Puff Goes the Magic Dragon of Wokeism

The cherished belief in lasting peace and security has had to contend with two profound reality shocks in recent time.

First came Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine. Then there was the horrendous attack on Israel by the Hamas terrorist organization.

Could this dual reality shock signal the end of an era of self-delusion that has been fostered in recent decades throughout the Western world by an aloof and hypocritical political elite and left-of-center activists?

Fools on the hill

The highly idealistic, one-sided pursuit of peace and prosperity has led to the marginalization of the essential work required to maintain and improve democracy.

This has given way to a more technocratic approach, focused primarily on the management of social welfare. As a consequence, a new generation of politicians has arisen who are less adept at navigating the complexities of international relations, unable to discern between friend and foe.

Culturalism über alles

Instead, they have prioritized social and cultural agendas – often catering to the needs of the smallest minority groups.

Indeed, “Wokeism” has spawned a social construct to allow everyone to feel discriminated against – and therefore entitled to benefits paid from public coffers (i.e., other people’s money) without being ready to make any contribution of their own.

As any such imbalanced approach to public policy tends to go into overdrive before eventually collapsing, this heavily collectivist ideology has now evolved into the concept of “Wokeism.”

They would rather be blind

The basis for the presumed entitlement is no longer a proven need, but rather the sentiment to deserve special treatment based on assumed differences between themselves and others, no matter how obscure the reasons.

The primary issue with collectives is that they tend to prioritize collective identity over the rights of individuals, which can foster divisive political dynamics.

The New York Times pointed to the problem in 1962!

The New York Times had identified the problem in an American context as early as 1962, six decades ago:

“The question must be not whether a group recognizable in color features or culture has its rights as a group. No, the question is whether any American individual, regardless of color, features or culture, is deprived of his rights as an American citizen. If the individual has all the rights and privileges due him under the laws and the Constitution, we need not worry about groups and masses – those do not, in fact, exist, except as figures of speech.“

Wokeism is the gospel of envy

The fundamental truth we have to reckon with today is that the increasingly imaginary forms of collectivism, which have now found their absurd high point in the religion of Wokeism, is this: Wokeism essentially is the gospel of envy which major Western democracies have allowed to foster in their societies in the absence of a clear external threat.

The lengthy process of splintering Western societies into numerous mini-collectivist factions has also undermined popular government.

This process has hollowed out our democracies, and instead fostered a worldview that is inverted, anti-capitalist, anti-modernist and essentially anti-democratic.

Deterrence anyone?

While all of these increasingly convoluted “Woke” (aka Puff the Magic Dragon) mental gymnastics have spiraled out of control. Digital communications have brought them just a click away, perpetuating more collectivist disparity.

Meanwhile, Western democracies have struggled to maintain their defenses – and an uncompromising stance of deterrence.

No threat, no thought

This was initially due to the absence of an immediate threat. And then, after it materialized, there was a remarkable unwillingness across most of society, not just in all those Woke mini-collectivist quarters, to acknowledge the changed security landscape.

Some, especially Germany’s Social Democrats, refused to see reality by seemingly taking in some illegal substance that allowed them to insist on the “Russian Bear” being rather cuddly and lovable.

More generally, for all the latent anti-Americanism on the European left and right, there was a general readiness to rely on the firmament of nuclear arsenals provided by the United States. This transformed political dreamers in Europe into deep sleepers.

Get real

Donald Trump’s recently reiterated threat to undermine NATO’s assumed coherence has already sparked a widespread reassessment. His musings, coupled with the very real threat from Putin’s Russia, leave little room for disunity.

The adage “together we stand, divided we fall” aptly defines the current moment.

Hamas and its dehumanizing, highly exploitative collectivism

Israel’s defense of its freedom is challenging further the woolly-minded acceptance of brutal forms of dehumanizing and highly exploitative forms of collectivism – such as what Hamas has in store for the Palestinian people, whom they hold hostage.

While Hamas has long evaded the responsibility of exercising rational or moral judgment, many Arab leaders seem relieved that Israel is going after these terrorists in a very hard fashion in order to create the basis for a better Middle East.

Smoked out

Most Woke supporters of Hamas and the Palestinian cause have not had the mental agility – or honesty – to arrive at a similar conclusion steeped in realism. They prefer to Puff the Magic Dragon.

Conclusion

The current situation puts an end to the collectivist ideology of Wokeism. What is needed is a debate on individual responsibility within the common ground of democracy.