Commentary THE WORLD HAS CHANGED AND WE MUST CHANGE ALONG WITH IT BY ELI LAKE - Commentary Magazine
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Commentary
APRIL 2022
THE WORLD
HAS CHANGED
AND WE MUST
CHANGE
ALONG WITH IT
BY ELI LAKE
PUTIN’S AMERICAN
APOLOGISTS
Commentary APRIL 2022 : VOLUME 153 NUMBER 4
JOSHUA MURAVCHIK
NEOCONSERVATISM:
A VINDICATION
JOHN PODHORETZ
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EDITOR’S COMMENTARY
Neoconservatism:
A Vindication
JOHN PODHORETZ
M
ARK TWAIN said that history doesn’t re- that, in retrospect, crystallized the reasons for his
peat itself, but that it often rhymes. We’re humiliating 10-point defeat at the hands of Ronald
rhyming today with the late 1970s, in un- Reagan less than a year later.
canny ways. To take the most obvious: Inflation is on In 2022, the idea that Vladimir Putin’s Russia
the rise and is about to skyrocket due to a disruption would actually roll the tanks and march the soldiers
in the global oil market, just as was the case in 1979. across the border into Ukraine seemed so irrational
Crime is on the rise as well. and peculiar to the Western consciousness that most
There are other parallels. But history is moving of us—and in that “us” I would even include the heroic
faster. Volodymyr Zelensky—were living in a kind of weird
History: In 1975, the United States bugged out haze of disbelief and denial that it could even happen.
of Saigon and seemed to be embracing a full-scale re- Then it did.
trenchment from its role in the world. Four years later, And the surprise Jimmy Carter had felt in 1979
at the end of 1979, Moscow invaded Afghanistan. was as nothing compared to the shock wave across
Rhyme: In 2021, the United States bugged out of Europe in 2022. It took the United States three years
Kabul, producing images horrifyingly similar to those to double its defense budget after the Soviet invasion.
of April 1975. A mere six months later, Moscow invaded It took Germany three days. German Chancellor Olaf
Ukraine. Scholz announced his country would increase its
The 1979 invasion of Afghanistan was a hinge defense spending from 47 billion euros to 100 billion
moment. It reawakened America to the existential euros 72 hours after the Russians crossed the Ukrai-
threat posed by the world-dominating ambitions of nian border.
the Soviet Union. And it came as a terrible shock to History. Speeding up. And rhyming.
the sitting president, who had centered his foreign Will this be a hinge moment in history as well? If
policy on an arms treaty with the USSR that he viewed so, the rhymes of history may be heard in the surpris-
as so essential that he had agreed to enshrine Soviet ing present urgency of neoconservatism.
numerical superiority when it came to the number of Throughout the 1970s, the band of writers and
nuclear warheads. thinkers who came to be known as “neoconservatives”
After the invasion, Jimmy Carter notoriously had taken defiantly unfashionable positions when it
said he’d learned more about the Soviet Union in a came to matters of defense and foreign policy. The neo-
week than he’d learned in his lifetime—a sentence conservatives opposed negotiations and treaties with
Commentary 1
Columns_April_3.10L.indd 1 3/10/22 1:47 PM
the Soviet Union, which they considered a great evil. the Public Interest, was dedicated to domestic-policy
They reviled the United Nations for its “Zionism is rac- neoconservatism. Commentary hammered home
ism” resolution at a time when the UN was almost sac- the flawed ideas of the prevailing consensus on world
rosanct (millions of little boys and girls across Amer- order. The Public Interest did the same on matters
ica, including me, had proudly toted orange tzedakah ranging from housing policy to urban policy to energy
boxes on Halloween to raise money for UNICEF). And policy to criminal justice. What they had in common
they feared that the United States had, in the wake of was this: Neoconservatives believed that the purpose
Vietnam, undergone what a 1975 symposium in this of government was both to defend and protect our
magazine called “A Failure of Nerve” that would have liberties from threats at home and abroad. How could
global consequences. this best be effected? Deterrence.
The general opinion among If the greatest threat to our
If the greatest threat to
the American cognoscenti was that liberty abroad from the end of
the neoconservatives were hysterics our liberty abroad from World War II until the end of the
and vulgarians incapable of see- the end of World War II Cold War was the Soviet Union,
ing shades of gray. A more mature the best and only effective way to
sense of the world’s complexity was until the end of the Cold face it down was to work to deter
supposedly represented first by the War was the Soviet Union, its ambitions and its influence.
hard-won realism of the establish- You could not do so by entering
mentarians who had embraced the
the only effective way to into agreements with it. You need-
policy of détente with the Soviet face it down was to work ed to match its aggressions with
Union—and second, by hipper for- to deter its ambitions countermeasures that would make
eign-policy thinkers whose world- those aggressions costly.
view was encapsulated by Carter’s and its influence. If they invade Afghanistan,
May 1977 declaration that America You could not do so by you arm the Afghan rebels. If they
had gotten over its “inordinate fear seek beachheads in the Americas,
of Communism.” entering into agreements you arm the Nicaraguan rebels
Then came 1979. The year with it. You needed to even as you support the El Salva-
began with the Iranian revolution dorean government against their
match its aggressions
engendering an oil crisis. By the end Communist rebels. Install medi-
of the year, Iran’s fundamentalists with countermeasures um-range nuclear missiles in Eu-
had taken 52 American diplomats that would make those rope to counteract the huge Soviet
hostage as crowds chanted “Death military presence in the East. The
to America” in the greatest public aggressions costly. ultimate move in this regard was
humiliation the United States had the Strategic Defense Initiative,
ever experienced as a nation. A thousand miles from which sought to use American ingenuity and scien-
the U.S. border, Nicaragua fell to a puppet guerrilla tific knowhow as a countermeasure against the Soviet
army of the Cubans and the Soviets while a similar nuclear arsenal.
puppet force was threatening to do the same in El These policies were wildly controversial, even
Salvador—thus potentially creating a Soviet-friendly though their aims were actually rather modest: Pin the
anti-U.S. bloc on the American subcontinent. bad actors down and raise the cost of their bad conduct
Suddenly the vulgarity of the neoconservatives to unacceptable levels. But for those who believed the
didn’t seem quite so vulgar. But they remained prophets best way to deal with the Soviet Union was to imagine
without much honor in the quarters in which they had that it was not an enemy or even an adversary but
traveled for most of their adult lives. Both the old and simply a nation with a different approach to things
new establishments were largely impervious to the way with which we could still do business, the neoconser-
history was vindicating their warnings and fears. vative notion of matching Soviet moves pawn by pawn
Thus began the integration of the neoconserva- seemed openly belligerent and crazy.
tives into the conservative movement and the Republi- Domestically, deterrence was achieved by counter-
can Party by Ronald Reagan, who became the dominat- ing the worst human impulses through the proper use of
ing figure in both in the 1980s. What they brought to defensive protocols that would prevent the bad behavior
Reaganism was one simple policy approach: deterrence. from taking place. Contain the impulses and you could
This magazine was the epicenter of foreign- let everybody go on with their lives. In practical terms,
policy neoconservatism. Irving Kristol’s magazine, that meant eyes on the street and cops on the beat.
2 April 2022
Columns_April_3.10L.indd 2 3/10/22 1:47 PM
There had been a policy revolution in the 1960s carry a gun if you don’t want it taken away from you
known as “911 policing” that essentially changed the and don’t want to get arrested for possessing an illegal
nature of policing—cops were to respond to crimes after firearm. And second, it removed the gun from circula-
they happened, to wait for the call after the violence tion before it could be used. Nonetheless, stop-and-
had been done. It was the domestic neoconservatives frisk was largely eliminated. Now, with the crime surge
who laid the groundwork over more than 20 years for in New York City and elsewhere, it’s coming back. But
the crime drop that changed America for the better be- with a new name. Because history rhymes.
ginning in the early 1990s. Every one of the ideas they All of this had a clear moral superstructure.
presented—broken-windows theory, COMPSTAT-driv- Domestically, there were good guys (people who went
en deployment of police forces—was designed to en- about their daily lives) and bad guys (people who
hance deterrence. So too with the way America dealt preyed on them). Perhaps more important, there were
with wrongdoers: It criticized the movement toward bad guys abroad (the Communists, the Arab oil states).
more lenient sentencing because it limited the deterrent And there was a giant Good Guy—the United States.
effect of punishment, even going so far as to say it would That was the hardest pill of all for the cogno-
be dangerous to eliminate the death penalty because scenti to swallow, because they did not believe that the
without the ultimate sanction all other forms of punitive United States was good—and their moral frame was
incarceration would gradually be compromised. much more about restraining American ambitions
Deterrence in domestic matters went beyond rather than the ambitions of those who would do ordi-
crime. The general proposition that good policy nary Americans harm.
largely involved containing dangerous human im- Deterrence is what America lost in the years
pulses meant also grappling with the unintended before Vladimir Putin took the gamble of going into
consequences of well-intentioned social policy gone Ukraine, and it is deterrence we need to restore. That
awry—as when cradle-to-grave welfare made it a ben- is why this is a neoneoconservative moment.
efit to be a single parent. The problems brought about And one of the reasons Twain was right about
by welfare policy also led to revolutionary changes no history not repeating itself but rhyming instead is that
one really believed would ever take place, such as the the key foes the neoconservatives face when it comes
welfare reform Bill Clinton signed into law in 1996— to the moral frame of deterrence—the idea that Amer-
just as no one really believed the Soviet Union would ica is and should be a force for good—are no longer
collapse or that crime would drop by 80 percent. hip liberals but rather “traditional conservatives” who
It turned out that deterrence was not only sim- have taken their place as the leading anti-American
ple but very powerful. And very practical. But the criti- voices of our time.
cism persisted even as deterrence showed its value. And we will prevail over these anti-Americans
Take stop-and-frisk, the most controversial policing just as the neocons of the 1970s defeated the cogno-
behavior during the crime-drop period. It was ground- scenti of their day, because our approach is right and
level deterrence at its most basic. It warned you not to our cause is just.q
Commentary 3
Columns_April_3.10L.indd 3 3/10/22 1:47 PM
April 2022 Vol. 153 : No. 4
Articles
Eli The World Has Changed 19
Lake
and We Must Change
Along With It
Joshua Putin’s American Apologists 25
Muravchik A collection of voices on the left, right,
and center have found a way to
blame the United States and the West.
Seth The Revolution 34
Mandel
Inside the ADL
How Jonathan Greenblatt
is makin’ Whoopi.
Jonathan S. True Crime Trashes 39
Tobin the Holocaust
A much-touted investigation into the
identity of Anne Frank’s betrayer fuels
anti-Semitic stereotypes.
Joseph Writers Lost 45
Epstein and Found
On Johanna Kaplan and Bette Howland.
Columns_April_3.10M.indd 4 3/10/22 3:22 PMPolitics & Ideas
Jonathan Guilty 50
Marks
The Trials of Rasmea Odeh,
by Steven Lubet
Naomi Head Stop 52
Schaefer Riley The Parent Trap,
by Nate G. Hilger
Monthly Commentaries
Editor’s Commentary Tech Commentary
1 John Podhoretz James B. Meigs 12
Neoconservatism: How Green Was
A Vindication Germany’s Folly?
Reader Commentary Jewish Commentary
6 Letters Meir Y. Soloveichik 14
on the The Matzah Bakery
February issue of Dnipro
Washington Commentary Media Commentary
10 Matthew Continetti Christine Rosen 16
Believe Them I’m OK, I’m OK
Hollywood Commentary
Rob Long 56
How You Know Americans
Like Cops
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 5 3/10/22 12:56 PMREADER COMMENTARY
The Counter-
Revolution
To the Editor: Supervisor Leonard Moty, I noticed To the Editor:
A BE GREENWALD is correct
that a counter-revolution is
underway (“Yes, There Is a Counter-
that the authors emphasized that
those conducting the recall were
“extremists” or “militia” members
A BE GREENWALD’s “Yes, There
Is a Counter-Revolution” gives
a clear view of the macro events and
Revolution,” February). And the left who deal in “conspiracy theories.” cultural patterns of the present-
is terrified that the gains they’ve This was just the reporting. To drive day U.S. It’s a great piece. I just
made in the past couple of years home the point, the same paper wish balance between good and
will be lost. In response, they have featured an editorial decrying how bad news was better. There can
launched a campaign to delegiti- “extremists” are putting democracy be no doubt that the enemies of
mize the counter-revolution as an itself in danger. Seems like recalling liberalism are winning right now.
extremist, conspiracy-theorizing, vi- a supervisor is the very essence of But Greenwald is right that the bat-
olent, far-right threat to democra- democracy, but such is the response tle is joined. And Commentary
cy. This line of argument is popular to the counter-revolution. is on the front lines, which gives
in national media and is trickling Breck Henderson me hope.
into coverage of local politics as Arlington, Texas David Breckman
well. In reading a local California Los Angeles, California
newspaper about the successful 1
recall effort against Shasta County 1
6 April 2022
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 6 3/10/22 12:56 PMAtlantic
Anxiety April 2022 Vol. 153 : No. 4
John Podhoretz, Editor
To the Editor: Abe Greenwald, Executive Editor
I A P P R E C I AT E D C h r i s t i n e Noah Rothman, Associate Editor
Rosen’s fresh, incisive thoughts Christine Rosen, Senior Writer
on the ever-darkening tone of the �
Atlantic (“The Atlantic’s Nervous Bret Stephens, Contributing Editor
Breakdown,” February). What didn’t Eli Lake, Contributing Editor
make sense, however, was her criti- �
cism of the magazine’s having a tar-
Carol Moskot, Publisher
get audience—educated, affluent,
left-leaning readers. Serving the Kejda Gjermani, Digital Publisher
needs and interests of a target au- Malkie Beck, Publishing Associate
dience is a foundational principle �
of magazine publishing. Addition- Stephanie Roberts, Director of Operations
ally, Rosen’s final line left me in �
disbelief. The starkly real possibility Board of Directors
that America is on track to becom-
Michael J. Leffell, Chairman
ing an autocracy is anything but an
Daniel R. Benson, Paul J. Isaac,
“astonishingly petty anxiety.”
Deborah Boldt Liz Lange, Jay P. Lefkowitz,
Santa Fe, New Mexico Steven Price, Gary L. Rosenthal,
Michael W. Schwartz, Dan Senor
1
To the Editor: cover photograph: ap photo/j. scott applewhite
T HANKS FOR publishing Chris-
tine Rosen’s column on the At-
lantic. What she writes is entirely
To send us a letter to the editor: letters@commentary.org
We will edit letters for length and content.
true. I am a political conservative To make a tax-deductible donation: donate@commentary.org
and thought, last year, that I should For advertising inquiries: advertising@commentary.org
read more of what’s being written For customer service: service@commentary.org
on the other side of the ideological
divide. I subscribed to the Atlantic
and have found it very depress- Commentary (ISSN 0010-2601) is published monthly (except for a combined July/August
issue) by Commentary, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization. Editorial and business offices: 561 Seventh
ing. So much so that I sometimes
Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY, 10018. Telephone: (212) 891-1400. Fax: (212) 891-6700. Customer
don’t even want to open it. At first Service: service@commentary.org or (212) 891-1400. Subscriptions: visit www.commentary.org/
I diagnosed the problem as merely subscribe or call (212) 891-1400 for current rates. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and
Trump Derangement Syndrome, additional mailing offices. Subscribers will receive electronic announcements of forthcoming issues.
but even now, with Donald Trump Single copy: U.S. is $5.95; Canada is $7.00 All back issues are available in electronic form
at commentary.org. Postmaster: Send address changes to Commentary, P.O. Box 3000,
mostly gone, the Atlantic continues
Denville, NJ, 07834. Unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by a stamped, self-
to be depressing. I greatly appreci- addressed envelope. Letters intended for publication may be edited. Indexed in Reader’s Guide,
ate Rosen’s thoughts on the matter. Book Review Digest, and elsewhere. U.S. Newsstand Distribution by COMAG Marketing Group,
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continues to support its role as an independent journal of thought and opinion. Copyright ©2022 by
Commentary, Inc.; all rights reserved under International and Pan American Copyright Conventions.
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 7 3/10/22 12:56 PM1 to their own more narrow (and large- hope that the magazine would
ly elite) concerns. If these writers spend as much time analyzing the
To the Editor: and editors were only proffering political decisions (and missteps)
I AGREE WITH Christine Rosen,
and I cancelled my subscription
to the Atlantic because I cracked
advice to one another, there would
be little to admonish. But in seek-
ing to tell everyone else how to live,
of the current president as they
do those of the former one. Like-
wise, Jeff Kramer is correct that
the code on its teeter-totter trope: they often overstep. Additionally, I alarmism fuels a great many narra-
Brace thyself! The end of civiliza- did not label the particular idea that tives in the Atlantic’s stories these
tion is nigh! And now in happier America is on track to becoming an days. Those narratives, as well as
news, squirrels, BBQ potato chips, autocracy “astonishingly petty.” I the clickbait articles that Christo-
and naps bring unexpected joys. disagree with that premise entirely pher Smith notes, are the lifeblood
May the managers responsible and seek to challenge the Atlantic’s of the website. If that alarmism
for debasing this once-proud jour- constant doomsaying about democ- and apocalypticism are alienating
nal move elsewhere to peddle their racy. I am far more optimistic about thoughtful liberal readers like Mr.
alarmism. Perhaps a periodical ti- our democracy’s ability to overcome Smith, as well as driving away po-
tled Exploding Sun—a guide to liv- challenges and thrive, as are, I be- tential conservative readers such
ing, laughing, and learning during lieve, many of the Atlantic’s readers. as Mr. Green, the magazine will
the pre-vaporization epoch—would Mark Green is quite right to ultimately lose its broader general-
best suit their talents. identify Donald Trump as someone interest appeal, to say nothing of its
Jeff Kramer the Atlantic loves to loathe—and subscriber base.
Jamesville, New York someone to whom it devotes a
great deal of time and energy, even 1
1 after he lost reelection. One would
To the Editor:
H
Wagner and
EAR, HEAR for Christine
Rosen’s incisive, entirely de-
served, and timely takedown of
the Atlantic. As someone who fits
the Jews
Rosen’s description of the Atlantic’s
target liberal demographic, I recog-
nized the problem in the past few
months and became a former sub-
scriber. While substantive insight
into legitimate concerns is always To the Editor: thought that the milquetoast Sieg-
welcome, the clickbait that the
magazine promulgates isn’t worth
the time or money of a subscription.
E RIC NELSON argues convinc-
ingly that, for Wagner, Wotan
and his regime of laws and con-
fried predicted the banality and
unironic kitsch of Nazi-sponsored
art, with its wholesome specimens
Christopher Smith tracts represents the liberal world of German manhood. The fact that
Lake Forest, California order as corrupted by the influence it’s Wotan’s struggles and despairs
of “Jewishness” (“Wagner and the that capture modern audiences’
1 Anti-Semitism of ‘the Ring,’” Febru- sympathies (more so than Sieg-
ary). And this Jewishness is tradi- fried’s death) redeems the Ring as
Christine Rosen writes: tionally thought to be embodied by a work of dramatic art, despite the
I APPRECIATE Deborah Boldt’s
reminder that most magazines
aim to reach a target audience. Where
Wotan’s nemesis, Alberich. It’s in-
teresting to observe that these two
characters are much more profound
repugnant views of its creator.
Elie Glyn
Watertown, Massachusetts
we differ, however, is that she as- and convincing artistic creations
sumes that the Atlantic aims to than the “free hero” Siegfried, the 1
speak only to that target audience, young idol who defies the manipu-
when in fact the magazine’s writers lations of gods and dwarves and yet To the Editor:
and editors frequently scold the
general public for failing to conform
seems to exist more as an abstract
ideal than a real person. I’ve long W AGNER’S MUSIC is undeni-
ably marvelous. Siegfried’s
8 Letters : April 2022
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 8 3/10/22 12:56 PMdeath and funeral march, the En- it appears in our era of leftist dog- to see that some still believe in the
trance of the Guests in Tannhäuser, ma is an encouraging omen that concept and are capable of muster-
and the Sailor’s Chorus “Steur- the truth will yet unravel the fabric ing outrage at the sight of authori-
mann, las die wacht” come back to of lies, the orchestrated narrative tarian bullying against a sovereign
me undiminished after all the years. from which we hope to extricate nation on the edge of Europe.
Of course, I had encountered ourselves. This aggression should evoke the
various theories of Wagner’s anti- Michael Dodaro strongest possible response from
Semitism filtered through friends Seattle, Washington the West that prudence allows. Thus
and intermission lecturers. Eric far, in the councils of Western gov-
Nelson’s analysis is the most coher- 1 ernments, that response has been
ent analysis I’ve read or heard. That mixed. Some of the policies I en-
dorsed in my essay to deter and
counter Russian aggression—from
Russia and
suspending the Nord Stream 2 pipe-
line to providing military equip-
ment to Ukraine—have begun to be
implemented by Washington and
Ukraine
its NATO partners. Nonetheless,
much more remains to be done to
check the Kremlin’s ambitions and
wear down its morale. A coordi-
nated program to reduce Europe’s
To the Editor: as if the U.S. stood for something, dependence on Russian oil and gas
I THANK Brian Stewart for his
article on Ukraine, and I com-
mend Commentary for publish-
but we are becoming just anoth-
er wishy-washy, wealthy country,
bloated on the successes of our
is also long overdue.
Russia’s aggression in Ukraine
today poses the most severe chal-
ing it (“Protect Ukraine Now,” Feb- glory days, and slowly succumb- lenge to the notion of a Europe
ruary). I joined the Army National ing to cultural decay. If we’re not “whole, free, and at peace” that we
Guard in 2014 after watching with trying to make other people’s lives have witnessed in the post–Cold
shock and horror the annexation of better, what’s the point of being War era. The United States and the
Crimea and the hybrid war started such a powerful country? rest of the free world should regard
by Russia in eastern Ukraine. I saw All this is to say, I’m glad some and treat it as such.
a bully and a victim, and I felt a very people are honest about what
American rage. Alas, I was never sent needs to be done. I just wish I could 1
to Ukraine. Crimea is still Vladimir believe that we’ll do the right thing.
Putin’s, and Joe Biden is now bun- Thanks for all the good that
gling the larger affair. It isn’t entire- Commentary does. CORRECTION: An editing error
ly his fault, of course. Many factors Samantha D. introduced some confusion into
went into where we are now. But Hometown withheld Kevin D. Williamson’s review of Sam
he’s not doing a good job of dealing Quinones’s The Least of Us. It was
with Putin. 1 Ricardo Quinones, not his son, Sam,
Biden’s disastrous withdrawal who was president of the Associa-
from Afghanistan sent me spiraling Brian Stewart writes: tion of Literary Scholars and who
into despair, and I continue to be
eaten up with dread that more of
the same is coming. It used to feel
A T A TIME when many Ameri-
cans have grown weary of
global leadership, it’s heartening
served on the board of the Na-
tional Council for the Humanities.
Commentary regrets the error.
Commentary 9
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 9 3/10/22 12:56 PMWASHINGTON COMMENTARY
Believe Them
MATTHEW CONTINETTI
S
OME EVENTS seem impossible right up to the troops to change the Ukrainian regime and occupy a
minute that they take place. The idea that ter- sovereign nation. They said that U.S. intelligence had
rorists might turn airliners into missiles was failed in the past and could well be wrong again. They
relegated to novels until the morning of September 11, noted that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky
2001. The global financial system seemed impregnable was minimizing tensions between his country and
before Lehman Brothers collapsed on September 15, Russia. They observed that most Ukrainians did not
2008. For many people, the chances that a reality-TV act as if war was imminent. They cited Putin’s record
star would become the first president without any of opportunism, of “gray-zone” tactics, of cyberattacks,
experience in government or the military seemed less propaganda, and disinformation as evidence that
than zero until 2:29 a.m. on November 9, 2016. For he would pull back from a full-scale offensive. “Why
decades, a pandemic that would kill 6 million people Putin Won’t Invade Ukraine,” read the headline of a
worldwide in two years and unleash long-lasting representative article published on the website of the
social, economic, and cultural havoc was the basis of Atlantic Council on February 16. The piece listed all
science-fiction movie plots. Then the first case of Co- the reasons an invasion would be bad for Putin. The
vid-19 was confirmed in the United States. author proposed a scenario that “suits Putin’s interests
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is another crisis far better than an uncertain military adventure, which
that looked like an unlikely prospect for months but is why he will choose it.”
now seems inevitable in retrospect. In the run-up to Putin chose war instead. He chose to follow the
the war, President Biden and Secretary of State Antony logic he had set out in a 5,000-word essay published
Blinken issued warning after warning that Russia in July 2021. Its title was “On the Historical Unity of
was preparing to attack its neighbor. Not everyone Russians and Ukrainians.” It’s where Putin made his
agreed. The notion that Russia would launch the larg- ghoulish case that the borders of Ukraine are illegiti-
est military offensive in Europe since the end of World mate. Where he asserted that Ukrainians and Russians
War II seemed fantastic, unreal. Tank columns seizing are “one people.” Where he admonished readers that
territory? That’s anachronistic, the skeptics said. The the Ukrainian nation-state exists at Russia’s pleasure.
bombing of population centers? This is the 21st cen- Putin never wavered from these arguments.
tury. We know better. Vladimir Putin is a risk-taker. Throughout the buildup of Russian forces on Ukraine’s
He’s not a maniac. borders, despite Biden’s threat of sanctions and French
The experts said that Putin did not have enough president Emmanuel Macron’s shuttle diplomacy, Pu-
tin continued to say that Ukrainian nationhood was
Matthew Continetti is a senior fellow at the a fiction. He called Ukraine’s democratic government
American Enterprise Institute. fascist. He blamed America and the West for leaving
10 April 2022
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 10 3/10/22 12:56 PMhim no other option than conquest. “The so-called the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend
Western bloc, formed by the United States in its own their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
image and likeness, all of it is an ‘empire of lies,’” he In November 2021, Chinese state media reported
said during his February 24 speech announcing the that Xi had told President Biden, “Should the separat-
“special military operation” against Ukraine. He would ist forces for ‘Taiwan independence’ provoke us, force
“de-Nazify” a country with a Jewish president. He our hands, or even cross the red line, we will be com-
would retaliate if the “empire of lies” got in his way. pelled to take resolute measures.” Should other parties
In launching his war, Putin did exactly what enter the conflict, Xi went on, well, “whoever plays
he had shown every indication of preparing to do for with fire gets burnt.”
some time. Why, then, was it so difficult for so many ex- After Ukraine, we need to listen to the Islamic
perts to take him seriously? Why did so many people, Republic of Iran, whose supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
including this writer, look with incomprehension Khamenei, has spent decades calling for the end of Is-
and disbelief upon his statements and actions in the rael. Last May, for example, Khamenei gave a lesson in
final days before the beginning of Jew-hatred and anti-Zionism when
operations? Why were we unable to he said that Iran has no greater en-
assimilate into our picture of reality After Ukraine, there is no emy than Israel and that “the fight
a dictator who would coldly unleash excuse for downplaying against this despotic regime is the
premeditated hell on 44 million fight against oppression and the
men, women, and children?
or ignoring authoritarian fight against terrorism. And this is
“In the face of unfathomable rhetoric and malevolent a public duty to fight against this
evil,” wrote the late Charles Krau- deeds. After Ukraine, regime.”
thammer, “decent people are psy- Even as President Biden
chologically disarmed.” And when we know that tyrants punished Russia for its actions,
autocrats resort to violence, citizens mean it when they make however, he was relying on Rus-
of democracies that enjoy the rule of sia as the intermediary in nuclear
law are shocked. That’s not how we audacious claims and talks with an Iranian government
resolve disputes. For us, organized demand remarkable that poses an existential threat to
violence is rare. Terrible outcomes
concessions. Putin acted Israel. Even as Biden rallied the
are uncommon. We seldom believe world in support of Ukrainian free-
what our own elected officials say, just as he said he would. dom, his intermediaries prepared
anyway. Don’t expect us to take seri- Many of us wouldn’t to lift sanctions on the world’s larg-
ously the ravings of despots. est state sponsor of terrorism. The
But it’s about time we started listen. Many of us same administration that turned
doing so. After Ukraine, there is no didn’t want to. out to be right about Vladimir
excuse for downplaying or ignoring Putin’s program in Ukraine lives
authoritarian rhetoric and malevo- in la-la land when it comes to the
lent deeds. After Ukraine, we know that tyrants mean stated intentions of a theocracy whose malign behav-
it when they make audacious claims and demand ior in the Middle East aims at regional hegemony and
remarkable concessions. Putin acted just as he said he the eradication of the Jewish state.
would. Many of us wouldn’t listen. Many of us didn’t What proof is there that Xi Jinping and Ayatol-
want to. lah Khamenei are any less committed to their diaboli-
After Ukraine, we need to take a second look cal ideologies than Vladimir Putin is? Why should we
at documents such as Xi Jinping’s address last year be less worried about a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or
marking the centenary of the Chinese Communist an Iranian attack on Israel than about Putin’s designs
Party. In his speech, China’s ruler said that “resolving in Ukraine? When strongmen tell you they are about to
the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete sow chaos, don’t close your ears. What they say might
reunification is a historic mission and an unshakeable sound unlikely. It might strike you as out of this world.
commitment of the Communist Party of China.” He It isn’t. Don’t dismiss the leaders of rogue states. Don’t
added that “no one should underestimate the resolve, doubt them. Believe them.q
Commentary 11
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 11 3/10/22 12:56 PMTECH COMMENTARY
How Green
Was Germany’s
Folly?
JAMES B. MEIGS
O
N FEBRUARY 26, 2022, as Russian tanks can act with impunity, while countries dependent on
rolled somewhat haltingly toward Kiev, Ger- imports need to tread delicately. Vladimir Putin knows
many was fighting a battle of its own. It was this. But Germany and the rest of Europe seem to have
trying to keep the lights on. Since 2000, Germany has forgotten.
spent 500 billion euros on its Energiewende program, When Germany launched its Energiewende pro-
a campaign to replace fossil fuels and nuclear power gram, it hoped to become the world leader in developing
mostly with wind and solar energy. That Saturday was a zero-carbon economy—a green beacon unto the na-
a typical winter day in northern Europe, with tem- tions. For years, Germany basked in the praise of climate
peratures in the thirties and forties and light winds. activists and environmental NGOs. As recently as this
But as the sun settled toward the west, Germany’s vast past month, the New Yorker asked, “Can Germany show
phalanxes of wind turbines and solar panels performed us how to leave coal behind?” (Hint: When a publication
exactly as they so often have in the past: poorly. By 5:15 puts a question mark at the end of a headline, the answer
p.m., wind and solar combined were producing less than is almost always “no.”) The country didn’t just build wind
7 percent of the electricity the country needed. Coal and and solar farms, it also shut down most of its perfectly
natural gas made up most of the balance. good, perfectly safe nuclear reactors.
The lion’s share of that coal and gas came from If you look at a globe, you will see that Germany is
Russia. Which was, to put it politely, a geopolitical closer to the latitude of Anchorage than to that of New
inconvenience for the richest, and supposedly most York. Winter days are short and gloomy. As for the wind?
powerful, country in Western Europe. Let’s just say it comes and goes. So whenever Germany’s
Energy has always been a motivation for war. Dur- renewable sources fall short—which is often—the coun-
ing World War II, energy hunger was one of the reasons try turns to reliable sources: coal and gas. And it seems
Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) the more “renewable” Germany’s grid becomes, the more
and why Germany tried, and failed, to take Russia’s oil- it needs those fossil fuels for backup.
producing Caucasus region. But energy can also be a Germany is not alone. Most of Europe is in the
motivation for war when one nation has a surplus and same leaky boat. (France, which went on a nuclear-
its neighbors don’t have enough. An energy-rich country plant-building spree in the 1980s, is happily immune
to these problems.) In a post on Bari Weiss’s Common
James B. Meigs is the former editor of Popular Me- Sense Substack, renewable-energy skeptic Michael Shel-
chanics, among other magazines, and a co-host of the lenberger lays out the numbers: “In 2016, 30 percent of
How Do We Fix It podcast. the natural gas consumed by the European Union came
12 April 2022
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 12 3/10/22 12:56 PMfrom Russia. In 2018, that figure jumped to 40 percent … while coal use climbed 18 percent. Prices were spiking
and by early 2021, it was nearly 47 percent.” It still wasn’t and the cold weather was coming on. Putin was limber-
enough. That’s why Germany was desperate to see the ing up his military. Still, the green juggernaut rolled on:
completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline designed to On January 1, 2022, Germany closed three of its last six
bring in even more Russian gas. (Trump tried to stop the nuclear power plants, promising to shutter the rest by
pipeline with sanctions; Biden lifted the sanctions early year’s end. In geopolitical terms, it was the equivalent of
in his administration.) a dog rolling over to expose its belly.
Putin wasn’t just aware of this trend; he engi- Putin surely drew a lesson from Germany’s self-de-
neered it. Today, Russia is one of the world’s top produc- feating energy policies—and those of Europe as a whole:
ers of fossil fuels. But it uses less than half of what it takes No matter what values Europe says it believes in, he must
out of the ground. The rest it exports. Meanwhile, as have thought, it will compromise them for energy. Ger-
Shellenberger documents, Europe consumes 15 million many wasn’t going to allow its lights to go out on behalf
barrels of oil a day, but produces less than four. It con- of Ukraine. And it might have worked, too.
sumes 560 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year If Ukraine had crumbled overnight as Putin ex-
but produces only 230 billion. pected, Germany and other European nations might
While Europe was buying solar panels, banning have huffed, issued a few token sanctions, and then gone
fracking, and shuttering nuclear plants, Russia was back to business. But Putin didn’t count on the stunning
drilling wells and building nuclear plants. It’s a funny bravery of the Ukrainians and their inspiring president.
thing: In the West, the smart set will tell you that nucle- It turns out that the Europeans still have the capacity to
ar-power plants are too expensive and take too long to feel shame—and empathy. Almost overnight, Germany
build. They also claim that wind and solar have made announced it was halting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline,
nuclear obsolete. And yet in Russia—a country awash increasing its military spending, and even sending weap-
in dirt-cheap gas, oil, and coal—Putin found it worth his ons to Ukraine. The whole of Europe quickly agreed on a
while to double the country’s nuclear capacity in just a deep and painful array of sanctions.
couple of decades. Having more nuclear power at home There are limits, of course. Concerning banking
meant he could send more fossil fuels to his increasingly sanctions, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock
needy European customers. He didn’t do that out of warned, “We buy 50 percent of our coal from Russia. If
generosity. we exclude Russia from SWIFT, the lights in Germany
It’s not like Germany wasn’t warned. In 2013, Hol- will go out.” In the end, carve-outs were arranged to let
man Jenkins wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal Europe keep buying Russian fuel. So Putin will keep
titled, “Germany Reinvents the Energy Crisis.” That earning his billions (which will come in handy now that
piece was one of many pointing out the engineering and his invasion has turned into a grinding slog rather than
economic pitfalls in trying to create a mostly renewable a quick decapitation). The U.S. might have responded
power grid. President Trump ruffled European sensi- to the crisis by lifting Biden’s restrictions on natural-gas
bilities when he repeatedly cautioned that Germany was drilling, approving the Keystone Pipeline, and restoring
becoming “a hostage of Russia.” energy independence. Instead, in his State of the Union
But Germany is a nation with a lingering rever- address, the president promised to “double America’s
ence for a romantic notion of nature, and a strong anti- clean energy production in solar, wind, and so much
capitalist tradition. And, of course, the country had been more.” The German model, in other words.
literally on the front lines of the Cold War. One can un- You’d think the Ukraine crisis would spur a
derstand how a fear of nuclear annihilation could evolve more sensible approach to energy. Germany did briefly
into a revulsion toward nuclear energy. As far back as consider a plan to keep its remaining nuclear plants
the 1970s, a popular meme in German youth culture open. But Green Party officials quickly shot down that
was a pin depicting a smiling sun with the words At- proposal. Here at home, the Biden administration keeps
omkraft? Nein, Danke!—“Nuclear Power? No, Thanks!” responding to surging fuel prices by touting the benefits
The country’s influential Green Party grew out of that of electric cars.
movement. Even nominally conservative leaders such as Meanwhile, France has announced a plan to
former chancellor Angela Merkel have proved powerless build more than a dozen new nuclear reactors. So while
to challenge this ingrained bias. Wind and solar became Germany and the U.S. cling to unattainable renewable
the only energy option that one could discuss in polite fantasies, French citizens get energy that is both clean
company. and bon marché. Who would have guessed that France—
By late 2021, it was obvious Energiewende was fal- France!—would emerge as the West’s leader in hard-
tering. Renewable energy production dropped that year headed energy pragmatism? But here we are.q
Commentary 13
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 13 3/10/22 12:56 PMJEWISH COMMENTARY
The Matzah Bakery
of Dnipro
MEIR Y. SOLOVEICHIK
A
S I WRITE THESE words, the war in Ukraine are exported to the former Soviet Union,
continues, producing images harrowing, ter- Western Europe and other countries. A small
rifying, and at times inspiring. The outcome, portion of the Matzah are intended for use
at this point, is uncertain. Yet I am certain that this Pass- by the 160 communities united by the Jewish
over, as I sit at the seder, one image will be on my mind. Federation of Ukraine.”
It is a video of a Jewish bakery in Dnipro, Ukraine, with
the war already begun, working to produce shmurah The story highlighted simultaneously the crisis
matzah, the unleavened bread eaten at the seder Pass- in which the several hundred thousand Ukrainian
over evening, bread that is still baked by hand. The Jews now find themselves—along with everyone else
Jerusalem Post profiled the bakery, explaining that in the country—but also the miracle that is the rebirth
these Jews bake not for themselves, but for the Jewish of religious fortitude, and Jewish faith, in a land where
world. “The bakery was established more than 20 years once all such faith was forbidden.
ago in the city of Dnipro in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Anyone familiar with history must be surprised
bordering the separatist province of Donetsk,” the Post by the fact that today, the Jewish community in
reported. “A few months ago, a branch of the Ukrainian Ukraine bakes matzah on behalf of much of the Jew-
Matzah Bakery was also opened in the city of Uman.” It ish world. I remember the shock in discovering this
continued: myself when, shopping before Passover several years
ago, I pondered the supermarket’s list of prices of what
“The two bakeries employ about 90 people, is known colloquially as “hand matzah.” I recognized
most of them members of the local Jewish the names of Hasidic bakeries in Borough Park and
community,” said the new branch manager, Williamsburg. And then, I suddenly saw: “Ukraine.”
Mendy Stumble. “The bakery’s target this year Intrigued, I discovered an article that described how
is 100 tons of handmade matza. Most matzahs the bakery sustains Jew and non-Jew alike:
Meir Y. Soloveichik is the rabbi of Congregation Production costs and taxes in Ukraine are so
Shearith Israel in New York City and the director of low that the factory can still afford to charge
the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at customers significantly less than its competi-
Yeshiva University. tors in the West.…Rabbi Meir Stambler, the
14 April 2022
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 14 3/10/22 12:56 PMowner of the matzah factory, notes that even reflection of Jewish resilience was made manifest in
as the Jewish law requires that the handling their continuing to produce the bread of faith. And
of matzah and its ingredients be done by Jews as the crisis worsened, a usually fractured Jewish
only, the factory also employs more than a world came together to support and sustain the Ukrai-
dozen non-Jews who perform other tasks, in- nian Jewish community, to support those staying in
cluding distribution, and this, he says, means Ukraine, to welcome those fleeing, and to help settle
the bakery “not only puts matzah shmurah on those who have arrived in Israel.
Jewish tables, but also helps build bridges and Here too the poetry is profound. Many Sephardic
do mitzvot [good deeds] with non-Jews.” Jews precede the reading of the Haggadah with a re-
enactment of the Exodus in which one seder celebrant
This is the bakery that is continuing to bake with places a matzah on his back and is asked, Where are you
war upon them. Strikingly, as Dovid Margolin has writ- from? “I am from Egypt,” comes the reply. Another ques-
ten, in the early Soviet era, the Jewish community of the tion is asked: Where are you going? And the answer: “I
region was led by Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Scheneerson, am going to Jerusalem. Will you come with me?”
the father of the late Lubavitcher rebbe, and it was this Matzah represents the Jewish journey of genera-
rabbi’s dedication to ensuring the kosher status of the tions and how the hope for redemption bound Jews to
matzah made there that landed him in Stalin’s prison. one another. We would be remiss if we did not reflect,
Now the Jewish community of that very same site this year, on the vindication of these hopes. Speaking
makes matzah for the Jewish world. after the war in Ukraine began, Natan Sharansky, who
Since then, I have often gone out of my way to was born in the region, noted that growing up, the
purchase this matzah of Ukraine for Passover. To me, ethnic identities listed on one’s Soviet passport—words
the historical poetry was profound. Matzah is the such as “Russian,” “Ukrainian,” or “Georgian”—made lit-
food of freedom, eaten as a reminder of the Israelites tle difference. But one appellation was the kiss of death:
hurriedly preparing bread for their journey without “When it came to a university application, for example,
waiting for it to rise, as liberty suddenly descended and no one tried to change his designation from Russian to
they hurriedly departed Egypt. Ukrainian because it did not matter. However, if you
But matzah embodies something more. The could change your designation of ‘Jew,’ it substantially
reading of the Haggadah at the seder begins by holding improved your chances of university admission.”
aloft the purported bread of freedom and announcing Sharansky, who is greatly concerned about all
(in Aramaic) ha lachma anya—this is the bread of af- that is unfolding in the land of his birth, could still
fliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. We not refrain from reflecting with wonder. According
are remembering the first Passover celebration, when to reports of those who heard him, Sharansky essen-
unleavened bread was eaten with the paschal lamb by tially said this: “This week I was reminded of those
ancient Israelites in Egypt, during the plague of the days, when I saw thousands of people standing at the
firstborn. Freedom would not arrive until the morn- borders of Ukraine trying to escape. They are standing
ing; death stalked outside, and the Israelites were still there day and night, and there is only one word that
enslaved. Nevertheless, the Israelites that fateful night can help them get out: ‘Jew.’ If you are a Jew, there are
were still sustained by their bond to God and to one Jews outside who care about and are waiting for you.
other; and suddenly, by morning, they were baking There is someone on the other side of the border who
matzah in freedom. is searching for you. Your chances of leaving are excel-
The “bread of affliction” prayer was recited at lent. The world has changed. When I was a child, ‘Jew’
the opening of the seder by Jews who, for centuries was an unfortunate designation. No one envied us. But
throughout the world, celebrated the festival of free- today on the Ukrainian border, identifying as a Jew is
dom when they were not free, yearning for another lib- a most fortunate circumstance. It describes those who
eration yet to come. Matzah thus embodied the essence have a place to go, where their family, an entire nation,
of Jewish resolution and hope. Hence the prayer con- is waiting for them on the other side.”
cludes: “Now we are here; next year, the Land of Israel. This year, here; next year, the Land of Israel.
Now we are slaves; next year, free individuals.” Could The crisis continues, and the attention of the West is
there be any greater embodiment of the spirit of this rightly upon Ukraine and battles unfolding there. That
opening prayer than the fact that Jews living in a land must not stop us, this Passover, from reflecting on the
where Judaism had been banned for decades would resilience of Jewish faith, from reminding ourselves of
suddenly serve as a source of matzah for the world? Jewish bonds of brothers, and from marking miracles
As war threatened these very same Jews, another in our own age.q
Commentary 15
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 15 3/10/22 12:56 PMMEDIA COMMENTARY
I’m OK, I’m OK
CHRISTINE ROSEN
W
HEN RUSSIA invaded Ukraine in late were evidently tough enough to hear the real news in
February, many news networks and print lieu of bedtime stories. “If your little ones are strug-
media did their best to convey accurate in- gling to go to bed at the end of the day,” NPR suggested,
formation about what was happening on the ground. “try talking to them about the heavy news head-on.”
Thanks to the brave and dogged reporting of journal- Sweet dreams, kids!
ists such as CNN’s Clarissa Ward, and the efforts of NPR was appropriately mocked for the tone-
many Ukrainians who took to social media to docu- deafness of the piece. Even one of its own producers,
ment the attacks, the world witnessed the brutality of Monika Evstatieva, was baffled. “I have no idea who
Vladimir Putin and his army. allowed this to be published,” she tweeted. “It’s not a
And then there was National Public Radio, which reflection of what we’ve been doing every day for the
thought it would be a good idea to post a story on its past 6 weeks.”
website about “5 Ways to Cope with a Stressful News But NPR’s brand of navel-gazing has become
Cycle.” NPR must have assumed its audience wouldn’t more the rule than the exception among journalists
be curious about the many lives at risk in Ukraine, of late. The profession has been steeping in self-care
or the danger of an escalation of the conflict with a and self-care training sessions, and classes for over-
nuclear-powered Russia. Rather, NPR seemed to be burdened journalists have increased significantly in
suggesting that the appropriate questions one might recent years. The NPR story was part of a series called
ask would include, “What does this mean for my life?” “Life Kit,” produced by a “service journalism team”
NPR had lots of ideas. “Don’t forget to care for whose members “deal not only in cold hard facts but
yourselves,” the story urged and offered some helpful also in caring and in kindness” and who “in this turbu-
examples, such as performing a “five-finger breathing lent time...invite you to do the same.”
exercise that can bring you back to the moment.” You The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at
should also “nourish yourself,” since “the kitchen is a Columbia Journalism School has extended its scope
safe space for a lot of us.” Ukrainian children might be beyond teaching reporters how to report accurately
cowering in terror in subway stations to avoid being on traumatic events. The school now offers self-care
killed by Russian bombs, but for the NPR listener, “this seminars for reporters, such as the one in 2020 that
is the weekend that you finally re-create Grandpa’s promised to “explain the rationale for good self-care.”
famous lasagna or learn how to make a prettier pie.” Similarly, the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit journal-
While NPR-listening adults were urged to self- ism organization, offers a course called “Journalism
soothe with meditation and baking, their children and Trauma” that examines “how covering traumatic
events affects journalists.” Among the pieces of advice?
Christine Rosen is Commentary’s senior writer. “Give yourself affirmations, praise yourself,” and “Find
16 April 2022
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 16 3/10/22 12:56 PMways to increase your sense of self-esteem.” as they had in years past.” Journalists were uniquely
Self-care now imbues reporting in mainstream victimized, however, because they had to report on
media. The New York Times website features many Trump. One young journalist who described herself as
stories that cultivate an intimate tone: “Hey friend,” “a queer, Muslim woman of color” said that she turned
the “self-care” home page beckons readers. The section to self-care “to find real ways to block the toxicity I felt
features luxury advertisers and stories about cold- from the world around me” after the election.
water plunge baths and collagen supplements. Edi- Journalists are supposed to “comfort the afflicted
tors doubled down on the self-focus during Covid-19 and afflict the comfortable,” as the saying goes. Now,
lockdowns with stories such as “How will you look however, an increasing number of them view themselves
when you emerge from the pandemic?” and a lengthy as the afflicted merely for having to do their jobs, even
examination of burnout among TikTok influencers as the money they earn places them among the elite
by reporter Taylor Lorenz. Similarly, the Washington they are charged with afflicting. A new generation in-
Post has featured numerous self-care stories and even tent on promoting ideological narratives often invokes
sponsored a live event on the value the notion of reporting “my truth”
of self-care with Deepak Chopra and as superior to old-fashioned objec-
Arianna Huffington.
From a reader’s or tive reporting; in a similar vein, the
And why not? Self-care is a viewer’s perspective, journalism of self-care claims that
conveniently vague yet ubiquitous
it is difficult to trust the the old way of doing things (i.e.,
cultural force these days. In an in- keeping one’s personal struggles
terview with the Washington Post judgment of a reporter private) is unsustainable given the
last year, communications professor whose Twitter timeline uniquely stressful demands jour-
Karla Scott offered this tautology: “If nalism places on its workers. These
you perform any action that consti- reads like a therapy demands are supposedly so terrible
tutes caring for yourself, you are do- session sponsored that sufferers require the language
ing self-care.” Much of this is harm- of trauma to complain about them
by Goop. And as stories
less (and lucrative for purveyors of on social media.
self-care products), and some of it is increasingly include NPR’s article explaining how
even useful for journalists. Reporters emotional opinions war offers an opportunity to give
who cover war or natural disasters do yourself a much-deserved spa day
bear witness to terrible things, which about events rather is the logical conclusion of this
can affect their mental health. There than objective analysis, trend. Journalists cease to afflict
is nothing wrong with encouraging the comfortable (or, in Putin’s case,
greater awareness of the challenges
feelings are elevated the murderously authoritarian) in
they face. over facts. favor of comforting themselves and
But very few of the mainstream- their audience. This approach has
media journalists invoking the need the added benefit of harvesting
for greater self-care are the ones reporting from the profitable clicks from those consumers least likely to get
front lines of wars. Rather, they are like CNN’s Jim Acos- hard news from traditional sources and most keen on
ta, whose preening self-importance saturates every tending to their self-care gardens: younger Americans.
page of Enemy of the People, his book about “surviving” But it does not come without a cost. From a
the Donald Trump years as a highly paid television jour- reader’s or viewer’s perspective, it is difficult to trust
nalist. Or Brian Stelter, who experienced similar trau- the judgment of a reporter whose Twitter timeline
ma having to talk about Covid on television. “I crawled reads like a therapy session sponsored by Goop. And
in bed and cried for our pre-pandemic lives,” he tweeted. as stories increasingly include emotional opinions
In fact, there has been a notable uptick since about events rather than objective analysis, feelings
Trump’s election in journalists’ focus on their own are elevated over facts. Many reporters also appear
supposed trauma, a development that the pandemic eager to make themselves the story, and to play the
only exacerbated. Writing in Slate in the immediate victim when sympathy and praise are not immediately
aftermath of Trump’s victory, Aisha Harris argued that forthcoming from the public. Journalism as self-care
“in 2016, self-care officially crossed over into the main- might produce reporters who are better hydrated and
stream.” She went on: “It was the new chicken soup rested and brimming with improved self-esteem, but it
for the progressive soul. The week after the election, has also elevated an affliction to which journalists are
Americans Googled the term almost twice as often already prone: solipsism.q
Commentary 17
Columns_April_3.10I.indd 17 3/10/22 12:56 PMYou can also read
