The conservative without a country

A reader offers some more insights into the still interesting topic of Mark Steyn:

I notice there are still some references to Mark Steyn. I Hope you don’t mind one more.

As a Canadian follower of Steyn (I used to buy the “conservative” National Post on Thursdays just to read his articles), I stopped reading him because of his double betrayal.

Firstly, he abandoned ship when Conrad Black sold the Post to a more liberal owner. The true-blooded Canadian writers on the other hand, – living and working in Canada (usually in Toronto or out in the West)—just stuck it out, and have managed to turn the paper around somewhat.

Secondly, his incessant talk of his “beloved” Quebec got to be really troubling, given the deep antagonism there is between French and English Canada. This dual country which we live in forces us into loyalties. Steyn’s was never clear. It seemed that he just liked the Quebec locale, where he appears to have a home. He didn’t write in French, and never much peppered his writings with French Quebec idioms or phrases. So, even his loyalty to that province is questionable. Ultimately this shows that none of his writings can ever be “local.” Quebec becomes for him an abstract geographical epicurean location.

I get the impression that he really wants to love some place, but is never willing to put in the effort and energy to do so. Like you have said, he is working hard at just “floating somewhere above the stratosphere.” His emotional commitment to something would force him out of this stratosphere. He cannot get too angry, and he cannot love too deeply.

His nonchalance, I believe, is a complete shroud, covering a deep sense of malaise and alienation. He has refused to belong anywhere. His mixed inherited baggage might explain part of this. But every human being needs to make that ultimate decision.

I was not aware that Steyn made frequent references to his beloved Quebec when writing for Canadian newspapers. Of course, when he writes for American publications he says nothing about any Canadian connection, but instead mentions his home in New Hampshire. So, as I have pointed out before, Steyn really is carrying on a kind of global game with his own identity, pretending to be an American when he writes for Americans, a Canadian when he writes for Canadians, and an Englishmen when he writes for the English. This makes him the perfect writer for a political movement which believes that American nationality is defined solely by the belief in universal democracy, and has no necessary connection to any actual country.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 09, 2006 06:10 PM | Send