WARNING THIS IS A RANT

Addiction. Picking our battles. There's too much of the former and not enough of the latter. People get addicted to telling others off, quite literally, I think. It lights up the same part of the brain that has to do with rewards. Is there any way to 12 step a nation, basically?



If there are people addicted to it, someone's selling a stronger version of it and they try to inject it everywhere...even if it doesn't make any real sense to do so. Thus, the nation's debating style, and everything becomes a "debate," heh, has gone past being somewhat productively polemic into 'The Forces of Good™ vs. The Forces of Evil™' dualism territory...something that used to be more the territory of orthodox religions. Then it's more likely that the "more equal than thou" and might makes right (majoritarianism, various bandwagon effects our forefathers of democracy warned us about) religious crap seeps into arguments. It's rather predictable. (We should be paying strict attention at this point because dualism like this is part of how you close an open society or how the paradigm of equality, personal accountability, and personal excellence comes under constant attack.)



Generally, it's better to teach people how to think than to tell them their beliefs, religious, political or other, are crazy, immature, wrong or damned. We do this by example, we do this through informed debate (as opposed to disinformation) and by calling others on logic errors and issues at the **root of their arguments**. This is actually quite difficult since that's precisely the kind of stuff people often don't articulate. It's supposed to remain something we assume, but don't examine, as "the fabric of society." We're supposed to just steep in it until everyone sings the same tune.



Identity. Identity clashes. Identity clashes can become the most idiotic and addictive. They bring out the worst in people. They're like crack...very addictive but they'll damage those who imbibe rather than fight the good fight in the interest of excellence and equality. Most of the more toxic debates based on warring identity groups (Conservative, liberal, democrat, republican, Christian, infidels/heretics, and so on). Theses types of clashes are the worst way to even begin to examine the issues of the day and choice of directional force. Try to inject more informed, well reasoned debate and you may get ignored, insulted, or otherwise attacked.



Dualism and the identity clashes it leads to provides and enables a lot of smoke screens. We might want to think about that....as the middle class shrinks, our education system remains in crappy condition, the rich get richer, and the poorer get poorer while taking the brunt of dysfunctional systems that specialize in doublespeak, distraction, disinformation and...



Sigh.