Jew-ish

This weekend’s Ruminant sees Jonah “feeling particularly Remnant-y,” which means he’s leaned out of the ...

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This weekend’s Ruminant sees Jonah “feeling particularly Remnant-y,” which means he’s leaned out of the punditry and into the historical eggheadery. That includes the history of the term “Jewish,” (why don’t we just say that someone is “a Jew,” and if you do, why does it sound like a slur?) the history of The Remnant’s title, and more. But at the end of it all, one question remains: Is Jonah a superfluous man?

Show notes:

–      Joe Scarborough was very angry

–      DarkSide is at least somewhat honest

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  1. Jennifer Streit

    I just read the full Albert Jay Nock piece, as linked in your show notes. Wonderful. I sent it to my three sons. Thanks for a great episode.

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    The Bell Tower

    Johann Goethe, who died long before Hitler came along, once noted:

    “I have often felt a bitter sorrow at the thought of the German people, which is so estimable in the individual and so wretched in the generality. A comparison of the German people with other peoples arouses a painful feeling, which I try to overcome in every possible way.”

    I’ve always wanted to say “Not just the Germans, Johann. All of us. All humans in the generality are wretched.” And all civilizations seem to be on the same clock, ticking down to the inevitable moment when the wave of collective stupidity washes them away.

    I love the concept of The Remnant because many people I know are aware of and disgusted by what Nock called this tyranny of windiness (I will be stealing that one) that is happening now. And I often wonder if the legendary silent majority exists or if most of us are just really dumb. Burke remarked on something similar once:

    “Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath the shadow of the British oak, chew the cud and are silent, pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field; that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little shrivelled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour.”

    I think the truth is blurred. I think most people are just trying to get by and don’t really give a damn which clowns sit in the various seats of government. Individuals are always superior to the collective but rarely make the necessary impact to affect positive change.

    The good, level-headed people too often despise organizing and being activists. We’re too busy raising our kids to care about Trump’s Twitter beefs or AOC’s math-free economics lessons. We want the establishment to get their Twittery, groupthink out of our faces. Go be stupid in the other room.

    And that is our downfall. Our virtue in resisting organization is the vice that will ultimately destroy us.

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  3. Keith Schooley

    I've never taken "Jewish" to be some sort of avoidance of the more forthright term, "Jew." I take it to be a parallel construction to other ethnic designations: English, French, Russian, Spanish. All are adjectives. A man from England is normally called "English," not "an Englishman," except in Gilbert and Sullivan--and note how the noun has to be constructed from the adjective. So "Jewish" just feels more natural because it's parallel to other ethnic designations. Indeed, a citizen of Israel is "Israeli" (or historically, an "Israelite"). The adjective is just the more natural way to designate ethnicity, at least in English.

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    Ben Connelly

    Great episode! The ending reminding listeners about the origins of “The Remnant” really resonated with me. And from what it looks like from the comments, a lot of other listeners as well.

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  5. GregS

    I've noticed that you (and other GOP-aligned writers who have intellectual honesty) still continue to fall into the trap of thinking that your policy disagreements with democrats are of the same category as your disagreements with fascism-sympathetic Trumpists.

    Yes you align 9/10 times with the GOP on abortion and guns. And yes, Democrats and Republicans have historically disagreed whether the constitution should be interpreted with an originalist philosophy or a "living constitution" philosophy.

    You acknowledge at the very end of this podcast that these differences are of a separate category from whether or not democratic elections should be stolen and a dictator installed, whether an attempted coup is just fine and should be memory-holed, and whether batcrap crazy election "integrity" audits should be performed to delegitimize the very foundation of representative democracy.

    But you continue to act like the question of whether or not the GOP as it stands wins power is just of academic interest. Do *not* both sides this. The moment calls for the GOP members who still support Trump and who want to "stand on Trump's shoulders," in the words of Chip Roy, to be denied any access to power. If that means your tax rate goes up for a while, or your kids read more about slavery, that's an acceptable cost.

    The alternative is fascism. Not figurative fascism but the real thing, as now embodied by people like Trump, Flynn, and J. D. Vance (e.g., see his remarks regarding the importance of "destroying" political enemies), and supported by weak kneed opportunist bootlickers like McCarthy and McConnell. A majority of Republicans believe the lie that the election was stolen. It's no defense that they have been "duped" (whatever happened to personal responsibility?).

    That whole argument you had with Kristol about the burn it down approach? I hope you see that the only way this ends well is with the GOP burned to the ground and rebuilt by the Remnant. There's no Isaiah coming - the Remnant Republicans have to do it themselves.

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    Jason Gibson

    Ya wake up late for school man ya don’t wanna GO.....

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    Jason Gibson

    My history professor in college compared Charles Coughlin to Rush Limbaugh. this would have been 1992. It was only a decade later that my own research showed what jonah pointed out here

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    Joel Stewart

    Loved the Nock/Isaiah discussion. I recently preached to my church from Isaiah 58. That chapter is a wonderful challenge to the remnant about taking personal responsibility to restore a broken society. Verse 12 in particular resonated with me: "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in."

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    Dan Jett

    Another great one, Jonah. Saving this one on my iPhone as well to continue to listen to.

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    Cornelius O’Brien

    So Jewish is kinda like a Jew? Crazy conceit but truth is Jew is the slur. Jew lawyer. Jewed me down. Whatever. I’d love it if these things went the way of Polish jokes but not on the horizon

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