{"id":22349,"date":"2024-07-27T17:40:28","date_gmt":"2024-07-28T00:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/?p=22349"},"modified":"2024-07-28T16:26:58","modified_gmt":"2024-07-28T23:26:58","slug":"the-resurgence-of-tribal-human-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2024\/07\/27\/the-resurgence-of-tribal-human-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"The Resurgence of Tribal Human Nature"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li> Again, one theme of this blog is the resurgence of tribal human nature and morality, at the expense of the achievements of the Enlightenment: Science and Democracy;\n<li> With examples today beginning with &#8220;childless cat ladies&#8221; from the right;\n<li> How Trump is saying if he wins in 2024, Christians will never need bother to vote again; what could he possibly mean by that?;\n<li> How in the Olympics opening ceremonies, Christians see devils and perceive offense everywhere.\n<\/ul>\n<p>I try to connect daily links with some kind of bigger picture, and at the risk of repeating myself, I&#8217;m to say once again that the theme of this blog is about the big picture of life in the United States, perhaps the world, these past couple decades, in the resurgence of tribal human nature, to the detriment of the great achievements of humanity in the era of the Enlightenment, science and democracy, that increasingly are being challenged by the forces of religion and ignorance. Tribal mentality. The mentality and morality that drove the human race for hundreds of thousands, even millions of years, but which is not suitable for the modern, global world, facing global, existential problems. Humanity may never overcome this. There is no escaping tribal human nature except through education, and the tribalists go to great length to shield their children from education.<\/p>\n<p>(Why is this happening? A topic for another post, though I&#8217;ve certainly discussed it before.)<\/p>\n<p>Every day provides more examples. Picking up where we left off yesterday; so much is going on.<\/p>\n<p>*<\/p>\n<p>More pieces about what conservatives\/Republicans really think about people who are unlike themselves.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cloudfront.mediamatters.org\/styles\/crop_900x480\/s3\/static\/D8Image\/2024\/07\/26\/vance_tucker.png?itok=DJHx7JU0\" width=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Media Matters, Matt Gertz, 28 Jul 2024<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediamatters.org\/jd-vance\/jd-vances-childless-cat-ladies-comment-points-gops-right-wing-media-problem\">JD Vance\u2019s \u201cchildless cat ladies\u201d comment points to the GOP\u2019s right-wing media problem<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;Rising in Republican politics requires appealing to the party\u2019s sadistic weirdos&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Nakedly misogynistic comments that Ohio Sen. JD Vance made during a 2021 Fox News appearance spurred a <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/amp\/Politics\/jd-vance-slammed-childless-cat-ladies-comment\/story?id=112272258\">massive backlash<\/a> after resurfacing this week. Vance\u2019s description of Democratic leaders including Vice President Kamala Harris as \u201cchildless cat ladies\u201d who \u201cdon&#8217;t really have a direct stake\u201d in the country has been roundly condemned, drawing fire from across the political spectrum and fueling the argument that former President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/4793818-vance-vp-trump-house-republicans\/\">made a mistake<\/a> by selecting Vance as his running mate.<\/p>\n<p>But Vance\u2019s \u201cchildless cat ladies\u201d comments fit comfortably alongside the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediamatters.org\/tiktok\/tiktoks-manosphere-problem-violent-misogyny-keeps-going-viral\">unbridled<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediamatters.org\/tucker-carlson\/tucker-carlson-was-always-misogynist-fox\">sexism<\/a> that has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediamatters.org\/jesse-watters\/jesse-watters-most-egregious-attacks-against-women-2022\">infested<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediamatters.org\/barstool-sports\/barstool-sports-cesspool-misogyny-and-bigotry\">movement<\/a> for years and has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediamatters.org\/fox-news\/desperate-right-wing-pundits-beg-trumpists-stop-being-so-weird-and-racist-about-kamala\">unleashed<\/a> by Harris\u2019 ascension to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/07\/27\/multimedia\/27dowd-hmfb\/27dowd-hmfb-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp\" width=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>NY Times, Maureen Dowd, Opinion, 27 Jul 2024<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/27\/opinion\/jd-vance-cat-ladies.html\">JD Vance, Purr-fectly Dreadful<\/a><\/p>\n<p>(Note that J.D. from a couple weeks ago, who&#8217;s gone through several variations of name over his life, has now lost the periods; now he&#8217;s JD.)<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Suddenly, Donald Trump looks enlightened about women.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, he\u2019s in a 1959 time warp, like some spray-tanned, comb-over swinger in a Vegas lounge, talking about skirts and broads.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, he filled the Supreme Court with religious zealots ending women\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, he has been held liable for sexual abuse, accused of groping and caught talking about his right to grab women by their lady parts. He cheated on his first wife with the woman who became his second wife and then had flings when he was married to his third wife. He betrayed Melania with a porn star while she was home nursing their son and humiliated her again when the Stormy Daniels case went to trial. (See: Why Melania did not give a convention speech.)<\/p>\n<p>Sure, his convention beatification was a dated homage to machismo, with Hulk Hogan tearing his shirt off and the U.F.C.\u2019s Dana White introducing Trump as a fighter.<\/p>\n<p>And yet, somehow, Trump managed to choose a vice-presidential pick whose views on women are even more draconian and meanspirited than his own.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\\\\\\<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/07\/25\/multimedia\/25krugman2-kgpm\/25krugman2-kgpm-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp\" width=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Krugman, NY Times, 25 Jul 2024<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/25\/opinion\/kamala-harris-jd-vance.html\">JD Vance\u2019s \u2018Cat Ladies\u2019 Riff Has Serious \u2018Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u2019 Vibes<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>You may have heard about JD Vance\u2019s \u201cchildless cat ladies\u201d riff. But even if you have, it\u2019s worth revisiting the full quote \u2014 and reminding yourself of what it says about the movement that may wind up in charge of this country after this year\u2019s election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In 2021, while running for the Senate, Vance <a class=\"css-yywogo\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/politics\/jd-vance-calls-kamala-harris-a-miserable-cat-lady\/ar-BB1qr7Tg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">explained<\/a> what he saw as one of the biggest problems facing America: It\u2019s being run \u201cby a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they\u2019ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.\u201d He name-checked, among others, Vice President Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It\u2019s a statement, as my colleague Jessica Grose <a class=\"css-yywogo\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/23\/opinion\/kamala-harris-jd-vance.html\">writes<\/a>, that shows the desperation of Republicans who are still \u201cclinging to the tag line that the G.O.P. is the pro-family party.\u201d But even for a red-meat, red-state Senate candidate, this was a remarkably harsh \u2014 and conspiracy-minded \u2014 insult to a large number of people: Around <a class=\"css-yywogo\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/library\/visualizations\/time-series\/demo\/his-cps.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">one-sixth<\/a> of American women 40 to 44 have never had children. It\u2019s the kind of comment that makes you wonder if Vance thinks that he has been nominated by the Republican Party to serve as the vice president of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2022\/05\/supreme-court-roe-handmaids-tale-abortion-margaret-atwood\/629833\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Republic of Gilead<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Sorry \u2014 yes \u2014 Vance knows that our nation is still called the United States of America. But there\u2019s a real \u201cHandmaid\u2019s Tale\u201d vibe to a lot of what we\u2019re hearing from the right.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And Krugman concludes:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As I see it, one of the great virtues of modern America is the freedom it offers its citizens to decide for themselves how to live their lives \u2014 a freedom, ironically, that Republicans used to tout all the time. And I see the increase in women\u2019s freedom, including the protection of their right to decide whether to have children, as something that benefits all of us \u2014 men included.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But there are many people like Vance who want to limit or even take away that freedom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201c<a class=\"css-yywogo\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/22\/us\/politics\/kamala-harris-campaign.html\">We are not going back<\/a>\u201d has already emerged as perhaps the key slogan of Harris\u2019s presidential campaign. But depending on how this election turns out, we may indeed be going back \u2014 way, way back.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Yes again: conservatives have gone from the party of freedom and limited government, to the party of Christian control and restrictions on freedoms. And apparently most Republicans are just fine with that.<\/p>\n<p>\\\\\\<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cloudfront.mediamatters.org\/styles\/crop_1620x600\/s3\/static\/D8Image\/2024\/07\/03\/kamala-harris.jpg?itok=6F17sRO2\" width=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Media Matters, Matt Gertz, 24 Jul 2024<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediamatters.org\/fox-news\/desperate-right-wing-pundits-beg-trumpists-stop-being-so-weird-and-racist-about-kamala\">Desperate right-wing pundits beg Trumpists to stop being so weird and racist about Kamala Harris<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;It&#8217;s an exercise in futility&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The once- respectable political party is now run by the crazies, the racists and the misogynists, the conspiracy theorists. And winning just as many votes as ever.<\/p>\n<p>\\\\<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/search?q=trump%20christians%20last%20election&amp;hl=en-US&amp;gl=US&amp;ceid=US%3Aen\">Multiple sources<\/a> today. (Results of this linked Google search will vary&#8230;)<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/07\/27\/multimedia\/27election-live-trump-christian-votes-zwmg\/27election-live-trump-christian-votes-zwmg-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp\" width=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>NY Times, 27 Jul 2024<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/27\/us\/politics\/trump-votes-christians.html\">Trump Tells Christians \u2018You Won\u2019t Have to Vote Anymore\u2019 If He\u2019s Elected<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;Donald Trump, after lamenting that conservative Christians are not &#8216;big voters,&#8217; urged the religious right to turn out for him &#8216;just this time.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In the closing minutes of his speech to a gathering of religious conservatives on Friday night, former President Donald J. Trump told Christians that if they voted him into office in November, they would never need to vote again.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>What could he possibly mean by this? Are we naive to even ask this? Surely we&#8217;re not dimwitted children?<\/p>\n<p><strong>John Scalzi<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/whatever.scalzi.com\/2024\/07\/27\/reminder-they-actually-are-planning-a-dictatorship\/\">Reminder: They Actually Are Planning a Dictatorship<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The most charitable reading of that is that Trump is saying his next administration will be so popular that whomever succeeds him will win the vote in such an overwhelming landslide that Trump\u2019s most fervent followers don\u2019t have to rouse themselves to leave their couches. But inasmuch as his last administration was such a failure that he ended up being voted out, he then attempted sedition to overturn a fairly decided election, and he\u2019s already admitted to planning to be a dictator \u201con day one\u201d if he gets back in, if you buy into that most charitable reading you are, at best, a dimwitted child. Trump is monologuing his evil plans here, because he has no sense and can\u2019t not. You can most assuredly believe he means it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/live-news\/kamala-harris-trump-election-07-27-24#h_dd3b126ae92c9959d5e06a803f7b1ab1\">here<\/a> at CNN.<\/p>\n<p>\\\\\\<\/p>\n<p>And now the Olympics are causing conservative Christians to clutch their pearls.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mediaproxy.salon.com\/width\/1200\/https:\/\/media2.salon.com\/2023\/12\/mike_johnson_1753213736_1460367316.jpg\" width=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Salon, Kelly McClure, 27 Jul 2024<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2024\/07\/27\/speaker-mike-johnson-and-elon-musk-blast-olympics-for-being-offensive-to-christians\/\">Speaker Mike Johnson and Elon Musk blast Olympics for being offensive to Christians<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;From a &#8216;mockery of the Last Supper&#8217; to a headless Marie Antoinette, the Olympics has conservatives clutching pearls&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) issued a statement on Saturday, lashing out at the Olympics for being offensive to Christians, and he&#8217;s not the only one watching the festivities and coming away with the feeling that the production thus far has a Satanic vibe \u2014 in line with the conservative response to another major sporting event, the 2023 Super Bowl, when people like Donald Trump Jr. called Rihanna&#8217;s halftime show a work of the devil.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast night\u2019s mockery of the Last Supper was shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world who watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games,\u201d Johnson wrote in a post on X, in response to the very goth, very metal production crafted by opening ceremony director, Thomas Jolly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t the Last Supper, someone on Facebook pointed out; it was a Greek <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bacchanalia\">bacchanalia<\/a> stylized in the manner of the famous da Vince painting. But Christians see the devil everywhere; they have such a narrow window of behavior they find acceptable, even among people who are not Christians. They so easily take offense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Again, one theme of this blog is the resurgence of tribal human nature and morality, at the expense of the achievements of the Enlightenment: Science and Democracy; With examples today beginning with &#8220;childless cat ladies&#8221; from the right; How Trump &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2024\/07\/27\/the-resurgence-of-tribal-human-nature\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90,96,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservatives","category-human-nature","category-morality"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22349"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22360,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22349\/revisions\/22360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}