Douthat:
“The disappointment and impatience that people feel in a decadent era is legitimate, even admirable. But the envy of more heroic moments, the desire to just do something to prove your society’s vitality — Invade Iraq to remake the Middle East! Open Germany’s borders! Elect Trump or Sanders president! — can be a very dangerous sensibility.”
“There are pathways up from decadence. But there are more roads leading down.”
Sunday Review: Trump, Sanders and the Revolt Against Decadence
We’ll try to apply stasis to this one:
Questions of fact and conjecture
- Did/does something happen?
- What is its origin?
- Is there an act to be considered?
- What produced it?
- What changes can be made?
Questions of definition
- What is its nature?
- How can the issue be defined?
- And once you’ve defined it, can you imagine any common ground on the issue between people who might want to take different persuasive positions on it?