Cosmology is a subject that is far too difficult for me. For example, I find it impossible to understand the idea of the Big Bang, let alone the idea that there might be two or more universes. The nearest I can come to understanding the latter is the commentary I see on the Internet regarding the American election. There, people seem to live in parallel universes, where perceptions seem hardly to be about the same subject matter.
Here, for example, are two commentaries taken from readers’ responses to articles about the election. They seem indicative not just of a difference of opinion—for example, over the correct policy regarding farm subsidies—but a gulf in world outlooks of almost religious intensity. The first implies that a Republican victory would be the end of constitutional rule. The commentator characterises two candidates:
One was a convicted criminal awaiting sentencing in one matter and trial in three others, including inciting a mob to overthrow an election. The other was a prosecutor and a life long public servant with a distinguished record. Voting for the former was a vote against the founding principles of American democracy. Voting the other way was the only responsible thing an American could do if they believe in it.
Continue reading the piece here at Law & Liberty
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Theodore Dalrymple is a contributing editor of City Journal and a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
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