It would be a sad shift of the Overton Window if we accepted the acknowledgement of scientific reality or the basic humanity and dignity of all Americans* as “progressivism”.
RAND Corp.'s research priorities and conclusions move alongside the U.S. military’s. Both incorporate progressive study areas only insofar as they serve their institutional interests, just as was the case with non-progressive study areas (e.g. RAND’s contribution to the neoliberal consensus via a certain beautiful but clinically paranoid mind).
[* “All humans” would be pushing things when it comes to the U.S. military.]
Sad but true. The right wing is anti-reality:
Covidiots
Religious fundamentalists
Climate change deniers
Anti-education
Supply siders
Bigots of all stripes
Right. The things that could solve the problem (education, voting rights etc) are also being actively undermined by the people benefitting from the problem. I try not to think about it too much because it is so utterly depressing. And that’s part of the problem too. All the bad guys are tearing every positive institution to the ground and everyone who actually sees the injustice is so tired of being outraged they seem to just be giving up. Anytime I start to talk about it the people around me don’t want to hear it. On social media if I write about some injustice I think is really important I get crickets. We’re in a weird sad moment.
What’s surprising – and yet makes perfect sense when you thing about it – is how low the highest rated source for the right is (Fox). You’d think Fox would be higher. But I think it shows that right wingers distrust everything but their gut.
I think of them as rational-tending like the Brookings Inst. even if they hype up titles after some degree of truth-seeking is satisfied. This one weapons system causes rational municipal funding etc. etc.
I think this has likely always been the case, but now with the internet and a billion different “news” outlets, anyone can find some form of whatever for validation they want. It’s the ability to validate that has grown tremendously. And being a highly religious (“magical thinking”) country, we are especially susceptible to buying into the fake news.
