On advantages in life; Donald Trump and an ‘iron fist’; China and Saudi Arabia; Frances Tiafoe and Arnold Palmer; and more
Articles about Liz Truss, the new prime minister of the United Kingdom, say that she does not come from “privilege.” We know what these articles mean: She does not come from money. And money is very important. Better to have it than not to have it.
But privilege comes in many forms. Those with smarts, talent, and ambition tend to get money (certainly in free and open societies). So, those are “privileges,” you could say: smarts, talent, ambition, or a certain spark.
Are those qualities earned?
Having two parents is a privilege, we could say. Loving parents, at that. A loving home. Health — physical and mental. Friends. Looks! Would you count good looks as a privilege? They can be an advantage in life, let’s not kid ourselves.
At any rate, I don’t mean to downplay the importance of money. But we could spend a while calling the roll of privileges.
I wonder, dear readers, what you have to say about privilege, in your own life or in the lives of others. (There’s a title for a movie: “The Lives of Others.”) If you would like to write me on the topic — or any — my address is jnordlinger@nationalreview.com.
• “Privilege” is in the eye of the beholder, I should say. So is the lack of it. The eye of the beholder matters even when we’re talking about money, or material comforts. Take Liz Truss, with whom I began this discussion. Her father was a math prof, her mother a teacher and nurse. Liz Truss went to Merton College, Oxford. And so on and so forth.
So . . .
Anyway, to be continued.
• The Associated Press has published a long, very interesting profile of Michael Flynn, the retired Army general, former national security adviser, and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. His fans call him “America’s General.”
Back in the ’90s, Rudy Giuliani of New York was known as “America’s Mayor.” I thought that was okay. But this “America’s” bit . . .
Recently, a young man on the right sent me a note touting something having to do with “the Governor.” I said, “Who’s ‘the Governor’?” He said, “Ron DeSantis, America’s Governor!”
Ah. How silly of me.
Anyway, Michael Flynn has embarked on a “Christian nationalist” crusade. He and his associates are making a fortune off it, by the way. Flynn reminds me of an earlier general, Edwin Walker, whom William F. Buckley Jr. wrote about — in a novel called “Getting It Right.”
Every once in a while, the U.S. military throws up a figure — a retired bigwig — who “goes rogue” and wages a political holy war.
When it comes to “Christian nationalists,” I can see the nationalist part, clearly. But sometimes the Christian part is harder to see.
• Donald Trump is backing a gubernatorial candidate in Massachusetts. (Will the candidate become “America’s Governor”?) Said Trump, “He’ll rule your state with an iron fist, and he’ll do what has to be done.”
Normally, we say that politicians or officeholders in America “govern,” not “rule.” We seldom say that they will “rule with an iron fist.” I don’t think Donald Trump has a liberal-democratic bone in his body. For some, this is a plus, for others, a negative.
If a Democratic ex-president — Obama, Clinton, or Carter — said of a candidate, “He’ll rule your state with an iron fist,” what would Republicans say? What would people calling themselves “conservatives” say?
You can imagine . . .
• J.D. Vance is the Republican nominee for Senate in Ohio. Here is an excerpt from a recent article at Cleveland.com:
“We are in a late republican period,” Vance said in the podcast interview with Jack Murphy, using another historical metaphor that refers to the transformation of the classical Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. “If we’re going to push back against it, we’re going to have to get pretty wild, and pretty far out there, and go in directions that a lot of conservatives right now are uncomfortable with.”
If they are conservatives, they will be uncomfortable; if they are not uncomfortable, they are not conservatives (as that term has long been understood).
“Pretty wild”? That phrase of Vance’s reminded me of President Trump, tweeting on December 19, 2020: “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!”
It was.
• Back to this “iron fist” business. At his recent rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said of Xi Jinping, “He rules with an iron fist, 1.5 billion people. Yeah, I’d say he’s smart. Wouldn’t you say he’s smart?”
I’d say he’s a Communist dictator and a tyrant — probably not as smart as Stalin.
• Forget China for a moment (just for a moment). Back to Trump, Massachusetts, and that “iron fist.” When I commented on this issue in a tweet, a reader replied, “Conservatives need a Pinochet or Franco as a protector against the Left.” I can tell you that that’s a very common sentiment among people on the right, especially the young, in my experience. They speak of Franco and Pinochet — and sometimes Salazar — with stars in their eyes.
This is something conservatives must confront, as forthrightly and energetically as they can.
• Now back to China. I recommend a report from Freedom House: “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022.” That report is subtitled “Authoritarian Expansion and the Power of Democratic Resilience.” Authoritarian expansion, for sure. Democratic resilience? I hope to see it.
• Here is a stark question for you, and maybe a painful one: What is the most popular dictatorship in America? Russia’s? Cuba’s? Saudi Arabia’s? Some other one? They all have their defenders, apologists, sympathizers, and fans, don’t they?
This is something to be aware of: “MBS and His ‘Tiger Squad’ Tortured and Disappeared My Father. Then I Was Arrested.” I also recommend a report in The Economist: “MBS: despot in the desert.” True.
• An article from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty begins,
In an unprecedented move, local lawmakers in the southern Almaty region of Kazakhstan have agreed to name a local school after slain opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly . . .
Here is one more sentence, which I found moving:
Sarsenbaiuly’s brother, civil rights activist Rysbek Sarsenbaiuly, hailed the move, saying that for more than 16 years any public mention of his late brother’s name had been taboo.
• Turn now to sports. Frances Tiafoe is in the news, for this young man has reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Open. He was born in Maryland, to immigrants from Sierra Leone. His father was the custodian at a tennis center. So . . .
I’m reminded of Arnold Palmer — whose father was the greenskeeper at a country club.
It’s amazing what people can do, when they are exposed to something, when they have access to it.
This relates to what we were talking about above, concerning privilege.
• Stick with tennis — for this interview with Margaret Court. Very interesting. Serena Williams is the hero of the moment, celebrated as the GOAT. Court is a goat, or villain. But I say this: Those who deplore her views should not diminish her achievements — which are staggering. She must be one of the greatest athletes of all time.
Let me give you a memory: When I was little, I found the name “Margaret Court” somewhat confusing, because she was a tennis player, and . . .
Funny, huh?
• Don Gehrmann, an outstanding miler, has died at 94. For his obit in the New York Times, go here. There are delightful parts of it, including this:
In 1952, less than an hour after he had broken the world 1,000-yard outdoor record in London, Gehrmann was sitting in the stands and watching the rest of the meet. He had just downed hot dogs and a soda when the only American in the quarter-mile decided that he could not run because of an injury. Gehrmann rushed to the track, ran the race and beat the best English runners, winning in 47.9 seconds.
The hot-dogs-and-soda part, I could handle, easily. The running — to say nothing of the winning — . . .
• My favorite New Orleanian, the columnist Quin Hillyer, has eulogized an historic figure from his city, Moon Landrieu. Go here.
• We have all read about the severe water problems affecting Jackson, Miss. I guess I take drinking water for granted — and shouldn’t. My eye caught a sign on the streets of New York the other day:
• At the golf range, two young Chinese men were practicing one stall over from me. Their conversation — in Chinese — was animated. Once in a while, English phrases would burst through their fusillades of Chinese: “weight transfer”; “spine angle”; “Tiger.”
I loved it.
Love you too, dear readers! Catch you on the rebound, as we said in the old days.
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