Hooray! The mark of an intellectual is curiosity about more than just a field of expertise. I’m excited to read your notes on a variety of topics. Thank you!
Thank you for your writing! It is consistently among the perspectives I look forward to most and I am also eager to see its expansion to include your views on the left. I know you described how your centrism is not splitting the difference, but the name you've chosen for your relaunch, 'Notes from the Middleground', to me, will naggingly always suggest that bland diametric halving. 'Notes from the Commonground' might have suggested a synthetic creative new space of commonality and inspiration for which you seem to strive.
Reading through the introduction to Notes from the Middle Ground, I was reminded of a couple of earlier offerings from Eyes on the Right, “The Right’s Tyrannical Temptation” and the “Origins of the Cultural Revolution.” (10/24 and 10/26/ 2022). It made me wonder if you may have chosen to referee the third phase of the American Revolution or inadvertently decided on a change of career to war correspondent?
I think I am basically positioned where you are in the political spectrum. Not that I always agree with you, I don't, but I have always been able to relate to your perspective. So, I really look forward to seeing what you put out in these new sections.
Linker, I hope this all works out. But trolling, contrarianism as a posture, and emotionalism are probably going to follow along from "Eyes on the Right" to "Looking Left" and "Above the Fray" just as they have from all other social media and blogs. We cannot expect, and I am sure that you do not, people to suddenly become more restrained and diplomatic simply due to a format change. So I hope that you do not overextend yourself and burn out like numerous others who have gone into ventures like this (Andrew Sullivan's original "The Dish" from some years back comes to mind and there are probably other Substackers who have hung it up in disgust, frustration, or exhaustion). Seriously, I do not know how you online intellectuals/pundits keep your heads on straight negotiating wild divergences of opinion and decorum. For that reason alone, I could not do what you are doing. I would have preferred to be an old-timey columnist who did not give a f--k what others thought. Those were the days, were they not?
I just learned of your substance through "the Bulwark" youtube channel. I am so relieved that there are left-of-centrist folks out there. I never seem to be liberal enough for my liberal friends, or conservative enough for my conservative friends. I long for rational idea-sharing. I look forward to reading and commenting on your writing!
I’m happy to have found you. I want to learn how to speak from the “middle.” Because, whether we can admit it or not, we all live in the “middle.” It may be we only make our opinions known from the safety of our preferred side, but that means we're “monolingual” when it comes to how people understand and express life issues. But, a world that needs reconciliation requires “bilingual” persons who understand and can express life issues at any moment and from where they are in the “middle.” That is to reconcile life.
I am clearly disappointed, and yes, I am angry. But I am most angry with the fact that we are in the position of having a bad debate stand between us and defeating someone so malignant to the Republic as Donald Trump is.
And sure, wouldn’t it be great for some fantastic candidate to come along and make that choice easier for enough people in the right swing states so as to turn the tide.
Yesterday, David Plouffe was on some channel sharing his wisdom, the reputation for which was gained directing Barak Obama’s campaigns. What a great lift that must have been!
My point is this: If Donald Trump is elected President in November, it will be because of the people who voted for him, despite all of the political, ethical, moral and constitutional reasons not to, saying nothing for the fact that those voters can have no earthly idea what he will do once in office.
So perhaps what we all need to do is to look to ourselves to defeat Trump and to lift up whoever the candidate opposing him is. There is no knight in shining armor coming to save us. If Trump is elected, it will be us who elected him no matter what our individual votes are.
Hooray! The mark of an intellectual is curiosity about more than just a field of expertise. I’m excited to read your notes on a variety of topics. Thank you!
Great news - thanks for more stuff!
Good luck and best wishes on the relaunch! Looking forward to your perspectives on the broader range of topics.
It all looks good, Damon. I'll keep reading (and subscribing!).
Looking forward to this and thank you for keeping a single subscription to the three projects.
Thank you for your writing! It is consistently among the perspectives I look forward to most and I am also eager to see its expansion to include your views on the left. I know you described how your centrism is not splitting the difference, but the name you've chosen for your relaunch, 'Notes from the Middleground', to me, will naggingly always suggest that bland diametric halving. 'Notes from the Commonground' might have suggested a synthetic creative new space of commonality and inspiration for which you seem to strive.
Reading through the introduction to Notes from the Middle Ground, I was reminded of a couple of earlier offerings from Eyes on the Right, “The Right’s Tyrannical Temptation” and the “Origins of the Cultural Revolution.” (10/24 and 10/26/ 2022). It made me wonder if you may have chosen to referee the third phase of the American Revolution or inadvertently decided on a change of career to war correspondent?
I think I am basically positioned where you are in the political spectrum. Not that I always agree with you, I don't, but I have always been able to relate to your perspective. So, I really look forward to seeing what you put out in these new sections.
Linker, I hope this all works out. But trolling, contrarianism as a posture, and emotionalism are probably going to follow along from "Eyes on the Right" to "Looking Left" and "Above the Fray" just as they have from all other social media and blogs. We cannot expect, and I am sure that you do not, people to suddenly become more restrained and diplomatic simply due to a format change. So I hope that you do not overextend yourself and burn out like numerous others who have gone into ventures like this (Andrew Sullivan's original "The Dish" from some years back comes to mind and there are probably other Substackers who have hung it up in disgust, frustration, or exhaustion). Seriously, I do not know how you online intellectuals/pundits keep your heads on straight negotiating wild divergences of opinion and decorum. For that reason alone, I could not do what you are doing. I would have preferred to be an old-timey columnist who did not give a f--k what others thought. Those were the days, were they not?
Glad I found you. Just became a paid subscriber. We need more stacks like this. Readers here will like my stack as well. Similar. https://michaelmohr.substack.com/p/chris-rock
Delighted to support your work. Fascinating insights. Thank you.
Looking forward to reading and arguing with my favorite right-side-of-the-left liberal-centrist.
I just learned of your substance through "the Bulwark" youtube channel. I am so relieved that there are left-of-centrist folks out there. I never seem to be liberal enough for my liberal friends, or conservative enough for my conservative friends. I long for rational idea-sharing. I look forward to reading and commenting on your writing!
Thanks, Debra. Welcome!
I’m happy to have found you. I want to learn how to speak from the “middle.” Because, whether we can admit it or not, we all live in the “middle.” It may be we only make our opinions known from the safety of our preferred side, but that means we're “monolingual” when it comes to how people understand and express life issues. But, a world that needs reconciliation requires “bilingual” persons who understand and can express life issues at any moment and from where they are in the “middle.” That is to reconcile life.
I am clearly disappointed, and yes, I am angry. But I am most angry with the fact that we are in the position of having a bad debate stand between us and defeating someone so malignant to the Republic as Donald Trump is.
And sure, wouldn’t it be great for some fantastic candidate to come along and make that choice easier for enough people in the right swing states so as to turn the tide.
Yesterday, David Plouffe was on some channel sharing his wisdom, the reputation for which was gained directing Barak Obama’s campaigns. What a great lift that must have been!
My point is this: If Donald Trump is elected President in November, it will be because of the people who voted for him, despite all of the political, ethical, moral and constitutional reasons not to, saying nothing for the fact that those voters can have no earthly idea what he will do once in office.
So perhaps what we all need to do is to look to ourselves to defeat Trump and to lift up whoever the candidate opposing him is. There is no knight in shining armor coming to save us. If Trump is elected, it will be us who elected him no matter what our individual votes are.