My proposal for easing the awful political situation in the US is simple: stop dividing people into "Right" and "Left." Every time you do that you are 1) wrong, since the actual world is vastly more complex than that, and 2) promoting political division and rancor. Just stop.
What beliefs define the Right in America today? Certainly not capitalistic economics, since MAGA is full of people far more socialist than I am. Certainly not reducing regulation of business, since Trump seems intent on micromanaging the whole economy. Certainly not the preservation of old American traditions; for every one you can name that MAGA people defend (hunting, church going) I can name another that they despise (neighborliness, fair elections, decency, open competition, respect for the Constitution).
I know some people want to say "the cult of Trump," but that is not right either, since I know many people who despise Trump while identifying firmly as conservatives.
Fear of crime has long been a right-wing point of emphasis, and Trump tries to talk this up out of one side of his mouth while pardoning violent criminals with the other.
I can't see any coherence here.
What beliefs define the Left? This is one of much personal importance to me, since the internet is full of "leftists" who believe long lists of things I find abhorrent. My idea of the Left tends toward peace, fairness, equality, and especially freedom; the idea that getting people fired for their beliefs could ever be a left-wing idea still shocks and disgusts me, and despite all of Trump's horrors I have not forgiven the petty tyrants of wokeness. But I have other, equally important ideas that I have trouble placing on any kind of left-right spectrum: respect for expertise; belief that good institutions are very hard to build, so we should be careful with the ones we have; an abhorrence of political violence; a desire for dialogue and compromise.
For about 130 years after the words were invented, right and left had fairly stable meanings: the right meant tradition plus capitalism, and the left was the people who rejected those things and thought we needed to make radical changes in pursuit of a better world. But the rise of Fascism smashed that neat equation, giving us self-proclaimed rightists bent on radical change. The situation has only gotten weirder over the past 25 years.
We can all imagine a rightist or a leftist, but this cartoon would not be based on anybody's actual beliefs, and especially not any beliefs that might impact government policy. It would be all about attitudes and style.
I am left thinking that the main function of the "right" vs. "left" distinction in America is to divide us into two teams so the people who want to fight have somebody to fight against.
My formula for bringing peace to America is this: Stop saying that anybody is on the right or the left. Stop caring about it. Debundle political questions and take them up one at a time, without caring whether the ideas proposed are "right-wing" or "left-wing." According to the polls I have seen, opinions on many actual issues correlate only weakly with whether people identify as Democrats or Republicans. So lets skip the team nonsense and talk real problems and real solutions.
Because here is something else I believe: our civilization is an amazing thing. We are rich beyond the dreams of our ancestors, possessed of knowledge far beyond their ken, with technologies that routinely do things they regarded as miracles. One piece of this civilization I especially treasure is democracy, which despite all its foibles gives the people a say in how they are governed.
We could lose this, all of this. None of it is given; none of it should be taken for granted. And if we do lose it, it will be because in pursuit of hatred toward our neighbors we lost sight of the incredible treasure of our inheritance, and the amazing future we might build if we worked together.
8 comments:
Never going to happen. Politics is pure tribalism. We are right and the others are wrong. The labels are essential, otherwise we might confuse one of them with one of us. People need the white and black hats to tell who is good and who is bad.
A perfect example is to peruse any reddit thread on Trump talking about legalizing marijuana. For example
https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1mnr14a/trump_says_his_administration_looking_at/
Reddit is overwhelmingly in favor of this, but the issue is not the important thing, the person proposing it is all that matters. It's rare to even find a "well, Trump is an asshole but even a stopped clock is right twice a day" type comment.
It's "Well, Biden was already doing this the legal way but Trump is going to do it the authoritarian way", "He's just doing it to manipulate people", "He's lining the pockets of his cronies", "It's just a distraction from Epstein". I can't think of an issue that Reddit is more fiercely passionate about that they suddenly got unpassionate about than this. It's legitimately funny.
But that's politics. I've done this with friends on both political sides before - I tell them about some proposed legislation or some legislation from the past, and ask them if they think it's a good idea. The first thing they will ask is who proposed it. Because often they're not sure, they need to know if there's an R or D next to the name before they will judge.
I am left thinking that the main function of the "right" vs. "left" distinction in America is to divide us into two teams so the people who want to fight have somebody to fight against.
This is precisely the function. The oligarchs who run this country find it terribly convenient to divide people and keep them distracted.
We live in modern day Byzantium, and our bread and circuses are slowly leading us toward modern day Nika riots. Those who favor the Blues lash out at those who favor the Greens, and vice versa. Meanwhile, the arrogant elites foolishly imagine they can control the mob. They won't realize their mistake until it's too late, and the flames are out of control and the dead pile up beyond counting.
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As is frequently the case, I find myself wishing we had a system more like... well.. the ones used by virtually every other modern, affluent, developed, democratic country. Essentially all of our peer states have multi-party systems, largely because of more representative and fair electoral structures.
Of course, no system is perfect, obviously. But a spectrum of political parties (and a tradition of forming coalition governments) offers far more resilience against the governmental system being subverted by rich oligarchs (such as the literal half dozen men who own essentially all American media platforms between them.)
Alas, too little, too late. We won't escape a two-party system through sensible reforms at this point - the men who've rigged the game won't allow that. Instead, they'll continue to steer us toward catastrophe, and change will only something truly terrible happens and millions of lives are ruined.
Democracy and hegemony are givens in the U.S., which is odd because they are in conflict with one another. Something has to give, and it looks like that's democracy. The last thing the U.S. will give up is its power and prestige.
We are as much a donocracy -- gov't run by the donor class -- as we are a democracy. The accumulation of power among a few. Buckley v. Valeo (1976) and Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) are acids eating away at democracy. Money = speech. Who woulda thought.
I think the people are perfectly capable of dividing themselves without the help of oligarchs. Here's a question, G, would you 'align' with a Trump supporter who thinks gay marriage should be illegal and there should be a total ban on abortion and gun sales should be completely restriction free? No? Do you need any help from an oligarch on this decision?
People have always and always will form themselves into camps. Politics is tribalism.
My guess the answer is going to be that the Trump supporter who thinks abortion should be illegal, etc. only feels this way because "they" (the evil other side and the mwah haha Evilgarchs) have brainwashed them?
You are clearly unaware that am what people call an Independent, and have problems with both our relevant political parties.
Also, your question is bizarrely vague. 'Align' with? What does that even mean? If you mean vote the same way on a certain topic, then obviously we're going to 'align' on some issues, and not on others. That's just the nature of humanity and voting as a concept.
As for forming people into camps, are you not aware of cosmopolitanism as a concept? You could perhaps argue that this is just another form of "tribalism" in which everyone is included in the same tribe, but at that point, what's the difference between there not BEING tribes?
Moreover, even literal tribes aren't homogenous in their views, or indivisible in their nature. A healthy tribe works to resolve the differences of its members and to promote harmony despite disagreement. An unhealthy one doesn't and may fracture, with clans and bands within the tribe splitting off, joining other tribes, forming new ones, or even remaining independent.
Yes, this all can happen without oligarchs (or other comparable leaders). But it usually doesn't. The nature of societal elites is that they are powerful and influential. When they actively encourage tribal disunity, that's a big dead, because their actions carry an outsized influence.
Two individuals within the tribe squabbling is highly unlikely to fracture an entire tribe by itself - it usually takes the leaders of the tribe (whether formally recognized or merely informally influential in society) actively fueling the fires instead of fighting them to result in catastrophe. And remember - it's the JOB of said leaders to fight the fires, not fuel them.
Also, your question is bizarrely vague. 'Align' with? What does that even mean? If you mean vote the same way on a certain topic, then obviously we're going to 'align' on some issues, and not on others. That's just the nature of humanity and voting as a concept.
Well then explain with "dividing people" means exactly? If the oligarchs should stop "dividing people" - are you divided from Trump supporters, or aren't you? If you are, how would you not be divided from them? If you are not, then where is this 'division' the oligarchs are sowing?
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