Listen now | I sat down with Nick Gillespie, editor-at-large at “Reason” and a leading voice in libertarian thought, to explore how we find meaning and purpose in a world defined by freedom and complexity.
Really enjoyed this discussion. You sort of proved your own point on the flattening of norms by leaning into the example of trans issues. You mentioned divorce in passing, but you glided over that. I find that common among lots of people on the right, and I think it’s (understandably) driven by the fact that we all know and have friends and family who’ve, say, gone through divorce or use birth control- norms which (in the changes that have happened) have much larger an effect than the current trans issues. But who wants to be the guy who rails against divorce or birth control in 2024? One of the challenges of maintaining norms is that at the end of the day, people tend to draw the line just beyond where they and their friends are. For a lot of conservative religious people (I’m not saying you), the rise of the trans issue has been a boon- since it now gives them something to point to instead of wrestling with their own acquiescence to the reality of divorce, birth control, gay marriage, etc.
I’m old enough (61) that when I was a kid there were few kids of divorce in my school, and there was plenty of shame around it. I didn’t find out that my grandmother’s father left their family until I was in my 40’s, when she’d been dead 15 years.
My childhood best friend and next door neighbor growing up died of AIDS in 1989, and because of our small town community norms, his parents felt like they needed to lie about how and why he died. Imagine having to lie to your neighbors about how your son died.
The thing about cultural and moral norms is that, historically, they have been enforced, finally, through shaming and shunning and exile. Particularly in religious communities.
Really enjoyed this discussion. You sort of proved your own point on the flattening of norms by leaning into the example of trans issues. You mentioned divorce in passing, but you glided over that. I find that common among lots of people on the right, and I think it’s (understandably) driven by the fact that we all know and have friends and family who’ve, say, gone through divorce or use birth control- norms which (in the changes that have happened) have much larger an effect than the current trans issues. But who wants to be the guy who rails against divorce or birth control in 2024? One of the challenges of maintaining norms is that at the end of the day, people tend to draw the line just beyond where they and their friends are. For a lot of conservative religious people (I’m not saying you), the rise of the trans issue has been a boon- since it now gives them something to point to instead of wrestling with their own acquiescence to the reality of divorce, birth control, gay marriage, etc.
I’m old enough (61) that when I was a kid there were few kids of divorce in my school, and there was plenty of shame around it. I didn’t find out that my grandmother’s father left their family until I was in my 40’s, when she’d been dead 15 years.
My childhood best friend and next door neighbor growing up died of AIDS in 1989, and because of our small town community norms, his parents felt like they needed to lie about how and why he died. Imagine having to lie to your neighbors about how your son died.
The thing about cultural and moral norms is that, historically, they have been enforced, finally, through shaming and shunning and exile. Particularly in religious communities.
Anyway, thanks for the conversation with Nick.