Andrew Sullivan in Questioning the roots of wokeness: “Questioning whether a trans woman is entirely interchangeable with a woman—or bringing up biology to distinguish between men and women—is not a mode of inquiry. It is itself a form of “transphobia”, of fear and loathing of an entire group of people and a desire to exterminate them. It’s an assault.”
The seven Harry Potter novels are one of the great examples of ethical literature in the early 21st century. When the leader of Harry’s world, the Minister of Magic, tries to recruit him to perform public relations for the Ministry of Magic, Harry’s moral instincts are quick and sure: “I don’t think that will work.” When Aberforth, the late Dumbledore’s brother, suggests using the Slytherin children as decoys and cannon fodder during Voldemort’s final assault, Harry firmly replies that it’s a bad idea “and your brother wouldn’t have done it.”
The present-day left’s dictatorship of virtue demonizes J. K. Rowling, the series’ author, for correctly noting that it is known science that “a trans woman is [not] entirely interchangeable with a woman.”
This century already has another great example of liberal ethical art: Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom. A previous blog post here, "Nothing is more important to a democracy than a well-informed electorate", received an unusual quantity of hits, probably because it contained extensive quotes from the series. For example, the description of the shibboleths of one of our major political parties, from ten years ago, could have been written yesterday:
“Rabid ideological purity
Compromise as weakness
A fundamentalist belief in scriptural literalism
Denying science
Unmoved by facts
Undeterred by new information
A hostile fear of progress
A demonization of education
A need to control women’s bodies
Severe xenophobia
Tribal mentality
Intolerance of dissent
A pathological hatred of the US government
[Newsroom Anchorman Will McAvoy:] They can call themselves the Tea Party. They can call themselves Conservatives. And they can even call themselves Republicans. Though Republicans certainly shouldn’t. But we should call them what they are: The American Taliban.”
— The series is a passionate warning to (hopefully) “a well-informed electorate.” "The Newsroom" nailed the reactionary nature of the tea party in its discussion of "The American Taliban." Its discussion of "America is the Greatest Nation" placed the meme in its rightful context: Manifest Destiny; and The White Man's Burden. "The Newsroom" gave two actresses outstanding roles. MacKenzie (Emily Mortimer) has an early scene in which she owned Will McAvoy. Sloan Sabbith (Olivia Munn) is the smartest person in the organization.
Nevertheless progressive critics went with male dominance. There are far more criticisms, of conduct by male Republicans that is harmful to the public good, than of mean social standards in which women may play a part; but the fact that Sorkin dares to criticize, for example, soap opera gossip, is treated as proof of sexism. Charlie Skinner dares to say, "I'm too old to be governed by fear of dumb people," thereby showing insufficient respect for The Community. "The Newsroom" promoted Frank Capra/Don Quixote idealism; naive, sentimental public-spiritedness; thinking (and writing) fearlessly; the vital importance of truth and good information to a democracy; respect for dignity, privacy, and autonomy; and indifference to orthodoxy. It criticized gossip columns and TV shows dedicated to gossip; the associated glee for the "takedown" of prominent or successful public figures; news-as-entertainment; and mean, petty, uncivilized social practices — all things intolerable to a progressive wokescenti rendered livid when it encounters anyone who is free and refuses “to be governed by fear of dumb people.”
To the ascendant and increasingly dictatorial antiliberal progressive left, nothing is more infuriating than free, liberal artists who aren’t afraid of them. They have rejected J. K. Rowling and Aaron Sorkin, two of our best, because they are great, free, independent liberal moral voices.
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