Reclaiming Liberalism, in a Time of Peril and Hope
Reclaiming Liberalism, in a Time of Peril and Hope
Plus: The Memories That Make a People
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BILL KRISTOL & ANDREW EGGER: The Same Old Tired Shtick
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CATHY YOUNG: Reclaiming Liberalism, in a Time of Peril and Hope
AT THE DAWN OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, liberal democracy seemed to be on a triumphant march around the world, from South Africa to the former Soviet Union. Fast-forward less than twenty-five years, and not only have many fledgling democracies reverted to some degree of authoritarianism, but there is talk of liberal democracy being imperiled in its traditional bastions and birthplaces: the United States and Western Europe.
Aside from the complicated question of how and why this happened, how do friends of liberty respond? That was one of the questions tackled at a conference last month in Washington, D.C. titled “Liberalism for the 21st Century,” with a star-studded cast that featured historian and journalist Anne Applebaum, Brookings Institution scholar Jonathan Rauch, and political scientist Francis Fukuyama, whose 1989 essay “The End of History?” (and the 1992 bestselling book that grew from it) argued that humanity’s ideological evolution had reached its endpoint with “the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.” (He has since had to update his thesis somewhat.)
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Nate Silver: Underdog Story [YouTube]
Beg to Differ: With Walz, Harris Can Pivot to the Center
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AMY HENDERSON: The Memories That Make a People
BILLIONAIRE PHILANTHROPIST DAVID M. RUBENSTEIN’S largesse has benefited major arts centers and sites of civic importance around the United States—especially in Washington, D.C. and New York City, such as Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the National Archives, the U.S. Holocaust Museum, and the National Gallery of Art. He has helped fund the restoration of the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. A meeting room at Mount Vernon is named after him; so is the visitor’s center at Monticello. You can see his name at the tail end of PBS programs several times each year.
SONNY BUNCH: Apple’s Weird 'Wolfs' Move
Here’s a story I simply do not understand.
Way back in 2021, Apple Original Films won a bidding war for Wolfs, a film from writer-director Jon Watts (the director of the most-recent Spider-Man trilogy that has earned a few billion dollars at the worldwide box office) that would reteam Brad Pitt and George Clooney (whose trio of Oceans films earned more than a billion worldwide).
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Friday! Hard to believe, but I’ve been here for a whole week as #OhioMan.
Save the date! On August 13th, there will be a virtual Republicans for Harris rally.
Points for Pence… for consistency. Though, as 24Sight reports—“Pence holds out hope for a vanished GOP”… I have bad news for you, Mr. Vice President.
Breaking news from FOX… Kamala Harris has a stump speech (gasp!).
From the local paper… Cincy young voters: 'Hatred of each other gridlocking meaningful change' (Enquirer)
… and back in the old neighborhood.. Business owner steps in to help budding writer’s lemonade stand in Green Valley (ARLNow)
‘Furious battles are underway’: Kursk residents call on Putin for help after Ukrainian incursion (CNN)
PsychoPAC has new ads… On Fox News, where Trump will see them. (Here’s one.)
John Oliver… On RFK Jr.
…and his disappearing campaign (NBC)
Tim Walz becomes the target… of the right’s gender-centric criticism (WaPo)
“Cultural appropriation…” Trump supporters are mad about the camo Harris / Walz hat. Good.
January 6 Defendant… Sentenced to 20 Years (USCP). Good. More on this asshat:
Dempsey, who is from Van Nuys, stomped on police officers’ heads. He swung poles at officers defending a tunnel, struck an officer in the head with a metal crutch and attacked police with pepper spray and broken pieces of furniture, prosecutors said.
Speaking of J6ers… CNN reports: “Michele Morrow, the GOP nominee to run North Carolina’s K-12 public schools and its $11 billion budget was at January 6 and posted a video on Facebook that night calling for pro-Trump military coup.”
The Death of the Magazine… Or what happens when journalism forgets about quality writing (Ted Gioia).
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.