My confidence may have slackened a bit initially when Harris became the Democratic candidate who the media lifted on their wings. But my concern didn't last. And before the election I had written down in a note on my phone--which still retains its pre-election date stamp--that I thought Trump would get 316 electoral votes. I was wrong only on New Hampshire.
I think that confidence sustained my resolve to stay in my lanes because I felt the source of my outrage was dissipating and could weaken to the point of irrelevancy to the wider society.
Now, who knows what the next four years will bring? This is no mission accomplished moment on my part. We are at the end of the beginning and not the beginning of the end. But the woke ratchet of insanity relentlessly climbing up Mount Stupid is at least checked. It doesn't mean that I won't disagree with Trump policies in some or many areas. I don't expect "my" side to be perfect in ends or means. I just expect it to be 60%. And it doesn't mean the woke will stop fighting for their Red Guard activities from their bastions in the federal bureaucracy, non-profits, universities, and media.
But as long as I stay in my lanes, that's probably a good sign that things are progressing within the boundaries of normal politics subject to rule of law and public audit by credible elections.
Boy, I really am an optimist.
I now resume regular broadcasting.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
NOTE: I'm adding updates on the Last Hamas War in this post.
NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it.
