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Dec 30, 2021Liked by Bari Weiss

Dear Bari, I virtually never comment on anything online but just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your work. Common Sense is so well thought out and balanced. I don’t agree with all the opinions but deeply appreciate the opportunity to read them. I am thankful for your wisdom, faith, eloquence and open mindedness. I hope you will know that a very rural farm wife and mother out in the hinterlands is giving thanks for you and your whole team. Keep up the exceptional work!❤️

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While it's nice that people like Alana Newhouse and Liel Leibovitz have finally seen the light, I must say that they took their time about it.

Appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, the Left didn't suddenly decide to go crazy because of Trump or COVID or whatever. The seeds of what may be called postmodern progressivism were planted long ago, now the harvest is being gathered, and the poisonous quality of the crop should surprise no one. It was way back in 1948-49 when George Orwell wrote the following (in "Nineteen Eighty-four"):

"Now, however, the concept of human brotherhood began to be assailed by people who were not yet in positions of command, but merely hoped to be so before long. In the past the Middle had made revolutions under the banner of equality, and then had established a fresh tyranny as soon as the old one was overthrown. The new Middle groups in effect proclaimed their tyranny beforehand. Socialism, a theory which appeared in the early nineteenth century and was the last link in a chain of thought stretching back to the slave rebellions of antiquity, was still deeply infected by the utopianism of past ages. But in each variant of Socialism that appeared from about 1900 onwards the aim of establishing liberty and equality was more and more openly abandoned."

There was a time when Orwell's grim vision of the future was held to be a failed prediction; when the year 1984 rolled around, we congratulated ourselves for dodging a bullet. Now we know better—or should know better. The radical irrationalism of postmodern progressivism, its denial of facts, logic, objective reality itself, was well described by Orwell in his final novel. Ditto postmodern progressivism's radical illiberalism—its embrace of pure power politics under such designations as "equity" and "inclusion." One need not read too far into Robin DiAngelo's "White Fragility" to perceive that she's engaging in such doublethink.

Unfortunately, I suspect that things are going to get worse before they get better. Postmodern progressivism is an ugly thing, and the backlash against it is going to have some equally ugly features. Trump/MAGA is only the first of them.

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Wow......Just read three powerful articles and looking forward to more. As a conservative old guy new to Common Sense, so very pleased to get out of my myopic bunker and be encouraged with the non judgmental fresh air tenor of the site. Good on ya Bari. This is healing. You have struck onto the mission for which you were born. ;-)

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Dec 30, 2021Liked by Bari Weiss

Really enjoyed sat piece and the Bullshit piece. Subscribed to both.

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Dec 30, 2021Liked by Bari Weiss

What a fabulous set of essays. Thank you, Bari--great way to end 2021 on a much-needed high note!

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These are great and I'll keep reading them. My one thought after reading The Turn - "what took you so long?" Even as a young boy I knew instinctively that Leftism was evil; that the New York Times was garbage journalism, no matter how many times my teachers insisted that I cite it. I knew that our Founders were on to something and that the incredible sacrifices at Valley Forge - and countless other sacred places - were to be honored and revered. I'm glad sanity is returning - finally - to some of our most valued and esteemed national thinkers. I simply will never understand why they fell for the siren song of the left for so long.

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OK, thanks for once again insuring I won't get anything done today! Great stuff

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Dec 30, 2021·edited Dec 30, 2021

one of the best things in 2021 was subscribing to your work. Great balance and variety of view points that help to understand different sides of a topic. Thank You

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Can you be for vaccines in general but against the covid vaccine? I guess anything that doesn’t follow the dnc narrative for submission would label one an anti vaxxer. Perhaps you’ve gotten the original two shots but not the booster. Anti vaxxer. Only one booster but no more? Anti vaxxer.

Rodney King was so off the mark. No we can’t all just get along.

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Great my airplane reading is sorted - thanks!

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Well, I'm stunned--Newhouse's essay pretty much sums up the problems at hand. Thanks, Bari

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I read Matthew Walther's essay, "Where I Live Nobody Cares About COVID," with considerable interest. Where I live (the South Bend area, NW Indiana) the situation is similar. We did have an indoor mask mandate for a time, but when it was lifted masks abruptly disappeared. The Delta and Omicron surges have driven some people to resume masking, but that's their choice. Service employees in stores and restaurants are not required to wear masks, though some do. Social distancing (a particularly irritating bureaucratic term in my opinion) has all but disappeared. Indiana's vaccination rate is pretty low overall—I myself have had two shots and one of these days I suppose I'll get boosted. But I had COVID back in January 2021 so what's the rush? If it didn't kill me at age 71 when I was unvaccinated, I don't suppose it'll kill me now that I'm 72 and vaccinated.

Overall, then, life has returned to normal here.

The exceptions to the rule described above are medical facilities (hospitals, urgent care centers, clinics, etc.) and, of course, higher education. The University of Notre Dame remains a bastion of COVID paranoia, with masking policies worthy of Kafka, e.g. "Every member of the Notre Dame community is expected to carry a mask at all times." I find myself wondering how this rule is enforced. One of the highlights of my year used to be the ND Shakespeare Festival in August, now ruined, probably for all time, by lamebrained COVID rules. Last summer the performance was held outdoors, with audience members required to be masked and socially distanced. Sounds like fun, eh? It looks to me as if bureaucratic inertia and the authoritarian mind-set are likely to transform ND and other university campuses into permanent COVID dystopias.

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With just ten hours left to 2021, I feel confident that discovering Bari Weiss and Common Sense will be the best thing that happened to me this year. And I've had a pretty good year. Thank you!!

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Dear Bari, I say thank you to you and your team! From a mom who moved her family two years ago from the Midwest plains to a rapidly/radically changing Oregon. You’ve helped me feel sane in this chaotic time in history… and in my state. One example-the never ending saga in Newberg. Or witnessing over 100 nights of Portland burning last summer. I have an American Flag on the front of my house and I was told by a local, “Wow, that’s rare.” Where (in school) my ten year old has to deconstruct her gender/sexuality and know how to define a dozen gender terms including two-spirit. She was told by her teacher how she’s both oppressed because she’s a girl and an oppressor because of the color of her skin. Where 50% of her friend’s Girl Scout group has come out together as trans. This is progress?

I’m a child of the eighties and nineties and I wonder what the hell happened to America. The world has gone mad and we need liquid courage.

During the pandemic my blinders fell off and momma bear was awakened.

I share your articles and podcasts to friends and family and follow many people you interview. My hope for 2022 is a growing ripple effect of the courageous to stand up, speak truth and unite across political parties. And hope for a future where my daughter doesn’t have to live in a country full of cowards and the illiberalism of The Elect* (*coined by John McWhorter).

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I LOVED (sorry for caps) "Everything is Broken" and "The Turn."

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This is so great of you to do this. I've read (and listened to) so much of you this past year, but clearly there are posts I've missed. Thank you for singling out some of these. And as an aside, thank you for the work you're doing. I started reading you at The Times, which is saying something because, though I once avidly read it, those days have been long past. There's too much good actual journalism going on elsewhere. And you are Example 'A'. I love 'Honestly with Bari Weiss' and I love getting a notice of a new column from 'Common Sense'. It's so refreshing to be able to hear another perspective, and find that I share more with this person coming from a different perspective than not. And the people you interview or put front and center on this site are always interesting- if not just flat-out amazing. Anyway...wishing you and yours a happy 2022. Happy is something you don't hear many people proclaim these days, but it is a choice. I wish you good choosing. Good health, happiness, and continued success.

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