The Tyranny of the “Current Thing”

There is no better evidence of the managed nature of what passes as “democratic deliberation” than the recent development of “Current Thingism.” Even if you aren’t familiar with the term, you know the phenomenon well. Many crises are currently unfolding in America today, and “Current Thing”, as our elites call it, is the one that should take our focus right now.

For a time, #MeToo was the Current Thing. From 2016 until 2018, the Current Thing was Russian collusion. After that scheme unraveled, we moved through a series of Current Things, each of which was said to compound the grave threat Trump supposedly posed to Our Democracy: in March 2020, it was Covid-19; for a few months that summer, it was systemic racism; then, it was the Delta variant; finally, for a stretch of early 2021, it was the January 6^th “insurrection.” And when Russia invaded Ukraine, Ukraine became the Current Thing. You knew it was the new Current Thing because all the smart people suddenly changed how they spelled and pronounced “Kiev.”

So you now know the current Thing. So, what is Current Thingism? The default mentality of certain segments of America’s population is Current Thingism. These are typically the urban, professional, liberal and educated. Current Thingism holds that no matter what the Current Thing is, it must be the Current Thing, which should be the issue among all issues.

Current Thingism allows for some judgement on the part the Current Thingist. The Current Thing merits our full attention and respect. Anyone who doubts the existence of or urgency of this Current Thing should be treated as a problem. Anyone who refuses to acknowledge the urgency of Current Thing’s existence is either dangerous or dumb. Remember the treatment of those who doubted the efficacy of masks? Those who were reluctant about mRNA vaccines? Those who doubted the wisdom of sending billions of dollars to fund Ukraine’s defense? This is what happens to those who do not follow the current thing.

Despite America’s many problems, Current Thingism is still a danger to America. To some degree, it is a threat because America is facing so many crises. The current trend of Current Thingism elevates one issue above all others. This allows for inaction on matters that are more pressing. While the concept of “Current Thing”, while it may seem new, some will claim that the phenomena isn’t. They might argue that certain issues are more important than others. Both they are right and wrong.

Manufacturing the “Issues”

The concept of an “issue” is a constant. It is common to hear people ask where someone stands on “the issues,” or for them to implore others to “focus on the issues.” But what are “the issues”? The issues refer to the concerns of the majority of people. It would be great if the issues could rise naturally, in a democratic process. This is not the way it works. “The issues” in our age, where mass media have vastly greater control over the flow information, aren’t decided by the public. Instead, media outlets (which overwhelmingly share a set of political and cultural biases) decide what the issues are to them.

Because media platforms now form the (virtual) space of public deliberation, these platforms can simply refuse to address the public’s concerns. Take, for example, the broad public perception that we have an urgent problem at our southern border with illegal immigration–a problem with economic, educational, cultural, and national-security dimensions. Although a large percentage of Americans see this as a pressing matter, most legacy media outlets studiously ignore it. They effectively ensure that this topic cannot rise above the status of “an issue.”

What is known as the “issues” has always been a reflection of urban elites who have sole authority over deciding which problems are valid public concerns. Current Thingism is an advanced manifestation of this phenomenon, because it insists upon a monomaniacal focus on a particular issue. Contrary to popular belief, however, when one issue is given the Current Thing status, it does not increase the discussion on that subject. On the contrary: when a problem becomes the issue among issues, mainstream media and the liberal establishment enforce an artificial consensus on every question even peripherally relevant to that concern. Thus, whereas the defining of “the issues” was meant to narrow the focus of which topics need to be debated by the public, Current Thingism serves to narrow that focus to a single issue and to push it beyond the realm of debate entirely.

Consider the pandemic. When Covid-19 was the Current Thing, deliberation was actively suppressed. Doubting the effectiveness of masks was considered foolishness. It was considered selfish to question the need for lockdowns. To press for the reopening of the schools was framed as a desire to kill teachers. To note the 99 percent survival rate was to be a callous, heartless person who wants to kill grandma. Reluctance to take a largely untested vaccine was to be “anti-science,” which is, of course, to be a moron. Despite the fact that there were a number of scientific debates regarding the virus, the public was simply commanded to “Follow the Science. ” This means that consensus was created where none already existed. Current Thingism is designed to accomplish this. This is rhetorical intimidation to stop public debate so that an untrue “consensus consensus” can be established without opposition.

The Warm Embrace of the Current Thing

Why then are so many people devoted to Current Thingism, a phenomenon which clearly reduces their rightful place in democratic debate. Why are there so many people who feel compelled to announce their total compliance with CDC recommendations on their need for a booster shot? Why are there so many people who dutifully place a Ukrainian flag next to their name on social media? Are they concerned about the situation in Ukraine?

The answer is, obviously, no. What is the best way to find out? The same people who are outraged that anyone would refuse to recognize the sovereignty and borders of Ukraine are the same ones who variously ignore or celebrate the fact that millions of people are refusing to recognize the sovereignty and borders of the United States? They don’t even care about Ukraine. What gives then?

Current Tingism allows these individuals to feel comfortable. While Current Thingists tend to be leftists, many people would prefer the term “moderate”. Because the majority of those in power are leftists, they tend to be leftists. The Current Thing always flatters leftist political sensibilities. While it may diminish his role in democracy, the Current Thing is supported by the average citizen partly because it will make the topic off-limits to those who wish to discuss it.

But it’s not all about that. The “moderates” and leftists are surrounded by people on the right–people who insist that the crisis we face isn’t simply this or that issue, but is fundamentally about the regime’s general unwillingness and inability to effectively address any crisis at all. The Current Thingist’s political adversaries tell him many things that he does not want to hear. They claim that the state is unable to reliably diagnose the problems we face and are incompetent to solve them. In short, the political right insists that the health of the regime itself is the issue among issues, if only because the state is plainly corrupt and demonstrably inept. The Current Thingist is shaken by these ideas. He can’t blame them. These things all point to the unsettling truth that experts and establishments can’t save you.

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Current Thingism, then, is not about Ukraine, or Covid-19, or Russian collusion, or any other issue that rises to the status of the Current Thing. Rather, Current Thingism–the reflexive support for every new Current Thing– is really about reassuring oneself that everything is fine. This is a way of convincing yourself that your problems are not particularly serious and certainly not terminal. It is possible to regain political normalcy. The crisis can be solved. The Adults Are In The Room, and if we trust the experts, then everything will be fine. The current kind of Thingism allows you to fool yourself. It’s a trick to pretend that there are only one problem. The Ukrainian flag displayed on your social media account is nothing more than trolling. It serves as a reminder to your political enemies that they are crazy. Because everything is fine! They don’t care what you say.

It’s important to note that, despite Current Thingism being laser-focused on one issue, no other issues rise up to the level that the Current Thing is ever addressed. Did #MeToo stop sexual harassment? Is Russian collusion ever found or tried? Is “systemic racism” being dismantled now? Certainly not, according to those who constantly bring it to our attention. We seem to always be moving on to the next Current Thing, before solving the previous one. Covid was with us even when we moved to Ukraine. We will most likely be taken to another Current Thing after Russia withdraws. This not only draws attention to the inability of the state to address our most urgent problems but it also shows how Current Thingism can be used to dissuade the public from inaction by the state on actual issues we face or to weaken their status as “issues”, which would otherwise be subject to democratic debate.

None of this is to say that whatever the Current Thing happens to be is trivial or unimportant; it’s only to say that Current Thingism is a sign of democratic decay that erodes the vital role of deliberation that is essential for our system of government. All this being said, it is clear that many self-proclaimed defenders and supporters of Our Democracy have become so obsessed with the Current Thing. This raises questions about their motivations. Next time an American flag is displayed in Ukraine, think about whether you could find it on a map.