[Whit Blauvelt]

Daniel,

Assigning people to “left” and “right,” politically, is largely nonsense — except to the degree those people self-identify as “left” or “right.” I’m essentially a Burkean conservative, descended from early New England and New Amsterdam immigrants, with an ethical stance easily recognized as a blend of Puritan and Dutch Reformed sensibilities.

That said, the Trumpists — including decidedly my brother — are something else, a radical break with the American traditions. I just spent a week with him working towards settling our father’s estate (Dad nearly made it to 99). We got along fine. But my brother’s beliefs combine (1) a total mistrust of the effects of modern corporate influence on our food supply, which he sees (somewhat accurately) as poisoning us in many ways, with (2) a total trust of corporate-sponsored denials regarding the reality of global warming. So in his mind our capitalist culture’s profit motive is a great threat to our individual bodies, but no significant threat to the climate of our our planetary body. That’s to say, he’s highly rationalistic, while at the same time plainly irrational.

As for the collusion of Trump and the Russians, have you read the Mueller Report? Or have you just trusted certain media’s assurance that there’s nothing to see? Whichever, not everyone who is against Trumpism is on the “left” — however you define it.

Regards,

Whit