This video always makes me sad

I'll do my best to keep this short, considering that brevity on an OP isn't usually my strong point. And if you don't mind, let's push religion aside on this as that takes us down a whole other rabbit hole.

I received a pretty absurd TMail last night (won't say from whom but it's just someone who snipes here and doesn't actually engage in discussion or provide substance). He purported that today's political conflict breaks down to good vs. evil, with his side (Trumpism) being good and what he perceives as leftism being evil.

Yeah, he meant that seriously.

So first, a question for all of you, and then I'll try to answer it myself. Do you believe you have sided with the "good" end of the political spectrum and that the other side is "evil"? Explain why or why not?

There isn't a "good" or an "evil" when it comes to comparing R vs. D. Both sides are comprised of folks who have embraced corruption and power in a system that both sides have abused. Hillary Clinton is a bad person. Donald Trump is a bad person. We could list thousands more.

If you carry yourself believing you're the good guy because of your political beliefs and everyone on the opposite is evil, not only are you in some serious need of self reflection, you may need some mental help. Because such a mentality is what leads to extremism (pretty sure history has my back on this) and extremism leads to your willingness to accept or participate in authoritarian practices that you perceive to be wiping out the "evil".

It's what will make you crave a dictator, or the silencing of opposition voices (like demanding colleges not allow people to give speeches), or a subverting of Constitutional freedoms, particularly the BoR (something left and right extremists and ESPECIALLY Trumpists want).

And finally, walking through life with such a worldview is pretty sad, because it causes you to distance yourself from or miss out on new people who could become good friends. Or makes you hate them for stupid reasons. And it's the height of narcissism to think you somehow figured out the good ideology and that anyone who opposes it is somehow evil.

Catahoula®

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And thus, you prove you're one of the people I described.

Jun 10, 2021, 9:03 AM

By the nature of the question you can tell it is written by a liberal. The question is embedded with a simplicity that does not exist. One of the root causes of libs thinking like this is the lack of critical analysis on the left which is metaphorically represented by the 140 character tweet - if you can't 'splain it in 140 characters, most libs can't understand it and can't take the time to think longer about it.

Immediately you start pounding your little fists and sputtering, "My side good. Your side bad!" with that non-sensical first paragraph. It does nothing to make your case, we are all dumber for having read it, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Does "good" mean our aim is to do what is "best" for global humanity or what is best to preserve the ideals and foundation on which the USA was founded? Is the metric what makes the most people happiest or what reduces human suffering globally?

If you wish to narrow it to the scope of intentions for this nation, we can do that. So, in that sense, some Americans believe that they have chosen the "good" side, or in their mind, the side that wants the best version of freedom and Americanism for the citizens, while the other side is "evil," thus bent on destroying America or transforming it into something they despise.

This worldview is foolish.

Unfortunately, we are all human and the world is full of humans with major flaws. So, assuming we are thinking of our team as Team USA with the "good" objective being to preserve our ideals and way of life for our kids and grandkids, best described in one word of freedom, yes I'd say my viewpoints lean farther toward good than those of liberals. There is really no debate at that level - experiments have proven in world history that moving the direction the democrats are moving will indeed take the USA down.

And thus you show you are one of the flawed individuals I describe. You think there is a team that is taking us down a path of destruction, when in fact, the problems America faces are so multi-faceted and tied back to decades and decades worth of issues created by people on the right and the left; ultimately, problems that exist because of corrupt people.

You harp upon "freedom," and naïve people who believe their side to be the only good generally overuse and misuse that word. You don't believe in freedom any more than the raging leftist anarchist does; you simply want your version of freedom that benefits you and people like you. So does the leftist extremist; he believes freedom comes when conservatives are oppressed and silence.

Neither of you are good, and neither of you are lovers of freedom. In fact, freedom frightens you because it allows the side you perceive to be "evil" to operate on the same plane as you. In your mind, equality for viewpoints means oppression against you. That's a perverted view of the world.

Let's take your most infamous post of all time. You called for redefining treason so that more Democrats and leftists could be prosecuted for their beliefs. You called for them to be imprisoned. To shut down social media. To actually prosecute people who run the Nielson ratings. To crush universities and take away majors that YOU don't like. And as you said, stamp out liberalism and progressivism.

In other words, you called for a destruction of ideology and an imprisonment of those who believe in it. THAT'S. NOT. FREEDOM.

That indicates that you are part of the problem. The simple-minded and perverted view that you have somehow discovered good and anyone who disagrees with your view is evil. That's not how the world works.

Here's what you said, word for word:

Beginning with the newly established Republican control, we will redefine Treason, Conspiracy, and Espionage to include half of the chit being said/done by the socialist, communist wing of the democratic party. We will begin locking those individuals up and simultaneously shutting them up. Social media giants will be broken up. Regulations will be rolled back. Neilson (ratings company) will be convicted of falsifying data. Universities will be defunded and only US citizens will reap benefits of taxpayer funded research. Universities eliminate BS majors that are meaningless. The economy will be on a roll. Minorities finally get it - that democrats are very, very bad for them.

Liberalism and progressivism will be a fading memory. Life is good!

This post is so embarrassing to you, that if I were in your shoes, I would donate money just so I could go back and delete it. That viewpoint you posted is actually, in fact, evil.

OTOH if your view is that the USA is inherently bad and must not be allowed to continue the imperialism, world domination, oppression, and global polluting that has been done over the last 245 years, then in your view (the echo chamber view) you are good and I am evil.

That's interesting because in this post, you've proven you're in the echo chamber.

Message was edited by: Catahoula®

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[Catahoula] used to be almost solely a PnR rascal, but now has adopted shidpoasting with a passion. -bengaline

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Good vs. Evil

Agree with most of this

C'mon man...

It's the reason the country is where it is.

Re: It's the reason the country is where it is.

re: the last point. Maybe it's equal but the villainization

I tend to hear it put a different way

Didnt we have this exact same thread two weeks ago?

I dunno, man.

Wasnt sniping. It just all looked familiar. All likely are.***

Do you know how I can get a tiger rag ring tone

I heard VT is running down The Hill this year.***

That was one of my favorites.

Re: Good vs. Evil

Most of my friends are liberals.

I don't think about most political items in terms

And I get that

This may be somewhat controversial (?)

I respect that view.

Agree, very few evil people in the world.

Please don't bash Columbia, sir.

Re: Good vs. Evil

Completely off topic.

Re: Completely off topic.

Re: Completely off topic.

Re: Completely off topic.

No, he didn't.

We were not, nor will we ever be, energy independent.

we're just ants in a jar, man

Stopped a good vs evil -- absolute power corrupts absolutely

Re: Good vs. Evil

If you were a hot dog, would you eat yourself?***

Re: If you were a hot dog, would you eat yourself?***

Evil is just the absence of good

LOL, there you have it.

Bruh, I think this is kinda making my point.***

some toungue in cheek here, on the absence of good part

Re: Good vs. Evil

Re: Good vs. Evil

And thus, you prove you're one of the people I described.

One side of the political divide

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