How Sam Harris Misreads the Right - And reveals a blind spot of “mean modernism”

Very good podcast Jeff. Puts a lot of calm into a very chaotic time. – Nils Montan

The day before this week’s US presidential election one of my favorite public intellectuals, Sam Harris, released a podcast where he announced a breakthrough in his understanding of what had heretofore been a mystery: the appeal of Donald Trump to his followers. His revelation:

Trump offers what no priest can credibly offer: a total expiation of shame. His personal shamelessness is a kind of spiritual balm. Trump is fat Jesus. He’s grab-them-by-the-pussy Jesus. He’s I’ll-eat- cheeseburgers-if-I-want-to Jesus. He’s punch-them-in-the-face Jesus. 

How painfully partial and depressing is Harris’s denigration of the 30% of the population who love Trump, and the 47% who voted for him. And we thought Trump was insulting (he is)!

Integral thinking offers so much more in the way of understanding – and appreciating – people with different worldviews. We see the dignities and disasters of all three developmental stages currently fighting the culture war and seek to integrate the best of each. Harris, in contrast, offers a “mean modernism” that marks all non-rational reality as deluded and dangerous.

Enjoy the podcast and let me know what you think at Jeff@DailyEvolver.com.