The Musk Paradox
Or, why did we stop valuing ‘nuance?’
I remember back in 2015, when then-Candidate Donald Trump was running for his first term as President, being astonished by what unfolded. We had seen the occasional bout of vile mudslinging in the past (the campaigns against Michael Dukakis in 1988 and Sarah Palin 20 years later come to mind), but 2015 had a very different vibe.
The reason? The attacks were extremely personal, and coming from many of the people who had been kissing Trump’s ring for much of the previous four decades. The oft-dangerous rhetoric continues to this day, and shows no sign of letting up.
With that in mind… enter Elon Musk.
The degree of vitriolic hatred being generated and projected toward the owner of Tesla, Space X, and (of course) ‘X’ itself, is breathtaking in scope, and in many ways has surpassed what President Donald Trump endured. It seems the mindless mob expects every individual to take an absolute ‘love or hate’ stance on Musk, and to face the ‘righteous’ judgment of said-mob if one chooses the ‘incorrect’ option.
A vast majority of those making this demand are people who were enamored with the billionaire visionary even just three years ago… while more than a few of his current defenders were then ridiculing not only his ‘green’ efforts, but also his fanatical (sinister?) ideas about basically turning humans into Star Trek’s ‘Borg.’
As the worm has turned, so have the alliances… and still, very little nuance is in play.
Look, I appreciate many things Musk has done. Without him purchasing X, and his steps to free-up speech on the platform (while acknowledging to it NOT ‘fully-free’ speech), we would undoubtedly be facing the Globalists’ final march into the ‘Agenda 2030’ darkness. His actions with DOGE (while clearly NOT 100% perfect) have generated a landslide of revelations, causing many who were on-the-fence with the Red Pill v. Blue Pill decision to actually make said-decision.
These things… have been of the good.
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None of this translates into me suddenly becoming an advocate for Teslas, or for EVs in general. Yes, setting fire to people’s cars is in this case political violence, and I categorically denounce such incidents in the current context. That does not mean that I want everybody to buy one of these vile automobiles, however.
Indeed, I am 100% against electric vehicles, as I have always been, for the same reasons I have always been. However, that doesn’t prevent me from admiring many of the actions taken by the owner of the most prominent EV company, any more than those positive actions keep me from deploring his anti-Natural stances when they arise (especially with his transhumanist nightmares).
And with this, we get back to nuance, which in Global affairs is simple to define: If something benefits me and my fellow commoners, and our desires to live more Natural, locally-based lives, I am for it; if anything attacks those noble pursuits, then I stand against it. I care not what ‘name’ or ‘voice’ is attached to any of these actions, be they good or bane - only the intentions and results matter, so being the means by which said-results are achieved ever honor Natural Law.
Sometimes Musk respects said-Law, sometimes he violates it; I rigidly defend the former and verbally storm the latter, while remaining cautiously hopeful about - and suspiciously leery of - the man himself. As such, I have mutually praised and criticized Musk, on these very pages, and have done so frequently; we can do both, after all, without ‘contradiction’ being a factor.
It’s not about ‘blind trust’ or ‘irrational hatred,’ but instead ‘reasoned observation’ tempered with discernment. This requires a basic appreciation for… nuance.
I know that applying ‘nuance’ in one’s approach to politics, philosophy, or even religion may be a dying artform - unpopular in today’s culture of absolutism - but it is one I shall endeavor to keep alive. Not only do I see it as vital, but in truth?
I think it is the only way we can work out our various disagreements, that we are able (and willing) to stand together against the malignant forces allied against us.
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Notes…
-- All images were generated by the author, using NightCafe Studio and Grok 2 (X), with creative digital alterations when desired or needed.
Technically, they aren't Electric Vehicles at all. They are Battery powered. If they were Electrical, they'd have overhead cables, like a trolley car. You have to charge them, like batteries.
You still have to use a diesel generator, or coal fired power plant to generate the electricity.
I see the same thing increasingly with music and it’s very bizarre. People are telling me they don’t like ‘such and such’ musician any more, because some of his/her character flaws have been exposed, or they’ve spouted forth some (usually right wing) view.
It’s like people these days either can’t separate the art (product) from the person, or they simply expect said musician to share their own values.
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Anyone who tries to be everything to everyone will usually end up being nobody to no-one.
The nuance of separating the act from the person seems lost on a lot of the world these days