So, kyle Kulinski had a video today about so called "Talaricoism" and asking if he is the future of the democratic party. And, while Kyle's take has a lot of the same skepticism I have toward the idea, I just wanna say, can we PLEASE, PLEASE stop glazing this guy?
The problem with Talaricoism is that it's a substanceless mess that doesn't have a consistent set of philosophical principles. It's just a new form of moderation and centrism. For me, the right's worldview is dominated by evangelical Christianity. The left's should be dominated by the opposite of that: which is secular humanism. My introduction to the left is through the New Atheist movement, and quite frankly, I always kinda saw liberal Christians as being a bit of a contradiction. They have one foot in the religious world, one in the secular, and they kinda just pick and choose a la carte. maybe they dont see it that way. They love to act like they have a more "sophisticated" take on religion and reality, due to the fact that they express some nuance, but to me, it's just sophistry. It's being caught in between two worlds, and being inconsistent as fudge. It's being a lukewarm christian, and God in the Bible didnt like the lukewarm. He spat them out of his mouth. Well, that's how I feel about these kinds of liberal Christians. Maybe in their heads they can make all the internal contradictions of the religion work with a secular reality, but for me, it is just a lot of unnecessary complexity that shrouds one's vision.
Quite frankly, I have enough trouble consistently justifying my belief in something supernatural that isnt christian, and I make FAR fewer assumptions than those guys, and my worldview is FAR more consistent. I just can't do the moderate christian crap. I just can't. It makes me wanna spit it out of my mouth to go back to that quote.
And that's the problem with Talaricoism. It isnt what we need in this moment. We need a philosophical opposite of the right. We need a new set of principles, a new ideology, something rooted in fundamental opposition to the GOP and its ideology. All Talaricoism offers is a compromise. Maybe its a different compromise than we see with a lot of centrist new democrat types given Talarico can be more economically progressive, but it's a lot more similar than people realize. Again, keep in mind, my first exposure to the guy was the Jubilee debate and how he basically defended progressive economic ideas on right wing terms. But that's the thing, it IS right wing terms. And i dont wanna argue on their terms of work ethic and who deserves what, rather I want to throw all that out and think entirely differently.
And really, that's what annoys me. The left looks at him like a marvel because he take's the right's value system and throws it back at them. but here's the thing, I kinda hate the right's value system at the core of my very being and my stomach turns at the idea of having to listen to this preacher fellow use THEIR ideology to advocate for OUR ideas. It kinda feels like ideological surrender.
And this is what kyle kinda instinctually realizes here. He realizes that this guy has the same appeal of like Obama, and speaks in a similar cadence. Which makes him very charismatic, but also...isnt he kinda substanceless? Maybe what we need isnt someone who tried to heal divides, but someone who takes on the right directly and actually fights.
But that's what talarico doesnt do. He is more the "let's not fight, let's all get along" guy, where he basically reinforces an ideological consensus around christianity, when my views are fundamentally against the religion in several key areas. And that's why I can never accept the guy as a thought leader on the left and resent the very idea of it. It literally goes against every fiber of my being. I tolerate the guy. he won his primary, he's arguably good for Texas, which is basically the heard of "jesusland", but honestly, I dont find the guy that endearing, and I feel like he's just creating this new brand of moderates who think they're so cool and edgy because they like christianity AND have mildly progressive views. And they just use it as a cudgel against people like me, considering me an unsophisticated brute for being a new atheist type while acting like they're so...sophisticated for having nuanced views. Like please, this is just hillary clinton 2016 wrapped up again. She did the same exact thing. She just bashed us for being "bernie bros" instead. But the whole religion thing was part of that schism too. And it played into the whole "oh you silly bernie bros, you just dont get MODERATES, blah blah blah', like, F off. I get them. I just dont see them as standing for anything, and that's the problem. Same with this guy. At the core of his ideology, we're just left with this philosophical mess, and one that does not rise to the moment to properly challenge the right for ideological dominance, but again, tries to cement it by offering a consensus with it. I dont want consensus around christianity. I want religion out of politics and I want us to debate topics based on reason and evidence, not religion, vibes, or feels. Ya know? I'm for using my brain and arguing ideas from deeply held principles, not just appealing to people with charisma and vibes. Sorry, not sorry.
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