It's time to talk about the greatest taboo subject known to man: politics. I'd like to think that there are a good many of us who are in the silent center, a utopian place where we reason with logic and are immune from the sometimes idiotic but louder voices from either the left or the right. I'd like to think this but as far as I can tell, it looks like we all have some slight bias to the left or right. This makes senes given the distribution of views is likely something resembling a normal distribution but with heavier tails for the extremists on either end (think back to the mean mode and median we've discussed in previous posts).
What's wrong with the left?
Ok, we've got a lot to unpack here. First of all, the whole gender identity issue has been blown out of proportion now. What's worse, it's confusing the English language itself, with people demanding to be referred to as a plural (they and them). Be real, you're one person. Genetically, do you have two X chromosomes or are you saddled with a Y chromosome? Pick a lane or understand that you were one of the few miracles to be born with the mind of one sex and the body of another. Take your time to figure out which sex you feel more comfortable with before taking any gender reassignment treatment, especially if you're under the age of 21. Lastly, how one feels is important but believing they are a female when they were born male and then demanding to compete as a female is unfair and unscientific. It's just biological fact that men on average are physically stronger.
We've also got amazing amounts of Nimby-ism coming from the left. With many parts of California struggling with unaffordable housing costs, Nimbys make it worse by blocking any new housing projects for fear of devaluing their own properties or neighborhoods. You can't claim to champion more affordable housing options and decry how unfair the system is when you are part of the problem.
Finally, political correctness has gone off a cliff. The fear of offending anyone in any minuscule way is so great that any controversial views are pushed into the shadows to fester and become worse (think women hating or blaming everything on minorities). This seems especially true in universities where the point of attending is to be challenged and to be made uncomfortable challenging our own beliefs so that we can learn and grow.
What's wrong with the right?
The Dunning-Kruger effect isn't the sole problem faced by the right but boy does it seem to have a concentration there. Some on the right believe that scientific fact isn't to be trusted unless it gels with whatever agenda they are pushing. We've come a long way but there are those who still believe that their race is superior in every way to others, that they are somehow experts on everything, or that schools are somehow trying to indoctrinate their children by teaching historical facts. Slavery was real, the Nazis killed millions of Jews, disabled people and anyone who didn't look white enough. These things happened and if we don't learn from the mistakes from the past, we are asking to repeat them in future. Before you disagree with any information, actually go and research the topic from credible sources. There's an amazing tool that's been invented recently (Google it).
The religious right wing add their own brand of hypocrisy. If you've been attending church (or any other religious service) and believe that going through the motions while missing the real lesson of religion will guarantee salvation, it's time to have a good long look in the mirror. Instead of wasting time reading the thoughts of some people who lived hundreds and thousands of years ago, look at the ever greater knowledge we have gained through scientific research and study. Reading some old stories and praying never gave us medical science, electricity, vehicles planes or even the washing machine that have all made modern life more enjoyable than even kings and queens from just 200 years ago. Having perfect attendance at church every Sunday but failing to empathize with your fellow human being won't get you to heaven.
Finally, stop listening to demagogues. A populist who tells you what you want to hear but who can't even follow the law themselves is clearly not a messiah to follow. Before you start hating on some other group of people different to yourself, look in the mirror and figure out your own flaws. Really challenge the facts you believe to be true otherwise you will be the one who is brainwashed. Failing to face your own inadequacies and instead blaming others for your own shortcomings is the true path to hell.
It's lonely in the center:
I could go on but I'll try and end on slightly more positive note. For us in the lonely center, we actually have to do some heavy lifting if we don't want the democratic system to implode. We're going to have to keep training ourselves to look up credible sources, to question and critique those with an agenda, especially politicians. We have to continue to challenge the misinformed views of both the left and right. Science doesn't have all the answers, but it has provided the greatest progress to human kind known to history. Fight the authoritarianism but also fight the higher than thou moral perch of the left. Be the Socrates of your time (yes, I'm aware of how it ended for him), knowing that it does require a degree of sacrifice, but that you will leave behind a better world.
Further reading:
No reading this time. Just a movie I'm looking forward to seeing. Hope it doesn't suck!
Civil War (2024): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17279496/
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