David Brooks has a ferocious column attacking the indifference of J.D. Vance and Patrick Deneen to liberal democratic values in today’s NYT. Since Brooks has been an influential conservative much longer than J.D., his passion on this subject should be a source of concern to the New Right.
Brooks argues that Americans throughout history have been willing to fight and die for abstract ideals, not just their homeland and its traditions. He’s right. I would add the following two comments:
- J.D. and Deneen are conservative Catholics. If they are right that people only fight for their families and neighbors, how do they explain the Crusades?
- On the other hand, J.D.’s form of tribalism only extends to conservative Americans with rural backgrounds. In his world, Americans only fight for other people if they have fundamentally similar ideas about politics and culture; nobody from Kentucky would willingly sacrifice his life for a New York liberal. That’s a pitifully weak form of blood and soil nationalism.