It’s been a big December for David Brooks, his Eminence, the Avatar of the American Establishment and Exemplar of the Baby Boom, Do As I Say Not As I Do Ethos. First, writing in the Atlantic, Brooks pined for a return of the Neoconservatives: “The moral and spiritual tenor of their political writings could be a tonic for a society in moral and spiritual crisis.”
Then, outdoing even himself, Brooks was pictured in a Jeffrey Epstein photo-dump seated next to Google (a former unlisted employer) founder Sergei Brin. Brooks, whose willingness to tell others how to live morally, attended this dinner, several media outlets report, in 2014, three years after Epstein’s conviction for solicitation of a minor.
The Little People
Brooks sniffs at the common folk and the peasants. As he collects his $100,000 an hour on the lecture circuit, Brooks writes in his longing for a return to neoconservatism:
“Does this policy encourage people to work hard, be good parents and neighbors, delay gratification, and recognize not just their rights but their responsibilities?"
I know irony is dead, but even for Brooks his Atlantic article could be a case study in denial in many university psychology departments. He possesses so little self-awareness its amazing he can see himself well-enough in the mirror to shave every morning.
Here’s another gem from that piece, given Brooks’ own…moral choices:
“The first big lesson of neoconservatism is that character is destiny. That lesson applies whether you’re talking about the character of a leader, an organization, or a nation.”
Character is important. However, Brooks’ continuing habit of reminding others what they should do, and how they should act makes him worse than imperfect messenger: He’s the society scold; the Moral Wizard of Oz, wagging his finger while begging you ignore what’s behind the curtain.
I’m Shocked, Shocked to Find Jeffrey Epstein at This Dinner!
There is no evidence that David Brooks knew of, condoned, or participated in any of Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific crimes. Yet, Brooks’ continual downplaying of, and attempts to move the public conversation away from the Epstein scandal stinks.
Just a month ago, Brooks penned a column decrying that Jeffrey Epstein led the conversations of the country’s political and media elite. They’re not targets enough, though. In his post, he impugns the rest of American for its “QAnon Mentality.”
Reality television is not new, nor is the fact we elected one of its biggest stars to the presidency (twice.) But Brooks knew he’d met with the man, dined with him, and had to know there was at least a chance an image of him would appear at some point. His cultural critique rings worse than hollow.
“Conspiracy thinking is always present at the fringes of society. It goes mainstream only when politicians and other leaders make it so.”
Jeffrey Epstein is not a conspiracy, but a ring of ugliness that reached and infected the highest echelons of American money, power, and influence; a club to which Brooks would proudly claim membership. Except when it entraps him, as well. Then it’s all a “CONSPIRACY!”
Trump Was Right
Don’t throw your phone out the window or smash the unsubscribe button. I’m going to explain.
Brooks’ unwillingness to accept any responsibility for his actions, or any of those in his orbit, has helped Donald Trump since he began running for president in 2015. Despite his unfamiliarity with facts, figures, or individual truths, what he said to America was right. “You think I’m so bad? We’re all in on it.” Or something to that effect.
When he said the elites were as bad as he is, he was telling the truth. When he claimed that the Clintons were no better than he was, many Americans agreed with him. When Trump claimed shame and humiliation at being excluded from Manhattan society, many of his listeners shared his sentiment, if even from very different financial and cultural level.
David Brooks is worse than complicit in the cultural divide he claims is tearing the country apart: He’s a master purveyor of it.
Brooks dislikes Trump because he’s boorish, ugly, and has (for the moment) displaced the elite circles he runs in, from leading the country in a direction that continues to work for them. Mr. Brooks doesn’t want a new America, he wants an America, and a culture, in which he can continue to act as he pleases, and he’s given just the lightest slap on the wrist for his transgressions.
The rest of us? Maybe if you’d been a just a little bit more moral, slightly more connected to your community, and bourgeois enough to have gone to the right college, you’d be fine with his actions, because you’d understand.
Too bad for you.
As the late great George Carlin would say: David Brooks is part of a big club, and you ain’t in it.
New York Time Statement on David Brooks:
Here is a 2021 story from Airmail’s Alessandra Stanley on Brooks’ failure to mention he was being paid by a non-profit group he’d founded, was housed at The Aspen Institute, and received funding from Facebook.
In Case You Missed It, Here’s My Post About Brooks From Earlier This Year:
I’ve never understood why people bother with Brooks going way back. He’s shallow. Lightweight.
Finally! I've said this for years, nearly 8!