Semafor's, "Things We Got Wrong in 2024"
Why is it so hard for public figures to admit wrongness?
I salute Semafor for providing this fantastic prompt of “The things we got wrong in 2024” and getting a wide range of elite opinion to answer for it. I honestly am not sure how I’d approach it if asked to write my wrongs for an audience beyond the subscriber base. The Internet is a low trust environment that consistently validates the DADD PR strategy of “Don’t Apologize Double Down.”
As I consider making any public concession, I can also sense myself pulling back a bit to mitigate reputation damage. You start off with something low stakes like, “I thought Brock Purdy would have a better season,” and instinctively pivot to, “I might note that he’s 7th in QBR and the team’s been ravaged by injuries, etc..”
The prompt can provide a miniature window into the soul. You get to see just how public people handle wrongness and how seriously they take themselves. Do our intellectuals externalize the blame? Do they fashion their error into a self compliment? In the Semafor piece, you do see a lot of, “My biggest flaw as an employee is that I’m a workaholic” style admissions.
What’s rare is actual self critical reflection. Derek Thompson offered it up and, while I don’t know him personally, I reached out to compliment his writing here. So many of the others put their ego before the prompt, though. I’ll list what Thompson said later on, after dividing the submissions into their main categories.
Category 1: My Biggest Flaw is Believing in YOU
Rachel Maddow
I thought people would be more unnerved by JD Vance. Less the cat lady thing and more the "Americans [are] going to have to get over their dictatorphobia" Mencius Moldbug thing.
Bill Simmons voice: Is Curtis Yarvin having a moment?
Setting aside how I’ve seen pro-Monarchist Yarvin (former pseudonym Mencius Moldbug) discussed a lot recently on the liberal side, Maddow’s mea culpa is certainly of the “I overestimated YOU” strain. You could see a lot of this in Semafor’s piece, related specifically to the 2024 election outcome. The submission is less, “What I got wrong,” and more, “How you people failed me.”
Another example.
Roland Martin
I didn't think America was dumb enough to put a man back in the Oval Office whose ineptness dealing with COVID wrecked the American economy; was so pissed that he got voted out that he led an insurrection; lied incessantly when he was in the Oval Office; and is a despicable human being. Yet here we are. So America proved me wrong, and now we have to suffer from his sheer madness for four years. That's why my #RolandMartinUnfiltered shirt says, "Don't blame me. I voted for the Black woman."
Is that a real shirt? This reminds me that I’m putting out House of Strauss merch, eventually with some catch phrases from the pod/site. Feel free to submit your favorites.
Category 2: X Really gave it to us