It’s also an extension of the extremely American belief that caring enough to publicly express enthusiasm, full stop, is cringe and borderline bad. A deeply puritan culture that insists you self-police joy, its expression, etc because otherwise it means you can’t be taken seriously as a person.

So, within American fundamentalism and Protestantism the main struggle (dialectic? maybe) is "old light-new light". New Light people were revivalists and all about personal acceptance of Jesus as essential. Old Light Christians were suspicious of the lack of rigor, the wild reveries, and DIY nature.

Friday I was making fun of Peyton Manning for comparing the Olympic opening ceremony to Mardi Gras, but actually that's probably the only other place he's seen a Catholic culture that actually allows public joy.

I'd say this is now a very widespread attitude, and is one of the worst effects of US-led cultural globalization. The dominant vibe on the center-left right now is to pretend you care about nothing, you believe nothing can truly change, etc. Only smart-ass detached analysis is allowed.

the cringe lib gender/race studies kids are right, this is yet another reason why women (not just presidential candidates) get coded and treated more akin to children the closer they embody stereotypical expressions of the feminine. The same happens for racial minorities, eg blacks and mexicans etc

The Kamala Moment has allowed me to 180 on this attitude and shun out anyone who wants to keep holding it. We're cruising on hope until at least November.