spottybrowncow wrote: ↑Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:56 am
Bob, I think what guest was trying to say was something like this:
Conservatives think demonstrating personal responsibility is the bulwark of a successful society, and that if everyone practiced it, many societal problems would simply go away.
Liberals think demonstrating personal responsibility is a nearly worthless endeavor, certainly not worth the effort for most people.
That is an entirely respectable statement. The difference is that in urban high density environments, problems are often exaggerated. They are more obvious, less tolerable. Also, people living close together find working as a team and with specialists is more effective.
I am not saying individual action is entirely appropriate in a rural area with people all spread out. In such a place, individualism is a prudent and effective thing. This is a case where what is best for one group is not best for the other.
For example, when I went out to Colorado on the job, I drove around the local mountains a bit. Wild and wonderful. Much that is pristine. Sing a few of John Denver’s songs if you like. I still remember a sign pointing to Two Mile High Stadium. But there were few abandoned mines where they had just dropped everything, left the poison to spread and anything metal to rust. If we had adopted that attitude in my much more population dense Massachusetts, the result would be a much bigger mess. The temptation for urban dwellers is to require more responsibility than is strictly required in Colorado. You just can’t let problems get worse when they are multiplied by a bunch of people living close together.
One thing has occurred to me. John’s Generational Dynamics is based on a heavy dose of what Henrich calls tribal thinking. Divide into us and them. Develop a heavy dose of xenophobia. Use whatever means necessary to advance your group and work against the other. John seems to have attracted an audience which has embraced this, who practice tribal thinking, who have developed xenophobia. Guest’s original post reflected this. He had demonized the other. He reflected opinions and behaviors I am not familiar with in myself or any of my blue friends. Banning meat? Canceling TV shows you don’t personally care for? These are far more xenophobia than actual liberal beliefs. If you work yourself up by dwelling on deliberately oft told lies, is it any wonder that folks do not get along?