It’s Time to Krauthammer the Curriculum

One solution for fixing the anti-intellectualism of the nationalist right.

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Students on the William & Mary campus, October 25, 2021, in Williamsburg, Virginia. (Photo by Julia Rendleman/Washington Post/Getty Images)

What do we owe our adversaries in the battle of ideas?

We spend a lot of time thinking and talking about what is disqualifying in the discourse or debate of others—determining what is ugly, rude, bigoted, facile, sneering, hypocritical, etc.

We’re all cancel culture commissars when it comes to our own little dachas. I know I am always ready to lay claim to a valid reason why I should not have to listen to this particular twaddle or respond to that obvious canard. Sloth is my shield against engagement with obvious rottenness. Who has the time or energy?

As we know too well, millions of Americans make time for it. And the more rotten, the better. My colleague David French coined the term “nutpicking” for the negative version of cherry picking in which the nuttiest nut from a political or cultural group is picked out by one of its adversaries to say that this is how allll Republicans, or Democrats, or Methodists, or people who make pie crust with vegetable shortening are.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    I never realized David coined the term nutpicking. I’d always assumed it was pretty generally used for years.

    I like this suggestion a lot. Too many young New Right types don’t really know anything about conservatism or history so they assume that the stuff Patrick Deneen says is true.

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  2. Ams

    Eh, as a political science professor in Oklahoma, my conservative students aren't much interested in reading anything. I have authors who are right of center on my syllabi (Milton Friedman, Mary Ann Glendon, Andrew Sullivan, etc.) but that doesn't mean that my conservative students are reading their works or engaging with their ideas. Still, I do try to include these alternative voices in the hope that any of my thoughtful students (right or left) will consider them.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Ben Connelly

      Do you consider Andrew Sullivan to be on the right? I believe he considers himself to be on the center-left (although on some issues I think he would say he has right-wing views).

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      1. Ams

        Sullivan is a classical liberal who believes in maintaining a firm distinction between public and private. He's committed to Mill's harm principle, and Mill's definition of direct harm (harm to people and property). Compared to many progressives, who are busy being "harmed" by speech and who think the personal is political, he's old-school.

        I subscribe to Sullivan's substack, and would say that he's difficult to categorize. But, post-modern he ain't.

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        1. Avatar photo
          Ben Connelly

          I understand that but I still think he would categorize himself as centrist or slightly left of center. Maybe I’m too conservative to view someone like Sullivan as a conservative but that’s why I asked what he considers himself to be.

          Otherwise I agree with your point. Too many New Right young folks don’t seem to want to read much and would rather believe myths they’ve learned on social media about what politics was like before they were born.

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    Scarlette Tarte

    Fine as long as we have another required class...all the best of liberalism and why it is better than conservatism.

    I have zero problem having a class about political philosophies. Have one on several of them. But they ALL must be required, not just the conservative class.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Ben Connelly

      And another class explaining why libertarianism is better than both!

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    TelltheTruth&DoWhatisRight

    good stuff, ty.
    I miss Charles

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    This comment has been deleted

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    Dogberry

    "Steelman" has been a term for this I thought.

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    Paul Hoppenjans

    Amen, Brother Stirewalt

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  8. That's Hedley!

    Stirewalt is just completely wrong here. David French did not coin the term "Nutpicking." Kevin Drum -- or rather one of his readers -- did. Here's the origin post: https://washingtonmonthly.com/2006/08/11/nutpicking/.

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    BrettH

    A tall order in these times. Good luck to the first courageous individual(s) to go over the ramparts.

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    Patti Scriffiny

    I've been saying this for awhile. The best thing that conservatives can do is to encourage their best and brightest to become educators at all levels.

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