I want to briefly explain why I'm leaving Twitter--at least for the rest of the year, and probably permanently.
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Andy Smarick
@smarick
Former staff: White House, USED, US House of Reps, state government. Writing on conservatism, civil society, institutions, education. Sr Fellow, MI: views mine.
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I'll always love the war of ideas--reading, thinking, writing, discussing. I'm blessed that I get to do that professionally. I'm not giving that up by any means. In fact, I'm more passionate about that now than ever before. But, for me at least, this isn't the place for it.
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I'll miss doing tweet threads. Those help me work out arguments and combine ideas--they've also prompted helpful advice and critiques. Those threads--essentially mini essays--have been the foundation for some of my writing.
I'll need to find a new outlet for my draft ideas.
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I should be clear that this place isn't all downside. I've made some amazing friends and had the chance to learn from some really smart folks. Plenty of people here are great.
It's also given me the chance to think out loud about stuff on my mind.
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That environment, it seems to me, is more like real life. It also shapes me into a better person.
And it has finally made me appreciate how unhealthy--at least for me--the discourse here can be.
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They don't obsess about things far away. They don't concoct conspiracies. They mostly focus on the good stuff in front of them. They solve the problems they encounter. They channel their passion for liberty, opportunity, equality, justice, peace in productive ways.
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Through that work, I've met some of the smartest, ablest people. They are for the most part happy, enthusiastic, civil, curious, and results-oriented. They get stuff done. They don't insult. They ask questions and find compromises. They don't catastrophize.
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By comparison, I've had the enormous honor and pleasure over the last seven years of doing state-level public service. I've gotten to interact with people who think about service, their communities, and the public good.
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To be here--especially to interact here--distorts my understanding of how most people think and behave. So beyond getting frustrated by what I see here, I end up more worried about the world. And that, unfortunately, changes for the worse how I think and behave.
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I think this place doesn't accurately reflect the real world, and that has costs. What I typically see here is angrier, more certain, less optimistic, more polarized, and more radicalized than what I see around me elsewhere.
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If New York City shrinks its public school options—by, say, ending gifted programs—it risks pushing families out, writes . city-journal.org/dont-end-gifte
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This is 100 percent true. There’s an immense difference between the conversations on and off this site, including an immense difference in intensity overall. The “exhausted majority” is a real concept.
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This dynamic is important IMO. As it becomes increasingly tiresome to participate in the political discourse (e.g. on Twitter) a lot of people will drop out of the conversation and that makes elite discourse even more detached from how a broader cross-section of voters think. twitter.com/Noahpinion/sta…
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I've thrilled that is now writing regularly for . Great combination of a talented scholar, an influential think tank, and an important subject. fordhaminstitute.org/national/comme
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I think I need to take another break from Twitter, maybe a permanent one this time. It's not healthy for me. I don't like who I become. I need to be a better person, and Twitter doesn't help.
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I said the same thing almost three years ago:
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This is very disappointing @nytimes. Either you don't know how frustrating "Republicans pounce" is to those of us on the right, meaning you're not listening to our complaints; or you do know and you're taunting us. Please stop. Honestly, sincerely. Please. nytimes.com/2019/02/11/cli
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One reason this is interesting is the question that many on the right asked for a long time, "What if Chris Christie (who won NJ's gubernatorial election in 2009) had run for president in 2012?"
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I'll just say it: Glenn Youngkin should seriously consider running for president in 2024.
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If New York City shrinks its public school options—by, say, ending gifted programs—it risks pushing families out, writes . city-journal.org/dont-end-gifte
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Thank you for running. You did a public service. twitter.com/ishapiro/statu
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I think the world might be a better place without the word "ontology."
I'm not saying that the word has no value. I'm just saying that it does more to confuse than clarify.
This is the kind of content people want.
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NBC News #VAGOV exit:
How much say should parents have in curriculum?
A lot 53
Some 31
Not much 10
Not at all 3
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One possible outcome of last night's results is some GOP leaders who never bought into Trumpism might start seeing a path for themselves in a 2024 primary.
I'm not saying anyone will be scheduling speeches in NH yet. But several might think, "You know, I could win suburbs..."
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. & make 's top 100 U.S. universities. Instead of wealth & exclusivity, these rankings look at contributions to the public good in social mobility, research & service. Seems better, right? washingtonmonthly.com/2021college-gu
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Very quick thread about education and power.
This is something I've learned over 20 years, often the hard way--by making mistakes.
It's why there's political danger in telling parents to back off when they raise concerns about schools.
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In total:
* Based on history this should be a good GOP year
* Based on Biden's numbers it could be very good for GOP
* Blue states have recently elected GOP governors
* Youngkin is temperamentally like those successful GOP candidates
* Education may net him key NoVa votes
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And note 6/ for the reference to New Jersey.
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Here's why I think Youngkin is now likely to win VA's race for governor.
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Great, but maddening, piece by on Washington's new normal of just giving away cash.
When will sober. responsible governing return?
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I finally finished reading the series on the Jan. 6 attack. It's staggering. If reporters were able to gather and assemble this much shocking evidence, I can't imagine what law enforcement and the committee (with subpoena power) has. washingtonpost.com/politics/inter
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Researchers used to find that American parents were *less happy* than childless peers. No longer true. Today, US parents are happier:
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A 2016 paper on the happiness of adults with and without children found that parents in the US suffer the largest decrease in happiness, compared to childless couples, among all 22 countries surveyed.
theatlantic.com/family/archive
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I'm very glad ran. He deserves praise regardless of outcome.
I've been beating the drum about the need for more people to step out of the Commentary Industrial Complex and personally engage in the democratic process & public service.
Service is formative in key ways. twitter.com/ishapiro/statu
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So whether the particular issue is discipline policy, school-assignment zones, curriculum, school consolidation and closure, layoffs, or something else, parents don't want to be brushed aside.
~end
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And "I might make a decision in the end that you won't like, but I promise I'll move slowly, understand your concerns, and respond to you as best as I can."
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School choice is one way to ensure that parents have power.
But another way is for school-system leaders, when facing a tough issue, to say to parents "This is OUR problem, we'll solve it together" and "I will always listen to you; I know you care about your kids,"...
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Sometimes community members make outrageous demands of school boards, and the system can't and shouldn't acquiesce. But often heated school board meetings (this goes back generations) are a reflection of a gap between parents' desires and the system's behavior.
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K-12 education might be the policy area that people take most personally. The well-being of their kids is at stake. School systems need to respect parents and understand families don't like to feel powerless. School leaders should take time to talk to families about big reforms.
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