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August 11, 2014

The Un-Midas Touch

Our culture? Cool is all that matters.
Outsource, offshore, speculate, crony capitalism — just do it with Birkenstocks and shades. If you are hip, rules melt. Nerds like Al Gore are cool and so seek to dodge new capital gains taxes, profit from oil-rich dictatorships, and offer snake-oil nostrums to the crises they hype as they lecture us about our selfish carbon-spewing sins. The key to understanding a John Kerry, Al Gore, Warren Buffett, or Bill Gates is that they are cool, and thus seek to avoid the property, capital gains, or inheritance taxes that they urge be hiked on everyone else. The Obama cultural legacy is that it does not matter what you do, only how coolly you do or describe it. Appear hip, and greed is forgiven. Buy a ticket to a $35,000 Obama fundraiser, wear something hip, and sound cool, and you are a progressive egalitarian. Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and Wall Street learned that con long ago.
- - Works and Days

Posted by gerardvanderleun at August 11, 2014 10:46 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

A very good point, and related to C.S. Lewis' writing on flippancy years ago. He pointed out that people are willing to forgive anything, no matter how rude, awful, or wrong, as long as you make them laugh. Convince people it was all some great joke, and they are willing to put up with it. You can be a horrific person and yet be socially acceptable, if you can get people to laugh at your evil. Bob never pays, he's a terrible leech but he's funny about it...

Posted by: Christopher Taylor [TypeKey Profile Page] at August 11, 2014 11:52 AM

WOW! What a new concept!
Fiddler on the Roof.
"....'cause if you're rich they think you really know..!"
And of course..."If I had a $1,000,000"
Bare Naked Ladies.

I've noticed an upswing in "orgs" that profess to teach "Leadership", for a "common sense" fee.
I understand that, upon successful completion of the entire "course of study", they offer certificates.. "Suitable for framing..."

Posted by: CaptDMO [TypeKey Profile Page] at August 12, 2014 5:47 AM

I don't believe I want to be that civilized, but thank you anyway.

"That's the nice thing about reality though, consequences are immediate and proportional: a short'n sharp feedback, no room for dithering excuses. — Remus

Posted by: chasmatic [TypeKey Profile Page] at August 12, 2014 6:03 AM

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