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The Arrogant Misery of Leftists
“Jim” (not his real name) is one of my closest friends. We practiced medicine together for a while, and then I helped him through retirement. I still see him frequently, including, for example, at holiday parties. He is very intelligent, and a nice, well-meaning person. He is also progressive, which I find fascinating. He hates Trump nearly as much as Gary. He voted for Hillary but wanted Bernie. I read about social democracy in places like Venezuela, and wonder why Jim would want that for anybody. For an intelligent, well-meaning person, that really is fascinating.
At a recent Christmas party, Jim said something that caught my ear. Being a polite, nice person, he does not discuss religion or politics directly (…although he makes a lot of oblique references and snide comments; in a polite, nice way…). But he went on at some length that night, making snide comments about the wealth of a mutual friend. We live in Hilton Head. There are a lot of wealthy people here. Jim himself lives in a $3 million oceanfront house which he owns free and clear, and he travels the world. His wife recently took her BMW into the dealership to get it cleaned, and then drove home in a brand-new BMW. She liked it. Why not?
So it struck me as odd that Jim would criticize anyone for being wealthy. But the other guy is wealthier than Jim. Jim wasn’t being vicious, just snide. And they’re close friends – in fact, Jim just got back from spending last week on this guy’s yacht in the Caribbean. Jim may not approve of Caribbean yachts, but he’s not turning down that invitation. He’s not stupid. But he does this a lot – I realized that we had had this conversation, about various other wealthy people, many times. And I started to notice a pattern in his other topics of conversation over time:
Jim lives his life by Judeo-Christian principles but rolls his eyes at Christians. He considers Islam to be a beautiful culture, but Judaism and Christianity to be primitive superstitions which lead to bigotry and violence. Don’t get me wrong – he loves living in a Judeo-Christian society, and he lives his life in a Judeo-Christian way – he just scoffs at actual believers of Judaism and Christianity. Those people are, well, you know…
Again, his criticisms are rarely direct. He won’t say exactly what it is that he disapproves of. It’s just a snide comment and a roll of the eyes.
Jim’s life has been a long, steady, dedicated, and focused effort to gain wealth. He was born into an upper-middle-class family and has gone up from there. He is a good physician but has made several shrewd business moves over the years. He’s taken calculated risks at the right time, was clever with taxes and investments, and has done very well for himself and his family. So, good for him. But as I mentioned, he habitually denigrates those with more wealth than himself. Why? I used to think it was simply an effort to establish his credibility as a proponent of the less fortunate. But now, I’m not so sure. I haven’t quite figured this out yet, but I think his arrogance requires him to continually express his displeasure with those people. You know – those people. He’s above all that. Are you?
His life was saved last year by an extremely high-tech medical gizmo. When he told me about this remarkable, life-saving procedure, he shook his head at how much money the company that developed it was probably scamming from Medicare. Probably. Because, you know, those people…
He admires socialism in other countries, but he very much enjoys the benefits of living in a capitalist society.
He rolls his eyes at redneck gun nuts, but if anything bad ever happened, I suspect that I would find Jim and his wife on my front porch because they know that this is one of the best-armed houses in Hilton Head. He scoffs at those who think they need guns to protect themselves, while he lives in a gated community. With armed guards at the gate.
He shakes his head at the Puritans who think that marriage is the bedrock of society, but he is very upset that his beautiful daughter has been living out of wedlock with her boyfriend (and their child) for the past 10 years. Maybe her daughter listens to him more than he thought.
And so on and so on. And so on.
All those things have something in common, I think. Maybe a few things in common. I used to think it was simple hypocrisy. But now I think there’s more to it than that.
First, arrogance. Those people over there are misguided. Jim is wise and sensible. On the other hand, I am constantly learning from other people. Even from people that Jim would not approve of. I may not really approve of them either, but I think you can learn something from nearly anybody. By looking down his nose at Christians, Jim scoffs even at the wisdom of the ages, seemingly without wondering whether there’s something in those ancient books that could challenge his wisdom. That’s high-level, effortless, unconscious arrogance. Even a lack of interest in the world we live in. What an awful way to live your life.
Next, jealousy. Rather than enjoying his own good fortune, he resents those who have done better. Thus, nothing is ever good enough. There’s always someone better off. What an awful way to live your life.
And then, misery. Everything is a negative. Even a technological marvel that saves his life – he finds something to criticize. Rather than seeking joy, he seeks misery. And he finds it. What an awful way to live your life.
I’m not sure that Jim is a hypocrite, because I think he is too self-centered for hypocrisy. His concerns matter and the concerns of others don’t. At least, not in the same way. He’s not being hypocritical, just self-centered. It’s ok for big government to cause Venezuelans to survive by eating rats, but Jim complained about “greedy politicians” when some new local regulation raised the prices at the Whole Foods he shops at last year.
Jim cares about his well-being, and his security, and his image. He also cares about other people, I think. But in a very different way. A way that I just can’t wrap my mind around.
Again, Jim really is a good person. I like him a lot. That’s what makes all this so hard for me to understand.
But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Jim is just a stereotypical liberal, with the casual arrogance of the well-off, the hypocrisy required of those with nonsensical personal philosophies, and whose financial success leads him to constant, reflexive virtue signaling. And maybe my friendship with Jim is leading me to try to see things that just aren’t there. The simplest solution is usually right.
Maybe I’m confused not by Jim, but by leftism. I just don’t understand. How such nice, intelligent people like Jim could share even parts of the politics of Hugo Chavez, Joseph Stalin, Chairman Mao – heck, even Nancy Pelosi – I search and search for understanding. I listen to Jim. I read liberal columnists. I watch CNN (well, in airports…).
I just can’t figure it out.
The history of the Democrat party in the United States is horrifying (Jim is a 70ish-year-old white man whose family has been in South Carolina for generations – surely he knows the history of the Democrat party. The party that he continues to vote for.) The history of progressivism/leftism around the world for the past 150 years is even more horrifying. And even if you ignore the history, what do you get out of leftism right now, at this moment? Arrogance, jealousy, and misery. Even in otherwise successful, happy people, like Jim.
How on earth does any thinking, feeling human decide, “You know, I want to be a progressive Democrat.” How on earth?
The more I listen to Jim, the more confused I get.
Can anyone out there help me understand?
Published in General
Your friend is nothing knew. He is just like Sviazhsky in Anna Karenina. There are always people like that.
continued
If it had not been a characteristic of Levin’s to put the most favorable interpretation on people, Sviazhsky’s character would have presented no doubt or difficulty to him: he would have said to himself, “a fool or a knave,” and everything would have seemed clear. But he could not say “a fool,” because Sviazhsky was unmistakably clever, and moreover, a highly cultivated man, who was exceptionally modest over his culture. There was not a subject he knew nothing of. But he did not display his knowledge except when he was compelled to do so. Still less could Levin say that he was a knave, as Sviazhsky was unmistakably an honest, good-hearted, sensible man, who worked good-humoredly, keenly, and perseveringly at his work; he was held in high honor by everyone about him, and certainly he had never consciously done, and was indeed incapable of doing, anything base.
Levin tried to understand him, and could not understand him, and looked at him and his life as at a living enigma.