Why are we so afraid to admit the obvious?

[peach174]

Given the spate of recent violence, the board is understandably abuzz with threads and comments about who is to "blame". And of course, each end is essentially putting 100% of the blame on the other end. Each end is laying out a long list of examples of violence, rhetoric and incitement by the other end.

Guess what? They're both right. Facts are facts.

I have a great deal of respect for the power of ideology. It can make people say and do insane things. It can absolutely blind a person to the obvious. But is it so strong that we'd rather see this country burn down than challenge our own tribe to stop the madness?

When the hate is flowing from both ends like water from a fire hose, does it really matter which end is "worse"?

What is so terrifying about just admitting the obvious?
.

Listen dude, I'm a kind, sensitive person, who cares about the feelings of others, you asshole!

Given the spate of recent violence, the board is understandably abuzz with threads and comments about who is to "blame". And of course, each end is essentially putting 100% of the blame on the other end. Each end is laying out a long list of examples of violence, rhetoric and incitement by the other end.

Guess what? They're both right. Facts are facts.

I have a great deal of respect for the power of ideology. It can make people say and do insane things. It can absolutely blind a person to the obvious. But is it so strong that we'd rather see this country burn down than challenge our own tribe to stop the madness?

When the hate is flowing from both ends like water from a fire hose, does it really matter which end is "worse"?

What is so terrifying about just admitting the obvious?
.

Listen dude, I'm a kind, sensitive person, who cares about the feelings of others, you asshole!

People who are really like that don't add asshole to the end of that sentence.
Talk about contradiction.

 

[JoeB131]

Yep. And two other things:

Look at how politics have seeped into our popular culture. You can't escape it, even in "entertainment" venues.

again, Stormy likes to pretend this is a new thing.

Hey, remember when a bunch of celebrities like Jane Fonda came out against the Vietnam War? I do.

Second, and this is admittedly anecdotal, I'm seeing it more and more in "real life". More and more, when the subject of taxes or any government spending comes up with clients, I'm seeing people launch off into these angry, seemingly rehearsed tirades. It's madness. There's nothing I can say. So I let them get it out of their system and we then move on.

Wow, you mean people actually have opinions about taxes when discussing their finances? It's like saying, "Wow, people have opinions about health care when at their doctor's offices!" When real life gobsmacks them, they have an opinion!

It's like this madness is in our water now.

IT'S THE RUSSIANS I TELL YOU

No, the Madness is in the White House. The problem is, people trying to normalize it as long as they get their tax cuts.

Now, we do have things to prevent madmen from getting into the White House, but we refuse to use them. Then again, they didn't get rid of Caligula or Hitler through the sensible legal means that were available to them, either.

But as long as rich people are getting tax cuts, you aren't going to see the people who really run this country do anything about it.

 

[Billo_Really]

People who are really like that don't add asshole to the end of that sentence.
Talk about contradiction.

Hey, I'm very kind to people, you prick!

 

[Olde Europe]

Thats a start. We can agree on the cultural problems. So... to drag you along a little farther...you see no connection between the attacks on and attempted destruction of our culture and the increasing problems which you put off to "lacking skills"?

I do, in that our behaviors are cultural at their foundation. And we are CHOOSING to act this way. We like to pretend that the "other side" is "making" us, but that is simply dishonest and weak. We simply bind ourselves to our tribes, they defend and enable these behaviors, and that's that.

I recently read a piece that rings true to me: It has been so long since we behaved like decent adults, since we communicated and collaborated and innovated, that we have literally lost those skills. That those skills are essentially like muscles, use it or lose it.

That's what I mean by "lacking skills", and yes, that's cultural, too.
.

You know, I think the above contains a kernel of truth, but it's falling far short of a compelling explanation.

The root of the problem isn't "culture", it's money in politics. It is, in particular, one party opting to do the bidding of the plutocracy, with nothing of any real value to offer to 99% of the country. That's why (mainly) the GOP has decided to co-opt "cultural" issues (abortion, guns, oppressive government, "Christian values") to "offer" to their base, and this invasion of politics into culture turned these cultural issues toxic. The reason why this is so devastating to politics is that culture in general, and the religious component thereof in particular, suffers no compromise, and that's why cooperation and innovation are getting harder, and ultimately impossible, because cooperating politically places one into the camp of an enemy bent on destroying the own camp's culture and religion.

Remember what happened to RomneyCare, based on a Heritage proposal, once the Dems forged that into the ACA, including 159 GOP amendments to the law? Right, the Goobers in Congress went to war against it, to the last man.

There are other problems playing into the above-described dynamics. Most of all the Winner-takes-all voting-system, which helps to keep the same dinosaurs in power, while keeping political upstarts with new ideas out, and there is one of the main reasons why innovation suffers. Moreover, it generates voter / political apathy, because voters perceive the same old same old for decades (Roe v. Wade, etc.), and voting red in a deep blue state is just pointless (and vice versa).

This, low political participation by the less ideological centrists, in turn incentivizes and strengthens the wingers, particularly so if they are loaded with "cultural" issues justifying un- and anti-democratic shenanigans to crush the other party. Voter suppression, anyone? Enfranchising all eligible to vote should be an aim that transcend parties, but culture turned toxic by monied interests carrying the day stands in the way of even that.

There is plenty of cooperation and innovation at the state and community levels. That hasn't died out, and probably never will. It's just so that these skills have been rendered inoperative at the federal level, and Citizens United pretty much guarantees more of the same.

All told, this generates a type of politics you would call "problem-preserving", rather than "problem-solving". A problem preserved presents an issue, usually tied to culture, that can be used against the other side, and that's why abortion, or gay rights, or gun rights are never solved, never settled, and never go away. That's what keeps the wingers irate and committed, the centrists appalled and apathetic, and the mayhem of politically generated cultural division is getting more toxic election cycle after election cycle.