War of Attention

When people are distracted by a zillion different things, the most reliable way to get them to look your way is to say crazy stuff.

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Dear Reader (Including all the politicians afraid to publicly come out of the closet of normalcy), 

Since it’s Labor Day weekend, let’s talk a bit about labor.

One of my favorite scenes in Game of Thrones is also one of the best explanations of Marx’s labor theory of value ever offered in popular culture.

The context doesn’t matter much, so I’ll offer little. Jonathan Pryce plays a mild-mannered religious zealot who goes by the title “the High Sparrow.” He divulges his origin story to his prisoner, Queen Margaery:

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  1. Avatar photo
    Jason Gibson

    Hey Kanye:

    Do you like fish sticks?

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  2. Photo of Jonah Goldbergcircle-angle-nib
    Jonah Goldberg vertical-nib Author

    Hey folks. Sorry if you didn't like this G-File or any other. Sometimes it's not for everybody. And for those who did, thanks! Please put this one in the bank for the inevitable "news"letter you don't like. Because lord knows there will be one.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Josh Blumenthal

      Did you think I didn't like it? I was just pointing out a fact that I thought was funny. No one coerced me to pay and if I was unhappy I'd be more direct. It's just the truth that we pay attention (pun definitely intended) and good for you all for doing it well enough to get me to renew. (Note: when I don't renew, it will be because I'm tired of reading news and commentary, a reflection on me and the state of the world and not on TD.)

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      Ben Connelly

      I liked it. I’m actually surprised people didn’t. It’s not like this is an incredibly offensive topic to either side or a contentious issue.

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    3. Avatar photo
      C C Writer

      Seems like this is another one of those things that it used to be everyone understood.

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  3. Avatar photo
    A Blumer

    Insightful and appreciated.

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  4. Avatar photo
    cheerio

    Hi, this is September. I ended my month of nothing about a week ago. It was quite nice and I think I am going to continue some things. First, I have been reading a lot more. I have completed about 8 books. I could have read more but I find after I finish one, I like to ruminate about it for a while before immersing myself into another. I quit FB, IG, Messenger, and Twitter and guess what? No FOMO. What I have kept are message boards. I still go on Reddit, Discord, and topic/website specific ones. I don't spend as much time on those--there are some specific subreddits I visit and I check in about once a week on 3 channels on Discord. I have been working on my house and am thrilled to say I have finally removed all the old wallpaper from the master bedroom (tedious). I have phone conversations with my sister and my son about once a week (they live out of the area). I have started a book club and we are up to 6 members and met twice so far. I have set up and gone to medical and dental appointments that I put off for a year because of Covid; I have started to go for back massage once a month. I have cleared out the crawlspace in my house and am working putting only what I have to back (so am in the middle of a big decluttering exercise). We joined a farm share group last winter so are receiving weekly fresh local produce and free range eggs every week. I spend some time prepping all that and incorporating it in our diets so we have significantly increased our veggie intake. I still have a couple of glasses of wine in the evening.

    I still listened to some pods.. mostly when doing house stuff. I haven't gone through all of them to determine if I need to continue subscribing (I have over time accumulated a lot of subscribed pods that I don't really listen to).

    I did "keep up" so to speak with the news. I realized that much of the meaningfulness and effect of breaking news that we hear and read have months, maybe even years to truly assess and evaluate. Living in the now is an experience that can elicit emotions but it occurs to me that often people hold off first and then rely on varied trusted "attention seekers" to tell them how to feel and think about them according to their decided affiliations. With the 24/7 news cycle and social media their time to pause and consider things on their own first has grown smaller. Of course the dramatic (usually negative) and outrageous reactions are the most compelling for those who feed on socio-political drama. I am not immune. However, I think I can get better. So I am going to remain a 3x a week PBS NewsHour watcher, scan the NYT page and scan TMD a few times a week. I looked back over the past month and it seemed that TMD was pretty overwhelmed with reporting on Afghanistan-- almost every day I think since 8/8 or 8/9 with a huge number of comments/discussions. The NYT also had a lot of column space on it. I am kind of glad I was not hooked on reading every day and obsessing over it. I also did not watch every address by the President or the WH press briefings nor the opinion shows, no FOMO. It is lovely not to know the cray garbage the elected nutbags have weighed in with in both parties.

    I noticed too with alarm the Delta Wave across the nation. I am concerned it is coming for us in the NE soon with the resumption of full time in-school instruction. Our schools are requiring masks in the building and buses, 3ft distancing in school- there are mask breaks during lunch and outdoor recess. There are options for online d/t medical needs/vulnerability or homeschooling. I am very weary at the thought of being overrun with Covid at work again when it was just... so preventable. I hope to get a booster shot if it gets approved because some colleagues have gotten breakthrough infections after visiting some Southern states. The stores here -- only about 20% or so are wearing masks (I & Mr. Cheerio have since the first week of August). We already have one full Covid unit and they are opening another. I don't know if the healthcare system can handle much more of this. Nurses are quitting the profession altogether.
    The storm victims and the Afghan refugees -- and the people helping them all need our support too.

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  5. Barndog

    "Sometimes the best conmen are the ones too dumb to realize they’re conmen."
    This happens in any institution when people succumb to the pressure off giving in to what the institution wants over what people need. Teachers for years have been under immense pressure to meet do-or-die benchmarks on standardized tests, and go to embarrassing lengths to persuade students of the importance of the test, though you know fully in your heart it is of no significance in their lives. The whole curriculum can be like that. Walking down the hall of any school, you hear teachers droning on giving answers to questions no one has asked. It's an unsettling mix of prostitution and con artistry. After a few years of not speaking from the heart, one becomes a clanging gong, i.e., a dependable teacher for the institution's sick needs. (Posted on behalf of a friend.)

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  6. Alex DeLarge

    All those words to get to the inane point that some people are kinda gullible and have only a simplistic understanding of complex issues. It was like listening to a long set up story with no punch line.

    Jonah puts down people who say "crazy stuff." But saying vague, conventional, and inane stuff is no antidote. People really do want to know the true facts. So give them true facts that are also important and interesting. Duh.

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  7. Avatar photo
    Toog

    On the role of the washing machine in women’s liberation, Tom Harford has a very interesting passage in his excellent book “fifty inventions that shaped the modern economy.”

    Apparently he looked into the data, and it is clear that the productivity leap the automatic washer allowed did not actually reduce the total time devoted to washing much; people (overwhelmingly women) just washed things far more frequently. The benefit, he says, was not that women gained more time for other things, but mainly that people did not smell nearly as awful.

    For that reason, he instead devotes a chapter to the frozen TV dinner, which he says is part of a revolution in prepared food that actually did save vast amounts of women’s time.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Bill B

      Did he include computerized systems that were going to make our lives so much easier?

      Anyone try to get through a self-check out lane lately without it missing the special only-for-you sale digital coupon, ringing up the wrong price or setting off the alarm because you decided to use a paper bag while the one store employee monitoring six customers is off in customer service selling lotto tickets to very slow retired folks? Or try to use the kiosk at Kohls?

      Gosh, I'm turning into a grumpy old guy. Get off my lawn!!

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      1. Avatar photo
        Toog

        Mostly no. There’s a Wikipedia entry with his list if you want to look at it (ordered differently from the book, which is grouped by theme, but I think it’s the same list).

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  8. Avatar photo
    Pboyd

    My favorite bit every week is the weird stuff. Thank you

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  9. Barry Morrell

    Jonah: Is there a pledge by National Review writers past and present to stand athwart something or other periodically?

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    rlritt

    I feel like the odd man out because I don't like politicians. Occasionally I like some of the things they say. I liked that Liz Cheney bucked the system and refused to buckle under and go along with nonsense even though it cost her. I like my congressman when I went a campaign function and heard him talk. I even went so far as to go to his campaign office and waste 2 hours calling people who already voted for him. The more passionate they are, the less I think of them.

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