tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post200451120561188204..comments2024-03-25T09:01:20.997-07:00Comments on Diary of an Autodidact: Polarization and Parroting - How We Got ThereDiary of an Autodidacthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11849157548643091986noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-36695943633876484792016-03-25T09:01:23.876-07:002016-03-25T09:01:23.876-07:00Excellent post, as usual.
You see the same vitriol...Excellent post, as usual.<br />You see the same vitriol cast at Bernie Sanders. Single payer health care? Seems to work for lots of other countries. Many variations to pick and choose parts of. Could increase quality of care and access to care overall.<br /><br />But the Right demonizes the idea as "socialist" (the new "communist"), even though Republicans were floating similar concepts not too many years ago. If someone on the "other" side has an idea, it MUST be opposed because if the idea succeeds then the other side will look good and gain strength. The impact on citizens is a distant after-thought. (But the impact on big donors is front and center.)Jasenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17612368694261383142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-85571295064177582642016-03-24T12:57:32.230-07:002016-03-24T12:57:32.230-07:00I guess I am center right? Not sure I don't f...I guess I am center right? Not sure I don't feel like I belong anywhere these days on the political spectrum. I have huge concerns about the southern border not because I hate immigration but because it is now a massive exploitation vehicle. The drug cartels control all who pass through the border and literally enslave the immigrants for years the days of people crossing the border on their own ended about 20 years ago. Those illegal immigrants owe money and allegiance to the cartel when they arrive here and sometimes the jobs they have are tied to the control of the cartel as well. The penalty for not doing as you are told and keeping your mouth shut is persecution and possibly even death. This awful culture of exploitation is supported by low wage paying corporations and individuals. Many of the individuals complain loudly about the "illegals" and "Mexicans" while fostering the culture of exploitation. Yes I find the older generation (now mostly boomers) extremely hypocritical on this they want Social Security, Medicare, and cheap labor all at the expense of the younger generation while berating the younger generation for being lazy and the wrong color. This behavior of selfishness I find across the political spectrum from conservative to liberal in the over sixty age group. I am mostly conservative but I find Ayn Rand horrible and completely opposed to my Christian beliefs. I hold positions that might be considered liberal on other fronts but I find no party addressing these concerns of mine in a rational way. My brother holds out hope that maybe some sanity will enter the political process in ten years when the current voting block of Senior citizens has begun to thin substantially due to death. I can only hope.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05811366858707976479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-39753378338229770702016-03-17T14:23:06.827-07:002016-03-17T14:23:06.827-07:00One thing that does come to mind regarding the cla...One thing that does come to mind regarding the claim that "we had to pull hard to the right to get any change at all" is this: There has been a fundamental shift in the GOP that has taken it dramatically to the right. (If you haven't watched that clip from the 1980 election, you should.) It is hard to sugar coat it, really, but for the Tea Party/Ayn Rand/Libertarian crowd, there seems to be a desire to go back to the pre-New Deal days (although some would preserve Social Security and Medicare - because old people should get things nobody else gets, right?). If your position is that we need to be radically out of step with the rest of the civilized world, then yes, it is *extremely* hard to get progress in your direction. And many on the other side (or even those of us who were Reagan Conservatives) might not want to go your direction at all. I guess if the whole idea of social democracy and a safety net are anathema, then one can get to feeling like "your" side never wins. I can't help but wonder, though, if the Tea Partiers were looking at a world without Social Security and Medicare, if they would suddenly feel a bit differently.Diary of an Autodidacthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11849157548643091986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-49604597111572693532016-03-16T22:35:04.113-07:002016-03-16T22:35:04.113-07:00Jonathan Haidt's book, The Righteous Mind, was...Jonathan Haidt's book, The Righteous Mind, was one of the best books I have read in the last couple of years. While Haidt is liberal, the book is equally useful for liberals and conservatives. Diary of an Autodidacthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11849157548643091986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-24114140382492260912016-03-16T18:42:26.741-07:002016-03-16T18:42:26.741-07:00Such good stuff here. I enjoy your political posts...Such good stuff here. I enjoy your political posts best of all. Maybe because I also hate politics. Coincidentally, a friend of mine shared this on Facebook today:http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind?language=en&utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=talk&utm_term=humanities<br /><br />The guy is obviously liberal, but I think he really makes the case that the balance between liberal and conservative is healthy and important, and that learning to understand the other point of view and reacting to it with humility can be much more effective than shouting down your opponent. Audrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11143265266513285323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-50250490589228683692016-03-16T11:33:29.676-07:002016-03-16T11:33:29.676-07:00I may have to blog on the issue of the "balan...I may have to blog on the issue of the "balanced budget" at some point. From what I can tell, it makes a nice cover for what is - at the core - Ayn Rand economic policy. After all, the driving force behind the deficits are the costs of programs for seniors. (They have grown far faster than any other category - simple demographics.) But those aren't on the table. Just payments that benefit non-seniors. Hmm. <br /><br />I left the GOP a few years back for those same reasons. I'm not sure Reagan would even qualify as center-right these days. More like left. Diary of an Autodidacthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11849157548643091986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-23393186611414175972016-03-16T05:42:14.116-07:002016-03-16T05:42:14.116-07:00I think there's a more prosaic reason for our ...I think there's a more prosaic reason for our polarization. Voter turnout is very low and the people most likely to vote are the ones who feel most strongly. This makes it to every politician's advantage to make sure their voters feel as strongly as possible. A small handful of zealots are worth MUCH more than a large number of thoughtful analyzers.<br /><br />Add to that the struggle of modern journalism. Thoughtful analysis might be great, but they won't get paid unless they get views. You get views with sensationalism. <br /><br />Add them together and it's the perfect storm that describes the current season. What's nice about this analysis is logistics changes would fix the whole thing. If voting were easier (and maybe mandatory with an option to vote for "no vote") this whole system would change overnight.Erinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18115517451241344431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-56403552614932088782016-03-16T00:28:53.074-07:002016-03-16T00:28:53.074-07:00Excellent post!
My friend and I were chatting rec...Excellent post!<br /><br />My friend and I were chatting recently when he made the observation of how conservative politics is like a religion unto itself. Evangelical protestant connections aside, you have the Constitution which is the sacred scripture through which all things must be interpreted, America (or Texas) viewed as the "Promised Land" or "new Jerusalem", the acolytes on talk radio and Fox News who propagate the talking points, the cult of the balanced budget on which all socioeconomic policies must be sacrificed, etc. I was heavily involved in that world due to my upbringing from about the time I was in high school up through my college years and just prior to meeting my husband. The longer I stayed in the conservative religion, the nuttier I saw it becoming and I had to get away from them just to save my sanity. Ignorance is not just a virtue, but a mark of pride with people like that.<br /><br />I can truly thank the Catholic church for saving me from that insanity (I remember learning in my catechism class about Pope Leo XIII who had quite an extensive written body of work with regards to America, communism, and also social justice). Because of it, the conservatives with whom I previously associated, even if we go to the same church, with call me a communist because I support expanding social programs and ecological responsibility. However, modern liberals don't like me much because I am religious and because I live by my faith, I am at odds with them over gay marriage and abortion.<br /><br />When you don't fit in either party, stand up and walk away. tamtamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06957307399056934791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4051826042602269061.post-9256415463581390502016-03-15T19:10:59.287-07:002016-03-15T19:10:59.287-07:00Per the opposition to compromise thing, a few year...Per the opposition to compromise thing, a few years ago a Tea Party type talk radio listener told me that they "had to pull hard to the right to get any change at all," which okay, I guess is a strategy. BUT that's only legitimate if after you've pulled hard to the right, you come together with the other side and negotiate to some kind of compromise. Which is exactly what the Tea Party types demonize doing. So with a few years of hindsight, it's become quite apparent that this was BS and the real position is "give us everything we want or we'll throw a huge hissy fit."<br /><br />"Have you noticed that most people agree with their political party, not just a majority of things, but on every single thing?”<br /><br />Sheesh, at this point in time I don't even know what party I "should" be in. I can sometimes be overly hampered by my awareness of when I haven't researched something enough, which results in me not taking firm positions on what most other people consider "simple" questions. Like for instance, abortion. It's hardly simple or clear, but it always gets reduced to something like "abortion clinics are concentration camps" (yeah, read that one on FB just today) and "all pro-lifers want women to be literal sex slaves."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com