Bill Maher And Guests Talk Tough About The Decline Of Western Civilization In ‘Real Time’ Debate
04.06.2022 - 07:39
/ deadline.com
This week’s panel discussion featured Michael Shellenberger, a California gubernatorial candidate, cofounder of the California Peace Coalition, and author of San Fransicko: W,hy Progressives Ruin Cities; and Douglas Murray, columnist for the New York Post and The Sun, and author of War on the West: How to Prevail in the Age of Unreason.
Maher hit hard on the inaction of the Uvalde Texas police during the mass shooting. “What do you do about people who are paid to act and just don’t?” He added, “You are there to protect and serve. Once in a while, you have to ball up and do the job.”
Shellenberger cautioned against demonizing people when life or death decisions unfold quickly. His answer? More training.
Murray suggested the absurdity of being able to buy a gun at 18, but having to wait to enjoy a beer in a bar until you are 21. “Let’s switch those things around,” he said. Maher agreed. “We know how stupid we were at 18-21. It’s the least we could do.”
Shellenberger allowed how he was a liberal, a libertarian, and a conservative, depending on the issue. That applies to his approach to the homeless in California. “We have to shut down encampments,” and get them into rehab or other services. “It’s not fair to them. It’s not fair to us.”
Murray lamented the decline of San Francisco, where a liberal approach over the years saw one of the most beautiful cities in the world become a slum. That hands-off approach was “rolled out in city after city,” he said, “and everyone is getting used to the idea that this is normal.” He called it a “normalization of homelessness, mentally ill people, and people say that’s just part of life. It’s not normal.”
Maher said part of the problem of losing civilization is you fail to make judgments.