Al Franken and Me

Al Franken and Me

I was at George Soros’s wedding in 2013, a lavish affair with hundreds of people in attendance, talking to Senator Al Franken. I explained George’s favorite joke to Al: What is the difference between a Hungarian and a Rumanian? They will both sell you their mother, but the Hungarian will deliver. No bad, Al remarked. This was before Senator Franken had been removed from the Democratic party; he was still a promising new senator representing Minnesota. I myself was in the process of being cancelled by the American philosophy profession. A couple of years later his own party destroyed his political career in their ill-advised liberal zeal. At this point I lost faith in the Democratic party, as I had already lost faith in the American philosophy profession (remember I was not the only philosopher to lose his job and reputation). This was American liberals at their worst. I don’t doubt that this kind of behavior—stupid and cruel—is what led to the troubles of the Democrats, which led to the triumph of Trump. I also think that the treatment of various philosophers around this time is a disgrace to American philosophy that will not soon be erased, if ever. It’s the kind of thing that makes people despise universities. We know what happened next: Trump and the rise of the punitive right. It is notable that Al Franken is still rejected by the Democratic party and the cancelled philosophers are still cancelled. I see a bleak future ahead in politics and university life. The politics of personal destruction is alive and well on the left.