No escape from liberal American politics – Jackson Clarion Ledger

Christian Schneider, Syndicated columnist 6:14 p.m. CT April 9, 2017

Christian Schneider(Photo: Eric Tadsen/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Since November of last year, if you were looking for partisanship in the dictionary, you wouldnt have to flip to the p section. Since Donald Trumps election, the folks running the social media accounts at Merriam-Webster have continuously trolled the Republican president, offering snarky responses to his ever-present malapropisms and his staffs often novel use of words.

One Merriam-Webster Trend Watch column took aimat Trump adviser Kellyanne Conways use of the term alternative facts. Other social media posts have poked at Trumps refugee travel ban, highlighted his staff barring reporters from a media gaggle. and needled Speaker of the House Paul Ryans use of the word sycophant to describe Julian Assange. On election day last year, the dictionarys Twitter feed changed its header to the German word Gtterdmmerung, or a collapse (as of a society or regime) marked by catastrophic violence and disorder.

In a word, this is all troublous. (And yes, that is a word.)

There is now no segment of American society to which one may retreat without being subjected to politics. Every corner of our lives is illuminated with talk of filibusters, health care strategy and minor cabinet appointees. It is as if the American economy now runs on demagoguery.

Remember when you could watch sports to escape from politics? No more. As The Ringers Bryan Curtis argued in February, sports writing is now a liberal profession, having soaked up more of the left-wing flavor of the traditional media. With the advent of Twitter, both columnists and straight sportswriters alike often have little compunction about expressing their political views publicly, frequently explaining how intolerant or uninformed their own readers are.

Take, for example, a much-read New York Times articlefrom last November that lavished praise on the Wisconsin Badgers mens basketball team for being college basketballs most political locker room. The article highlighted, for instance, forward Nigel Hayes support for the Black Lives Matter movement and guard Bronson Koenigs travels to protest the Dakota Access pipeline.

Does anyone actually believe the Times would have written such a tongue bath had the players been political on the right? What if they had been, for example, outspoken in opposition to gay marriage? Or if they marched against abortion? Would one of Americas most influential newspapers praise them?

Perhaps it is Americas fault for electing an entertainer to the presidency, but politics has become indistinguishable from pop culture. Online magazines that once covered exclusively movies and music have now moved into lefty political punditry, leaving no conservative pop culture fan unlectured. There is no safe haven anymore for a taste of what its like, imagine being progressive and having Sean Hannity follow you around berating you while youre trying to listen to the S-Town podcast.

Even comedy, the last bastion of tell-it-like-it-is-dom has fallen into line. Virtually every late-night comedian thinks he or she has to do some sort of imitation of St. Jon Stewart to coax his or her liberal followers into sharing their rant on YouTube the next day.

From now on, there is no respite for the weary. You can run, but progressive condescension is going to find you. Politics gets clicks, and clicks bring revenue. There is no incentive for this new punditry to be accurate or fair.

Undoubtedly, Merriam-Webster has a bucketful of arcane words to describe the way politics has saturated our culture. But it is most aptly expressed by Americas great philosopher, Donald J. Trump: #Sad!

Email cschneider@jrn.com.

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No escape from liberal American politics - Jackson Clarion Ledger