The problem with social conservatives is that they tend to get easily depressed. Things were always better before and the signs of decline are always with them. Roger Scruton and Peter Hitchens never came across as the most cheerful of chappies.
But then liberal progressives have their own litany of reasons to be miserable. On the political front, they are depressed by the rise of right wing populism. On the social, they are depressed by the persistence of inequality and the underrepresentation of women and racial minorities everywhere from STEM fields to festival line-ups.
Conservatives are anxious about the constant “red menace” of potential socialist resurgence. They are also anxious about the “pink menace” of the LGBTQIAPK+ movement, the “green menace” of radical environmentalism and the “brown menace” of unchecked Muslim immigration.
Liberals are anxious about the “white menace” of white nationalist, white supremacist neo-Nazis. They are also anxious about anxious conservatives. And about climate change, which is exacerbated by their anxiety about climate change denying corporate CEO’s and corrupt politicians out to make a profit at any cost.
It’s not good to be depressed and anxious. You don’t need me to tell you that. Most of the conservatives’ worries are unfounded, as are most of the liberals’. There are, of course, legitimate causes for concern, some of which both sides share, such as the potential negative effects of Artificial Intelligence on the future society. But most things in life are either mixed blessings or mixed curses.
So don’t worry, be happy. Resist the advances of the victim narrative peddlers. Don’t be a victim. Remember the words of Julian of Norwich:
“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”
the way of the holy mushroom 