The foolish complacency of optimistic liberals

Liberals seem sure the arc of history will bend toward them. It won't — at least not without some very hard work.

The dark side of optimism.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Images courtesy Gary Waters Ikon Images / Alamy Stock Photo)

Liberals find President Trump's corruption, ignorance, atrocious judgment, and authoritarian instincts self-evidently appalling, just as they are instinctually disgusted by the undisguised cruelty of the administration's proposed federal budget and the health-care bill passed by the Republican majority in the House. That's my reaction, too.

But too many liberals also assume that this reaction will be automatically shared by everyone, if only the facts are presented to them.

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Damon Linker

Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.