4 ms·
"If we actually cared about people in the US, we would have free national health care and an appropriate housing supply." That is a statement: because we do no
by Fellshard 7y ago
"If we actually cared about people in the US, we would have free national health care and an appropriate housing supply."
That is a statement: because we do not have free national healthcare and appropriate housing supply, we do not care about people in the US.
This is patently false, and ill-motivated, seeking to disparage anyone who may offer alternative diagnoses or solutions.
- JasonFruit 7y agoThis is a major problem in discourse on political and social matters, judging by what I hear in the United States. Instead of stating a position and supporting it with reasoning, we state a position and support it with, "and you're a racist/homophobe/communist/Jacobin/baby-murderer/$OTHER_MONSTER if you disagree." Nobody is convinced by verbal brickbats like these; instead, they're convinced that their opponents are impossible fanatics who can't be reasoned with. I can't imagine a series of publications like the Federalist/Antifederalist papers today, or even something as gentle as FDR's fireside chats; we don't, on the whole, have the intellectual honesty to listen to a conversation. Listen to what is considered "winning" in a political debate: it's not the reasoned defense of a position, or proposing an innovative solution to a recognized problem, but the snappy insinuation that an opponent is a closet racist and possible pedophile. (Obviously, I'm angry here, but I'm also very, very sad.) --- edit: close paren ---
- watwut 7y agoThe comment i reacted to sounds to me like overreaction to that statement, honestly.