Sayet…again!

Hollywood comic Evan Sayet is proving himself to be a truly significant thinker and observer of human foibles. In this commentary, he explores the fundamental divide between the Left and Right /Conservative views of humanity.

http://frontpagemag.com/2011/06/27/being-honest-about-the-%E2%80%9Cpartisan-divide%E2%80%9D/

One one side you have Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s vision of “perfect” or “natural” human beings distorted by societal corruption. On the other,  you have the Judeo-Christian perception of humans as fallible (broken angels), torn between competing propensities toward good and evil. Building on this divide, Evan Sayet offers trenchant observations on why these two views lead us to very different ways of approaching the world. In this essay, he weaves in the insights of Thomas Sowell on Liberal/Left concepts of “victimization”, explains how the flawed visions of the Left underpin virtually every action taken by the Obama administration, and why such will inevitably lead us to disaster.

 

I happen to believe that the Jean-Jacques Rousseau vision of humanity is a luxury born of indolence and wealth. One can only indulge in such views when living in a bubble protected from the harsh realities of life. Rousseau lived his life as a parasite, feeding off handouts from wealthy benefactors in exchange for intellectual pablum. He was a hypocrite, of course. His own life and treatment of his family (and women in general) was a despicable refutation of all that he preached. Today, the indulgences of Rousseau’s vision are enjoyed mostly by those who sustain themselves by parasitizing the productive elements of society as well as their own wealthy benefactors. Consider as exhibit A the Leftwing propensities of trust-fund babies, students living on their parents’ dimes and wealthy Hollywood celebs. The hardcore Left is largely an upper-middle class phenomenon, comprised mainly of over-indulged youth that were protected by parents and society from ever having to confront Life’s harsh realities. It was their right, you see.

 

 

Sadly, I do not think that there is any easy way to bridge this divide, as it is far too fundamental and deeply ingrained. People have chosen sides.

 

 

This divide is  not new, nor is it recent. Humanity has been struggling to resolve these competing visions for millennia. It is addressed in the Old Testament /Torah  Book of Proverbs, for example.

 

If I was to put my finger on why this has come to be, I would propose that it is the inevitable product of the unparalleled wealth and comforts enjoyed by the West post-WWII. The WWII generation may have remembered the sacrifices made in order to generate such wealth and comfort, but its children and grand children took it for granted and are now in the process of squandering it. Perhaps such a dynamic explains the historical rise and fall of societies.

 

I do think that, today, this divide is driving us (the world) to a clash of epic proportions that will ultimately force people to confront life the way it really is. This is the way that history seems to work.

 

Evan Sayet may be a comic in his profession, but he is also proving himself to be a very serious man indeed. Sayet again and again and again…!