Restoring American Culture

[Vambram]

Restoring American Culture

Trump has repeatedly said that his common-sense revolution would usher in a “new golden age.” In the context of unleashing the economy and technological innovation, we can understand this to mean literal gold. But a large part of our new golden age will be aggregated under the rubric of...

imprimis.hillsdale.edu

The following is adapted from a talk delivered on January 29, 2025, at Hillsdale College’s Blake Center for Faith and Freedom in Somers, Connecticut.

Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump declared that he and his supporters were “the party of common sense.” In his Inaugural Address on January 20, Trump returned to this theme. With his flurry of executive orders, he said, “We will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense. It’s all about common sense.”

I agree. But what is “common sense”? At the beginning of his Discourse on Method, René Descartes said that common sense was “the most widely distributed thing in the world.” Is it? Much as I admire Descartes, I have to note that he was imperfectly acquainted with the realities of 21st century America. If he were with us today, I am sure he would emend his opinion.

After all, is it common sense to pretend that men can be women? Or to pretend that you do not know what a woman is? During her confirmation hearings, a sitting member of the Supreme Court professed to be baffled by that question.

Is it common sense to open the borders of your country and then to spend truckloads of taxpayer dollars to feed, house, and nurture the millions of illegal migrants who have poured in? Is it common sense to sacrifice competence on the altar of so-called diversity? To allow politicians to bankrupt the country by incontinent overspending? That’s the start of a list one could easily enlarge.

In the cultural realm, is it common sense to celebrate art that is indistinguishable from pornography or some other form of psychopathology? Is it common sense to rewrite history in an effort to soothe the wounded feelings of people who crave victimhood? Is it common sense to transform higher education from an institution dedicated to the preservation and transmission of the highest values of our civilization into a wrecking ball aimed at destroying that civilization?

Like most important concepts—think of love, justice, knowledge, or the good—common sense is not easy to define. But we know it when we see it. And more to the point, we instantly sense its absence when it is supplanted.

In recent years—indeed, at least since the 1960s—our culture has suffered from a deficit of common sense. That deficit has eroded a great many valuable things, from our educational institutions to our cultural life more generally.

These days, the revival of common sense is often opposed to the rule of that coterie of bureaucrats the media calls “the elites.” As a shorthand expression, it makes a certain amount of sense to speak of elites. The folks in Davos who want to vaccinate us into oblivion, encourage us to give up steak for insects, and keep tilting at windmills to battle the weather are members of that shiny, self-satisfied group. So are the products of our Ivy (and near-Ivy) League institutions—those whom the critic Harold Rosenberg called the “herd of independent minds” who all think alike, believe they were born to rule, and occupy nearly every perch upon the tree of societal privilege.

 

[PloverWing]

Thank you for posting this. One of the reasons I read Christian Forums is to try to understand the Trump phenomenon. Obviously, I'm going to disagree with the author of the article, but the author has given a clear and coherent description of his position, and that helps my understanding.

 

[KCfromNC]

I guess it was common sense that led to laying off people responsible for nuclear safety. Or maybe those cuts in childhood cancer research? That must be it, right?

 

[Aryeh Jay]

I guess it was common sense that led to laying off people responsible for nuclear safety. Or maybe those cuts in childhood cancer research? That must be it, right?

Like they say, you can't make quiche without something.

 

[Say it aint so]

Is it common sense to open the borders of your country and then to spend truckloads of taxpayer dollars to feed, house, and nurture the millions of illegal migrants who have poured in? Is it common sense to sacrifice competence on the altar of so-called diversity? To allow politicians to bankrupt the country by incontinent overspending? That’s the start of a list one could easily enlarge.​

Again, the often used slight of hand. Our borders are open to asylum seekers. That is who is being housed and fed. They are not here illegally. If the number of H2 Visas were increased and processing of work permits were sped up where they can make money, they wouldn't be dependent on tax payers money.

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

Restoring American Culture

Trump has repeatedly said that his common-sense revolution would usher in a “new golden age.” In the context of unleashing the economy and technological innovation, we can understand this to mean literal gold. But a large part of our new golden age will be aggregated under the rubric of...

imprimis.hillsdale.edu

The following is adapted from a talk delivered on January 29, 2025, at Hillsdale College’s Blake Center for Faith and Freedom in Somers, Connecticut.

Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump declared that he and his supporters were “the party of common sense.” In his Inaugural Address on January 20, Trump returned to this theme. With his flurry of executive orders, he said, “We will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense. It’s all about common sense.”

I agree. But what is “common sense”? At the beginning of his Discourse on Method, René Descartes said that common sense was “the most widely distributed thing in the world.” Is it? Much as I admire Descartes, I have to note that he was imperfectly acquainted with the realities of 21st century America. If he were with us today, I am sure he would emend his opinion.

After all, is it common sense to pretend that men can be women? Or to pretend that you do not know what a woman is? During her confirmation hearings, a sitting member of the Supreme Court professed to be baffled by that question.

Is it common sense to open the borders of your country and then to spend truckloads of taxpayer dollars to feed, house, and nurture the millions of illegal migrants who have poured in? Is it common sense to sacrifice competence on the altar of so-called diversity? To allow politicians to bankrupt the country by incontinent overspending? That’s the start of a list one could easily enlarge.

In the cultural realm, is it common sense to celebrate art that is indistinguishable from pornography or some other form of psychopathology? Is it common sense to rewrite history in an effort to soothe the wounded feelings of people who crave victimhood? Is it common sense to transform higher education from an institution dedicated to the preservation and transmission of the highest values of our civilization into a wrecking ball aimed at destroying that civilization?

Like most important concepts—think of love, justice, knowledge, or the good—common sense is not easy to define. But we know it when we see it. And more to the point, we instantly sense its absence when it is supplanted.

In recent years—indeed, at least since the 1960s—our culture has suffered from a deficit of common sense. That deficit has eroded a great many valuable things, from our educational institutions to our cultural life more generally.

These days, the revival of common sense is often opposed to the rule of that coterie of bureaucrats the media calls “the elites.” As a shorthand expression, it makes a certain amount of sense to speak of elites. The folks in Davos who want to vaccinate us into oblivion, encourage us to give up steak for insects, and keep tilting at windmills to battle the weather are members of that shiny, self-satisfied group. So are the products of our Ivy (and near-Ivy) League institutions—those whom the critic Harold Rosenberg called the “herd of independent minds” who all think alike, believe they were born to rule, and occupy nearly every perch upon the tree of societal privilege.

The world is complex and nuanced, and what constitutes Common Sense can vary greatly depending on individual perspectives.

Eighty-four years ago, Common Sense was that an African American man could not serve alongside a white man in battle, as it would disrupt the strength of the U.S. military. Sixty years ago, it was Common Sense among many that a young African American girl did not belong in an all-white girls' school. Even in Bible colleges, African American men had separate dormitories because it was Common Sense that black and white men should not share the same building or bathroom. Forty years ago, it was Common Sense that only homosexual individuals contracted AIDS. However, today, we understand that AIDS is caused by a virus and is not related to sexual orientation.

Common Sense indicates that humanity has been appreciating pornography for thousands of years; it did not begin with WOKE liberals. Historically, this appreciation includes works such as the Venus of Willendorf, Enea Vico, or the Statue of David.

Some Americans nostalgically recall the period before the 1960s and express a desire to return to what they perceive as the values of America. If ideas like segregated restaurants or designated seating on buses make sense to some, it suggests some American lack Common Sense of contemporary societal values. Most Americans do not wish to return to those past norms.

 

[Vambram]

The world is complex and nuanced, and what constitutes Common Sense can vary greatly depending on individual perspectives.

Eighty-four years ago, Common Sense was that an African American man could not serve alongside a white man in battle, as it would disrupt the strength of the U.S. military. Sixty years ago, it was Common Sense among many that a young African American girl did not belong in an all-white girls' school. Even in Bible colleges, African American men had separate dormitories because it was Common Sense that black and white men should not share the same building or bathroom. Forty years ago, it was Common Sense that only homosexual individuals contracted AIDS. However, today, we understand that AIDS is caused by a virus and is not related to sexual orientation.

Common Sense indicates that humanity has been appreciating pornography for thousands of years; it did not begin with WOKE liberals. Historically, this appreciation includes works such as the Venus of Willendorf, Enea Vico, or the Statue of David.

Some Americans nostalgically recall the period before the 1960s and express a desire to return to what they perceive as the values of America. If ideas like segregated restaurants or designated seating on buses make sense to some, it suggests some American lack Common Sense of contemporary societal values. Most Americans do not wish to return to those past norms.

I strongly disagree with what you believe Common Sense was, and what Common Sense is.

 

[Vambram]

But rather than being a true elite—which suggests a quota of excellence, merit, and achievement—the apparatchiks we call “the elite” are really just the credentialed class. They are often clever and always politically correct. Eric Hoffer, the so-called “longshoreman philosopher” who was prominent in the 1960s, was right to observe that “self-appointed elites” will “hate us no matter what we do,” and that “it is legitimate for us to help dump them into the dustbin of history.”

Indeed, that exercise in large-scale institutional tidying-up is central to President Trump’s effort to bring about the “restoration of America” through the triumph of common sense.

It is worth pausing over the word “restoration.” The dictionary tells us that the verb “to restore” means “to bring back to good condition from a state of decay or ruin.”

There are essentially two parts to this process. The first is to acknowledge frankly the state of decay or ruin for what it is. The abnormal is not the normal just because it is prevalent. For example, the mutilation of children is not “gender-affirming care.” Anti-white racism is not “anti-racism.” Illegal migrants are not “undocumented ‘new neighbors.’” A bisected cow in a tank of formaldehyde is not an important work of art.

The second part of the ambition to restore American culture begins by rescuing vital examples of cultural achievement from the sneering oblivion to which the establishment elite consigned them.

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

I strongly disagree with what you believe Common Sense was, and what Common Sense is.

That is exactly my point; Common Sense can vary greatly depending on individual perspectives.

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

But rather than being a true elite—which suggests a quota of excellence, merit, and achievement—the apparatchiks we call “the elite” are really just the credentialed class. They are often clever and always politically correct. Eric Hoffer, the so-called “longshoreman philosopher” who was prominent in the 1960s, was right to observe that “self-appointed elites” will “hate us no matter what we do,” and that “it is legitimate for us to help dump them into the dustbin of history.”

Indeed, that exercise in large-scale institutional tidying-up is central to President Trump’s effort to bring about the “restoration of America” through the triumph of common sense.

It is worth pausing over the word “restoration.” The dictionary tells us that the verb “to restore” means “to bring back to good condition from a state of decay or ruin.”

There are essentially two parts to this process. The first is to acknowledge frankly the state of decay or ruin for what it is. The abnormal is not the normal just because it is prevalent. For example, the mutilation of children is not “gender-affirming care.” Anti-white racism is not “anti-racism.” Illegal migrants are not “undocumented ‘new neighbors.’” A bisected cow in a tank of formaldehyde is not an important work of art.

The second part of the ambition to restore American culture begins by rescuing vital examples of cultural achievement from the sneering oblivion to which the establishment elite consigned them.

Between 2016 and 2024, there were 3,678 gender-affirmative surgeries performed on individuals under the age of 18 in the United States. As a Christian, I believe gender-affirmative surgery is a sin; therefore, even one instance of gender-affirmative surgeries is too many. However, 3678 out of 350 million people is an anomaly, not an epidemic. Twenty-two states ban any kind of gender alteration treatment for minors. In the states that allow gender alteration for minors, there are rigorous processes, including counseling and parental consent for surgery. In America, children are not subjected to mutilation. That is merely a political campaign rhetoric, nothing more.

I live in Wisconsin. If you leave Milwaukee and drive in any direction, you'll pass through rural areas for hours. You'll notice three things: most of rural Wisconsin is Trump County, many people working on the field, and most of them are undocumented immigrant.

The hypocrisy is that Rural Americans vote for President Trump and support his immigration policy, yet they hire thousands of the same people they want to deport.

But sure you want to blame the elite who call undocumented immigrants “new neighbor”.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Am I the only one who read the OP's piece and thought it was a bunch of nonsense? Early on, he decries the influence of ivy-educated elites, but uses as examples of "common sense" the popularity of a tv show hosted by an Oxford-educate art historian, a series of concerts (and the subsequent 25-hr box set) directed by (Harvard grad) Leonard Bernstein, and a book of the month club organized by a Penn grad. As best as I can tell, his definition of "common sense" revolves around confidence and energy, which.... wut?

It's nothing but a mish-mash of right wing social critiques that comes off as intellectual because the author is too literate to write for some place like Breitbart.

 

[Pommer]

Both sides are learning the very difficult lesson that trying to use the government to affect the society is completely backwards.

 

[Yarddog]

Restoring American Culture

Trump has repeatedly said that his common-sense revolution would usher in a “new golden age.” In the context of unleashing the economy and technological innovation, we can understand this to mean literal gold. But a large part of our new golden age will be aggregated under the rubric of...

imprimis.hillsdale.edu

The following is adapted from a talk delivered on January 29, 2025, at Hillsdale College’s Blake Center for Faith and Freedom in Somers, Connecticut.

Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump declared that he and his supporters were “the party of common sense.” In his Inaugural Address on January 20, Trump returned to this theme. With his flurry of executive orders, he said, “We will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense. It’s all about common sense.”

I agree. But what is “common sense”? At the beginning of his Discourse on Method, René Descartes said that common sense was “the most widely distributed thing in the world.” Is it? Much as I admire Descartes, I have to note that he was imperfectly acquainted with the realities of 21st century America. If he were with us today, I am sure he would emend his opinion.

After all, is it common sense to pretend that men can be women? Or to pretend that you do not know what a woman is? During her confirmation hearings, a sitting member of the Supreme Court professed to be baffled by that question.

Is it common sense to open the borders of your country and then to spend truckloads of taxpayer dollars to feed, house, and nurture the millions of illegal migrants who have poured in? Is it common sense to sacrifice competence on the altar of so-called diversity? To allow politicians to bankrupt the country by incontinent overspending? That’s the start of a list one could easily enlarge.

In the cultural realm, is it common sense to celebrate art that is indistinguishable from pornography or some other form of psychopathology? Is it common sense to rewrite history in an effort to soothe the wounded feelings of people who crave victimhood? Is it common sense to transform higher education from an institution dedicated to the preservation and transmission of the highest values of our civilization into a wrecking ball aimed at destroying that civilization?

Like most important concepts—think of love, justice, knowledge, or the good—common sense is not easy to define. But we know it when we see it. And more to the point, we instantly sense its absence when it is supplanted.

In recent years—indeed, at least since the 1960s—our culture has suffered from a deficit of common sense. That deficit has eroded a great many valuable things, from our educational institutions to our cultural life more generally.

These days, the revival of common sense is often opposed to the rule of that coterie of bureaucrats the media calls “the elites.” As a shorthand expression, it makes a certain amount of sense to speak of elites. The folks in Davos who want to vaccinate us into oblivion, encourage us to give up steak for insects, and keep tilting at windmills to battle the weather are members of that shiny, self-satisfied group. So are the products of our Ivy (and near-Ivy) League institutions—those whom the critic Harold Rosenberg called the “herd of independent minds” who all think alike, believe they were born to rule, and occupy nearly every perch upon the tree of societal privilege.

Trump proved that he has no common sense when he claimed DEI was the blame for mid air collision.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

That is exactly my point; Common Sense can vary greatly depending on individual perspectives.

"Common sense" can also be uninformed simplistic thinking that cares not to do a deeper dive into the complexities of reality.

 

[Belk]

Apparently "common sense" is the standard list of right wing misrepresentations we have been hearing for a couple years now.

 

[JustaPewFiller]

Different people will have different views of what is or is not "common sense".

Sometimes "common sense" can be swayed depending on what question is asked and how it is asked.

Let me give you an example (Warning - I'm going to pick on Elon a little here but I could have use Bezos or any other of the super rich)..

"There are roughly 14million hungry children in America in food insecure households!!! Estimates say it would cost roughly $25 billion to fix it. Elon Musk has $384billion dollars!!! Isn't it just common sense that a fraction of Elon's riches should be used to feed hungry children?!!? After all, what is more important, feeding hungry children or 6% of one man's money?! Isn't it common sense that eliminating childhood hunger in America is more beneficial to the country than Elon Musk being a little bit more wealthy?!?! Isn't that just common sense?!?!"

See what I did there?

Probably some people would think that is a common sense argument. It is doubtful that Elon would think that proposal made even a tiny bit of sense.

In any event, what is or isn't officially "common sense" from a policy standpoint is decided by those in power be they on the left or right.

 

[DaisyDay]

But rather than being a true elite—which suggests a quota of excellence, merit, and achievement—the apparatchiks we call “the elite” are really just the credentialed class. They are often clever and always politically correct. Eric Hoffer, the so-called “longshoreman philosopher” who was prominent in the 1960s, was right to observe that “self-appointed elites” will “hate us no matter what we do,” and that “it is legitimate for us to help dump them into the dustbin of history.”

Indeed, that exercise in large-scale institutional tidying-up is central to President Trump’s effort to bring about the “restoration of America” through the triumph of common sense.

It is worth pausing over the word “restoration.” The dictionary tells us that the verb “to restore” means “to bring back to good condition from a state of decay or ruin.”

There are essentially two parts to this process. The first is to acknowledge frankly the state of decay or ruin for what it is. The abnormal is not the normal just because it is prevalent. For example, the mutilation of children is not “gender-affirming care.” Anti-white racism is not “anti-racism.” Illegal migrants are not “undocumented ‘new neighbors.’” A bisected cow in a tank of formaldehyde is not an important work of art.

The second part of the ambition to restore American culture begins by rescuing vital examples of cultural achievement from the sneering oblivion to which the establishment elite consigned them.

Are you calling for class warfare against the elites?

 

[okay]

3,678 gender-affirmative surgeries performed on individuals under the age of 18 in the United States

Could you give a source for this? The paper I had read gave that exact number for people under 19

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2808707

I wish they didn’t include 18 year-olds in the stats with minors, since it is a different thing in my opinion.

 

[okay]

"Common sense" can also be uninformed simplistic thinking that cares not to do a deeper dive into the complexities of reality.

An example might be giving a 19 year-old who goes by the name “big balls” access to sensitive government data and allowing him to determine who gets fired. The fact that he himself was fired from a firm for leaking proprietary info to competitors is apparently not a deal breaker.

I’m sure this fellow, with his vast experience and wisdom, also has enormous “common sense”, so immediately knows how to responsibly reduce spending in complex government agencies without breaking anything that really matters to the lives of Americans…

 

[stevil]

Between 2016 and 2024, there were 3,678 gender-affirmative surgeries performed on individuals under the age of 18 in the United States. As a Christian, I believe gender-affirmative surgery is a sin;

Is there a reference in the Bible to this? Or perhaps are you going to author a new version of the Bible?