The prevention of rational politics

 

Source: Twitter

The beliefs of conservatives are fairly simple.  We tend to believe in limited government, personal liberty, personal responsibility, equality before the law, property rights, freedom of speech, strong national defense, and so on.  We argue about the details, of course.  But in general, most conservatives would give similar answers to questions about their belief systems.

Imagine trying to come up with a similar basic list of the beliefs of leftists.  No leftist is going to say that they believe in tyrannical control over every living thing.  Ok, so what will they say?  Women’s Studies professors might mention the right of trans-sexual children to sex change surgeries without parental notification.  Soccer Moms might not support that, but they may want more tax money for schools.  Unionized factory workers might be uninterested in that, but they may want higher tariffs on foreign goods.  Environmentalists may not care about tariffs, but they may want to do away with fossil fuels, which the union members might dislike.

So why do leftists vote for things that they can’t even agree on themselves?  And why do they change their belief systems so often?  Trans-sexual rights are popular now, but were unheard of just a few years ago.  What ever happened to baby seals and The War on Poverty?  Why do they keep changing their beliefs, and why are their beliefs so difficult to nail down?

I have come to believe that modern leftists really don’t believe in much.  But they hate Western Civilization, they hate Israel, they hate America, and they hate anyone who doesn’t hate those things.  Because they hate you, they find themselves passionately supporting whatever you don’t like, no matter how absurd it is.

Trans-sexual surgeries for convicted murderers?  End fossil fuels?  Abortions for young girls?  Defund the police?  Once one of them blows up in their face, they move on to the next one.  Whatever.  The topic doesn’t matter.  They just hate Western Civilization.  And they hate you.  So whatever, as long as it angers you.

But those arguments are simply annoying.  I find the way the left argues them to be much, MUCH more destructive.  Let me try to explain why:

Take gun control.  Republicans point out that liberalizing concealed carry laws does not result in increased crime rates.  In fact, crime rates tend to drop after passing such laws.  So, therefore, it seems rational to support more permissive concealed carry laws.  Simple.

Ok, now think about the way leftists approach gun laws.

Leftists have decided that gun ownership is bad, probably because you think gun ownership is good.  Whatever.  So they list statistics, showing the danger of widespread gun ownership.  The problem is, the statistics do not support their view, so they come up with creative terms and even more creative statistics to support their opinions.

They don’t discuss gun homicide rates.  They discuss “gun violence.”  More than half of which is suicides, which is more a problem of mental health, which they would rather not talk about.  Most of the actual gun homicides are young black urban men shooting one another, which is more a problem of family structure and social pathologies, which they REALLY would rather not talk about.

An honest discussion of those statistics wouldn’t even make sense:

Leftist:  “Yeah, so, like, guns are bad.  I mean, somebody might shoot you.  After all, suicide rates are skyrocketing.”

Me:  “So, you’re worried that I might shoot me?”

Leftist:  “No, silly – think about the epidemic of gun violence in cities, with gangs, the drug trade, and generations of young boys without fathers.”

Me:  “So think you can get urban young black men to raise their children by preventing rural old white men from buying shotguns for duck hunting?”

Leftist:  “Why are you conservatives so irrational?”

I can’t even discuss such things with leftists, because I’m trying to think rationally, and the leftist is trying to prevent rational thought.

Very important point:  The leftist is not simply thinking irrationally.  The leftist is trying to prevent rational thought.

I used to be annoyed by the habit of leftists to insist on obscuring reality with intentionally misleading data and language.  But now I’m starting to view it as more than just annoying.

Source: Shutterstock/David Garcia

For example, I’m much more pro-choice than any leftist.  I think that you should be able to choose for yourself whether you own a gun, or what type of car to buy, or how to educate your children, and so on.  But I think killing babies is wrong, so leftists say I’m not Pro-Choice.

Their words are so misleading that they make rational thought on the topic impossible.  Which is the whole point.  Because they know that if anyone thinks rationally, they will lose the debate.  So they can’t allow that.

Again, they are not just thinking irrationally.  They are intentionally trying to prevent rational thought.

And that is dangerous.

Because then the only form of political debate we’ll see is irrational.  Snide memes.  Haughty bumper stickers.  College kids shouting down speakers with chants that don’t even make sense.

Our politics will then predictably degenerate into hyper-partisan grudge matches over topics that aren’t even real.  We can’t debate reality, if one side refuses to acknowledge its existence.  And more importantly, if that side uses misleading statistics and language to prevent anyone from thinking rationally.

Source: Shutterstock/Evan El-Amin

The Democrats have been playing these destructive games for years now.  And what did it get us?  Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.  Those who find them unqualified haven’t thought this through.  They are extremely well qualified for leadership positions in the political system that the modern left has built.

One reason Trump was such an effective president is that he is well-suited to our current political system.  He’s really good at it.  I miss Reagan, but what I really miss was a political system that Reagan was well-suited for.  Back when rational thought and civil debate were still allowed.  Today, Reagan would be helpless.  Today, we need Trump.  Which I resent.

But it’s not Trump’s fault:

Those “Coexist” bumper stickers, the “Keep Your Laws Off My Body” t-shirts, the Black Lives Matter signs in people’s lawns – those aren’t just left-wing silliness.  Those are destructive.  They prevent rational thought.  They don’t allow us to consider reality in our decision-making.  Everything just turns into rapidly escalating insult contests.  And eventually, the two best-qualified people for the presidency are Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

Our political system, and thus our country, cannot withstand the intentional destruction of rational thought and thoughtful dialogue.

It seems like this has happened so fast.  But I think we just didn’t understand what was happening until it was far too late.

As usual, I hope I’m wrong about all this…

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  1. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Brilliant analysis.

    • #1
  2. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    Dr. Bastiat: What ever happened to baby seals and The War on Poverty? 

    Feed the seals to the poor. Problems solved.

    • #2
  3. Mark Camp Member
    Mark Camp
    @MarkCamp

    Wow.

    This was worth the wait.

    • #3
  4. Ekosj Member
    Ekosj
    @Ekosj

    “And eventually, the two best qualified people for the presidency are Donald Trump and Kamala Harris”

    Its an old problem.   I recall hearing political humorist the late great Art Buchwald opine on the 1976 election … “we are left choosing between a peanut farmer and a guy who played football without a helmet.”

    • #4
  5. Clavius Thatcher
    Clavius
    @Clavius

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Brilliant analysis.

    Agreed.

    • #5
  6. Ray Gunner Coolidge
    Ray Gunner
    @RayGunner

    Dr. Bastiat: I have come to believe that modern leftists really don’t believe in much.  But they hate Western Civilization, they hate Israel, they hate America, and they hate anyone who doesn’t hate those things. 

    This is right.  And here’s a question:  What do Western Civilization, Israel, America, and we who admire them have in common, that the leftists hate?  Answer:   Our prioritization of personal competence over identity.  We admire, incentivize,  reward, and seek to emulate the most competent people among us.  This results in different outcomes for the competent and the incompetent, and the lefties can’t stand that.  Why?  It is right there in our nature.  It is why Cain hated Abel.  Leftists have given in to the hatred that lies in every human heart that would rather destroy the competent than make the effort to emulate them.  

    • #6
  7. Ekosj Member
    Ekosj
    @Ekosj

    I don’t usually delve into things religious … definitely not my strong suit… but I don’t think it’s so much hatred of America or hatred of Western civilization but rather hatred of limits of any kind.   It’s the deliberate confusion of license for liberal.    And I say deliberate deliberately.     To paraphrase Pope Paul VI … the smoke of Satan has entered not just the Church but all of our institutions.     Any institution that puts limits on human behavior or requires responsibility or delayed gratification has been undermined.   Church.   Family.   Government.   Education.    I don’t think it’s an accident.   I think there’s something revealing in the head of the Church of Satan describing Satan as … “Satan is a symbol of Man living as his prideful, carnal nature dictates. The reality behind Satan is simply the dark evolutionary force of  entropy that permeates all of nature”

    Yep.   Entropy.   Thats the goal.   And it springs from an evil source.    

    • #7
  8. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Ray Gunner (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: I have come to believe that modern leftists really don’t believe in much. But they hate Western Civilization, they hate Israel, they hate America, and they hate anyone who doesn’t hate those things.

    This is right. And here’s a question: What do Western Civilization, Israel, America, and we who admire them have in common, that the leftists hate? Answer: Our prioritization of personal competence over identity. We admire, incentivize, reward, and seek to emulate the most competent people among us. This results in different outcomes for the competent and the incompetent, and the lefties can’t stand that. Why? It is right there in our nature. It is why Cain hated Abel. Leftists have given in to the hatred that lies in every human heart that would rather destroy the competent than make the effort to emulate them.

    aka what Jordan Peterson calls “the lobster test” or something.

    • #8
  9. Addiction Is A Choice Member
    Addiction Is A Choice
    @AddictionIsAChoice

    Dr. Bastiat: So whatever, as long as it angers you.

    When Tony Blair’s government opened up the immigration-spigot in Britain, Labour Party officials said of the policy, “We’re going to rub the right’s nose in diversity.” I submit that the Left wants to rub our noses in everything; anything to get a rise.

    • #9
  10. Clavius Thatcher
    Clavius
    @Clavius

    It’s also sad to note that in all of this, we on the right are the “evil” ones.

    • #10
  11. Sisyphus Member
    Sisyphus
    @Sisyphus

    Clavius (View Comment):

    It’s also sad to note that in all of this, we on the right are the “evil” ones.

    Au contraire, mon frere. When evil points at you and declares you to be evil, it is their highest compliment.

    • #11
  12. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    OP: property rights

    foRCInG uS tO uSE goVErNmENt moNEy mAKes ouR lIvEs betTEr  

     

    • #12
  13. GlennAmurgis Coolidge
    GlennAmurgis
    @GlennAmurgis

    It goes back to the French Revolution vs the American revolution.

    The left thinks they can change human nature where conservative know we have to guard against it. 

    • #13
  14. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Dr. Bastiat:

    An honest discussion of those statistics wouldn’t even make sense:

    Leftist:  “Yeah, so, like, guns are bad.  I mean, somebody might shoot you.  After all, suicide rates are skyrocketing.”

    Me:  “So, you’re worried that I might shoot me?”

    Leftist:  “No, silly – think about the epidemic of gun violence in cities, with gangs, the drug trade, and generations of young boys without fathers.”

    Me:  “So think you can get urban young black men to raise their children by preventing rural old white men from buying shotguns for duck hunting?”

    Leftist:  “Why are you conservatives so irrational?”

    I can’t even discuss such things with leftists, because I’m trying to think rationally, and the leftist is trying to prevent rational thought.

    Very important point:  The leftist is not simply thinking irrationally.  The leftist is trying to prevent rational thought.

    I used to be annoyed by the habit of leftists to insist on obscuring reality with intentionally misleading data and language.  But now I’m starting to view it as more than just annoying.

    This is exactly what it’s like to debate my Democrat brother-in-law. Always supporting Democrat policies, no matter how much it changes or what they bring up. You really wonder what it was like back when Scoop Jackson et. al. were a big deal Democrats. Nobody even asks the question very much, anymore.

    He is a textbook Dennis Prager Democrat. Conservative lifestyle. PhD in a practical, helpful topic that if you need it, you’re much better off if you see him. Their boys turned out really good.

    I totally fry him on every single topic he or we bring up unless I’m not ready for how ignorant he is or how he thinks, which is described really well in the original post. I mean, he doesn’t study anything and he gets really frustrated if he can’t confuse me. We were talking about Medicare and all I said was the average Medicare recipient takes out $300,000 more dollars than they put in. Then I raised my voice just a little bit and got just a little bit angry and invoked the greatest sentence ever invented by anyone:

    Government Is How We Steal From Each Other™

    Then he gets up and walks away and says that he’s not talking about public policy anymore because he doesn’t know anything about it. Rabid democrat that’s been reading crap from the nation in the New York Times his whole life.

    I was also thinking that the structure in the OP reminds me of my dad because he has narcissistic personality disorder. It really, really sucks. This is the best YouTube channel on narcissism by far

     

     

     

    • #14
  15. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

     

    II was listening to the overnight trucker show just now. Redeye Radio. They have a great guest host. An old woman called in and she was describing how bad she’s getting mowed down because she’s on Social Security and Medicare given all of the inflation. I mean, she just nailed it. They force you to pay in at gunpoint and then how do they make it work? What are they going to do? They don’t care.

    lIbERtaRiAns dOn’t lIVe iN tHe rEAl woRld 

     

    • #15
  16. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Ray Gunner (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: I have come to believe that modern leftists really don’t believe in much. But they hate Western Civilization, they hate Israel, they hate America, and they hate anyone who doesn’t hate those things.

    This is right. And here’s a question: What do Western Civilization, Israel, America, and we who admire them have in common, that the leftists hate? Answer: Our prioritization of personal competence over identity. We admire, incentivize, reward, and seek to emulate the most competent people among us. This results in different outcomes for the competent and the incompetent, and the lefties can’t stand that. Why? It is right there in our nature. It is why Cain hated Abel. Leftists have given in to the hatred that lies in every human heart that would rather destroy the competent than make the effort to emulate them.

    This is excellent analysis. Government also interferes with competence. Imagine a world with no inflation, and the government only produced actual public goods. The left doesn’t like that. Private entities go out of business if they don’t hire strictly the competent, not so with government.

    • #16
  17. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Ekosj (View Comment):

    I don’t usually delve into things religious … definitely not my strong suit… but I don’t think it’s so much hatred of America or hatred of Western civilization but rather hatred of limits of any kind. It’s the deliberate confusion of license for liberal. And I say deliberate deliberately. To paraphrase Pope Paul VI … the smoke of Satan has entered not just the Church but all of our institutions. Any institution that puts limits on human behavior or requires responsibility or delayed gratification has been undermined. Church. Family. Government. Education. I don’t think it’s an accident. I think there’s something revealing in the head of the Church of Satan describing Satan as … “Satan is a symbol of Man living as his prideful, carnal nature dictates. The reality behind Satan is simply the dark evolutionary force of entropy that permeates all of nature”

    Yep. Entropy. Thats the goal. And it springs from an evil source.

    Great writing, analysis, and very interesting. 

    • #17
  18. Freeven Member
    Freeven
    @Freeven

    I’ve come to believe that a tyrannical impulse lies at the core of all of it. That their positions are inconsistent, both internally and externally, is evidence that they are a means rather than an end. They want to run things, and they grab whatever tool or strike whatever pose that is convenient to bring that about. This leaves those of us who mostly just want to be left alone at a huge disadvantage.

    • #18
  19. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Freeven (View Comment):
    I’ve come to believe that a tyrannical impulse lies at the core of all of it.

    China and India put up a minimum of a new coal powered electric electricity plant every other week. They never stop. I haven’t seen the math, but I don’t see how you counter that. 

    There are another billion destitute poor on this planet. If you gave them a moped, they would use it. They wouldn’t give a damn about coal powered electricity if it worked, which it would. 

    Electric cars are fire hazards. 

    The tyrants need to stop forcing this crap. 

    We could have started using compact nuclear systems, 20 years ago. They don’t do this because utilities and politicians get together to rip everybody off with big systems. Now they are building private ones for private use. They are trying to start up Three Mile Island again. Simply because AI takes so much juice.

    • #19
  20. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Freeven (View Comment):
    I’ve come to believe that a tyrannical impulse lies at the core of all of it.

    China and India put up a minimum of a new coal powered electric electricity plant every other week. They never stop. I haven’t seen the math, but I don’t see how you counter that.

    There are another billion destitute poor on this planet. If you gave them a moped, they would use it. They wouldn’t give a damn about coal powered electricity if it worked, which it would.

    Electric cars are fire hazards.

    The tyrants need to stop forcing this crap.

    We could have started using compact nuclear systems, 20 years ago. They don’t do this because utilities and politicians get together to rip everybody off with big systems. Now they are building private ones for private use. They are trying to start up Three Mile Island again. Simply because AI takes so much juice.

    • #20
  21. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Dr. Bastiat:

    I’d love to see a counter-protester hold up a sign that says, “Queers for throwing gays off rooftops” . . .

    • #21
  22. Ray Gunner Coolidge
    Ray Gunner
    @RayGunner

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Ray Gunner (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: I have come to believe that modern leftists really don’t believe in much. But they hate Western Civilization, they hate Israel, they hate America, and they hate anyone who doesn’t hate those things.

    This is right. And here’s a question: What do Western Civilization, Israel, America, and we who admire them have in common, that the leftists hate? Answer: Our prioritization of personal competence over identity. We admire, incentivize, reward, and seek to emulate the most competent people among us. This results in different outcomes for the competent and the incompetent, and the lefties can’t stand that. Why? It is right there in our nature. It is why Cain hated Abel. Leftists have given in to the hatred that lies in every human heart that would rather destroy the competent than make the effort to emulate them.

    aka what Jordan Peterson calls “the lobster test” or something.

    JP uses the term “competence hierarchy,” which I think is apt.  And here’s the thing: You can’t fake your way up a competence hierarchy.  And when confronted with the fact there is no faking your way up a competence hierarchy, some of us react with a desire to tear the whole thing down.  To me, that’s the Western left in a nutshell.

    • #22
  23. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Ray Gunner (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Ray Gunner (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: I have come to believe that modern leftists really don’t believe in much. But they hate Western Civilization, they hate Israel, they hate America, and they hate anyone who doesn’t hate those things.

    This is right. And here’s a question: What do Western Civilization, Israel, America, and we who admire them have in common, that the leftists hate? Answer: Our prioritization of personal competence over identity. We admire, incentivize, reward, and seek to emulate the most competent people among us. This results in different outcomes for the competent and the incompetent, and the lefties can’t stand that. Why? It is right there in our nature. It is why Cain hated Abel. Leftists have given in to the hatred that lies in every human heart that would rather destroy the competent than make the effort to emulate them.

    aka what Jordan Peterson calls “the lobster test” or something.

    JP uses the term “competence hierarchy,” which I think is apt. And here’s the thing: You can’t fake your way up a competence hierarchy. And when confronted with the fact there is no faking your way up a competence hierarchy, some of us react with a desire to tear the whole thing down. To me, that’s the Western left in a nutshell.

    “Whatever it is, if I can’t excel at it, it must be bad.”

    • #23
  24. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    Dr. Bastiat: I have come to believe that modern leftists really don’t believe in much.  But they hate Western Civilization, they hate Israel, they hate America, and they hate anyone who doesn’t hate those things.  Because they hate you, they find themselves passionately supporting whatever you don’t like, no matter how absurd it is.

    That is the crux. They hate Western Civ on the (gnostic?) theory that it inhibits our true selves.  It is why sexual deviance is highly valued and why all forms of grievance are thought politically useful.  The only consistency is in what they oppose.

    And as things deteriorate and emotional and mental stability are eroded, the need to belong to a movement or something, to believe oneself enlightened and morally pure and to therefore chug down the ideological kool-aid about ushering in whatever secular nirvana that the GOP, the Pope and Exxon are denying us becomes a driving need.

    • #24
  25. Full Size Tabby Member
    Full Size Tabby
    @FullSizeTabby

    At least among the leftists I know (all Christian men), they would say their unifying principle is “love everyone” or “love others.” Which they think is sufficient. “Love others” means “be nice” and “give them stuff.”

    When I ask what about if the “other” insists that you must die or the “other” insists on taking your stuff, they react as though that is not possible.

    But they insist that “love others” is a sufficient unifying principle.  

    • #25
  26. Autistic License Coolidge
    Autistic License
    @AutisticLicense

    Someone once said that when you see what a system produces, you know what it was designed to produce.  So public schools produce illiteracy, political parties produce pro wrestling championships, etc.  That’s not to say it’s deliberate, but it does underline that effects come from causes and the process can be understood.   That’s encouraging. We may not understand the process, but we still have hope of understanding it.  Operatio sequitur esse, if you’ll pardon my French :)

    • #26
  27. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Autistic License (View Comment):

    Someone once said that when you see what a system produces, you know what it was designed to produce. So public schools produce illiteracy, political parties produce pro wrestling championships, etc. That’s not to say it’s deliberate, but it does underline that effects come from causes and the process can be understood. That’s encouraging. We may not understand the process, but we still have hope of understanding it. Operatio sequitur esse, if you’ll pardon my French :)

    i.e. 

    http://financialrepressionauthority.com/2017/07/26/the-roundtable-insight-george-bragues-on-how-the-financial-markets-are-influenced-by-politics/

     

     

    • #27
  28. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Autistic License (View Comment):

    Someone once said that when you see what a system produces, you know what it was designed to produce. So public schools produce illiteracy, political parties produce pro wrestling championships, etc. That’s not to say it’s deliberate, but it does underline that effects come from causes and the process can be understood. That’s encouraging. We may not understand the process, but we still have hope of understanding it. Operatio sequitur esse, if you’ll pardon my French :)

    This is a whole page and a half to read

    i.e. 

    https://mises.org/mises-wire/were-living-age-capital-consumption

     

     

    • #28
  29. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    At least among the leftists I know (all Christian men), they would say their unifying principle is “love everyone” or “love others.” Which they think is sufficient. “Love others” means “be nice” and “give them stuff.”

    When I ask what about if the “other” insists that you must die or the “other” insists on taking your stuff, they react as though that is not possible.

    But they insist that “love others” is a sufficient unifying principle.

    This is the conceit of the Left. They’re kind and good people because they want so much for others. In practice it means “love others” with other people’s paycheck while holding the pose. Because it turns out loving your neighbor in truth is hard, and among other things, leftists are lazy.

    • #29
  30. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Ekosj (View Comment):

    I don’t usually delve into things religious … definitely not my strong suit… but I don’t think it’s so much hatred of America or hatred of Western civilization but rather hatred of limits of any kind. It’s the deliberate confusion of license for liberal. And I say deliberate deliberately. To paraphrase Pope Paul VI … the smoke of Satan has entered not just the Church but all of our institutions. Any institution that puts limits on human behavior or requires responsibility or delayed gratification has been undermined. Church. Family. Government. Education. I don’t think it’s an accident. I think there’s something revealing in the head of the Church of Satan describing Satan as … “Satan is a symbol of Man living as his prideful, carnal nature dictates. The reality behind Satan is simply the dark evolutionary force of entropy that permeates all of nature”

    Yep. Entropy. Thats the goal. And it springs from an evil source.

    Absolutely agree there’s a dark spiritual element to all this.

    However, the Left doesn’t mind limits. . . on us — gun ownership, speech, religious expression (especially for Christian and Jew), property ownership up to and including the cars we drive, the lightbulbs we use, and the stoves we cook with. . . 

    What they really hate is a God who makes moral demands — especially with regard to sexuality and its reproductive consequences. They demand no limits at all when it comes to sex. And isn’t it odd how it diminishes our humanity? Or maybe it makes perfect sense if Satan is the driving force.

    • #30
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