{"id":1096,"date":"2011-08-12T17:28:43","date_gmt":"2011-08-12T21:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/apagansblog\/?p=1096"},"modified":"2011-08-12T17:29:24","modified_gmt":"2011-08-12T21:29:24","slug":"megyn-kelly-entitlements-and-the-hopeful-nature-of-conservative-morality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/apagansblog\/2011\/08\/megyn-kelly-entitlements-and-the-hopeful-nature-of-conservative-morality.html","title":{"rendered":"Megyn Kelly, entitlements, and the hopeful nature of conservative morality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last night Jon Stewart targeted \u00a0Megyn Kelly\u2019s passionate defense of maternity leave once she returned to Fox after giving birth.\u00a0 Kelly was spot on in every respect save one, one that Stewart memorably pointed out<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kelly had never before spoken in favor of such \u201centitlements\u201d when they applied to other people.\u00a0 Stewart\u2019s set ended with his showing an earlier attack<\/em> on maternity leave by a younger Kelly.\u00a0 It was all glibertarian dogma, given articulately and without the slightest thought as to context.\u00a0 With her having become a mother, Kelly\u2019s context changed, as did her views on maternity leave. Passionately and eloquently so.<\/p>\n

As I thought about Stewart\u2019s critique, ending with his suggestion that Kelly suffered from \u201cpost-partum compassion\u201d a number of pieces fell into place cementing (I think) my answer to a question that has long perplexed me: rank and file modern conservatives are often honest, hard working, give to charity, and love those close to them.\u00a0 I grew up in a family characterized by many people with these characteristics.\u00a0 Yet some relatives were serious racists and most consistently supported leaders who are demonstrably dishonest, enrich themselves from others\u2019 giving, and rise to power by spreading distrust, anger, and even hatred. In other words, people who used their rhetoric but trashed most of their actual values.<\/p>\n

I know too many conservatives to think they are all utter hypocrites, or that they are nasty people.\u00a0 Of course some are, but there are nasty people and hypocrites in every sizeable group of people.\u00a0 I\u2019ve met some pretty nasty Pagans and Progressives.<\/p>\n

Kelly\u2019s example crystallized a key piece in my attempt to understand, one I think is a big part of the puzzle.<\/p>\n

Except for sociopaths we are all beings characterized by empathy.\u00a0 Empathy is the capacity to put ourselves in others\u2019 shoes, and as such is an act of what I call the moral imagination.\u00a0 I think people\u2019s capacity for imagination varies.<\/p>\n

Megyn Kelly is probably a reasonably decent person, perhaps even better than that.\u00a0 But she has failed to develop her moral imagination to encompass many people whose lives are significantly different from her own.\u00a0 Once she could put herself in the shoes of a new mother she immediately grasped not only the desirability of maternity leave for herself, she was able to make her case in terms that included all<\/em> mothers, their children, their husbands, and society as a whole. She endorsed an entitlement and criticized the US for being in the \u201cstone age\u201d on this issue.<\/p>\n

I have noticed this pattern in some other leading people on the right. The notorious funder of the Tea Party, David Koch, is a major philanthropist for research on prostate cancer.\u00a0 He also suffers from it, and his case is apparently terminal, though that can take a long time to end a life. While it is possible Koch is a philanthropist only in the hope a cure will be discovered in time to save his life, I suspect he also gives because he can directly appreciate the pain and fear many undergo once diagnosed with it. What I know of his philanthropic activity more broadly also fits this assessment.<\/p>\n

One more example is Andrew Sullivan, a major right wing writer.\u00a0 Sullivan, who is gay, has been a strong voice for treating gays equally, including establishing gay marriage.\u00a0 He brags<\/a> that he lives like a \u201cfiscal conservative\u201d and hasn\u2019t had a credit card\u00a0\u201cin years.\u201d People just need to live \u201cmore frugally.\u201d Sullivan also suggests we raise the age of retirement for Social Security.\u00a0 Left unsaid, as Lance Mannion pointed out<\/a>, \u00a0is that Sullivan makes a six figure income with enough flexibility in time to take weeks long vacations when he chooses. (He does have an Amex card to make travel easier.)\u00a0 Sullivan has no children to support.\u00a0 Such folks can live without a credit card far more easily than a great many people these days. \u00a0For example, Amex is not as easy to get as a Master Card.<\/p>\n

Sullivan\u2019s problem, like Koch\u2019s and Kelly\u2019s, and I suspect many conservatives is that he cannot put himself in shoes very much different from his own, and his own are very comfortable for the most part. What works for him must work for everyone.<\/p>\n

More generally I cannot count the times I have heard conservatives argue against \u201centitlements\u201d because they work hard.\u00a0 Many do work hard.\u00a0 But their unexamined assumption is that those needing entitlements have not worked hard or have been foolishly improvident. \u00a0Anyone looking at Mexicans laboring in American fields or at single moms working to support their kids should immediately realize there is something wrong with that framing of the issue, but conservatives in particular seem to need to be reminded to do so. And rarely are.\u00a0 There is not that much correlation between working hard and doing OK in America. Much bigger questions need to be asked.<\/p>\n

If I am right this is actually good news.\u00a0 While its leaders may be sociopaths, and I believe most are, most conservatives are not.\u00a0 It means we can address many rank and file conservatives on moral issues if we can do so in ways that enables them to identify with others<\/em>.\u00a0 That happened to me on several pivotal occasions as I made my own transition from being on the political right to my present liberalism.\u00a0 Kelly has made a step as well.\u00a0 Hopefully she is bright enough and has enough integrity to grasp the implications of her argument and be open to further steps.<\/p>\n

I think another comedian, a British one, Russell Brand, really got the matter across beautifully<\/a> while commenting on the riots now taking place in the UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last night Jon Stewart targeted \u00a0Megyn Kelly\u2019s passionate defense of maternity leave once she returned to Fox after giving birth.\u00a0 Kelly was spot on in every respect save one, one that Stewart memorably pointed out.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[111,9],"tags":[50,49],"class_list":["post-1096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events","category-social-and-political-theory","tag-andrew-sullivan","tag-david-koch"],"yoast_head":"\nMegyn Kelly, entitlements, and the hopeful nature of conservative morality - A Pagan's Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/apagansblog\/2011\/08\/megyn-kelly-entitlements-and-the-hopeful-nature-of-conservative-morality.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Megyn Kelly, entitlements, and the hopeful nature of conservative morality - 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