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It is all too easy to pretend that people have no say in the actions of their commonwealth, and much too difficult to believe that patriotism, pacifism, idealis
by Helianthus 15y ago
It is all too easy to pretend that people have no say in the actions of their commonwealth, and much too difficult to believe that patriotism, pacifism, idealism, and conservatism each have something important to say.
I am unimpressed with your cynicism.
- yaix 15y ago"Cynic" is what the idealist calls the realist.
- rhizome 15y agoThe capacity for accurate observation is often called, "cynicism" by those who haven't got it.
- aptwebapps 15y agoThe quote is fine as long as you don't take as an absolute statement of the only way things can be. It is a fact that the outlined strategy is almost always effective.
- arethuza 15y agoThanks, that's what I meant by including it this discussion. Personally, I would hope we could raise the general level of skepticism and equip ourselves with a Sagan-like "Baloney Detection Kit" so that everyone is aware of this technique for motivating populations towards conflict and that this hopefully makes us all more immune to it.
- jbooth 15y agoAs a liberal, I'd like to thank you for invoking conservatism in defense of fascism. It's very satisfying for me.
- irishcoffee 15y agoAs someone who doesn't pick a party but rather considers each issue without the taint of party lines, I think labels are hilarious... and stupid.
- Karunamon 15y ago"liberal" and "conservative" are not party lines - they are methods of thought. Fascists generally aren't liberal, and vice versa.
- irishcoffee 15y ago@saraid216 - I was in no way trying to paint myself as in individualistic personality phenomenon. Not really sure what you're trying to contribute. @Karunamon - Sure, but dropping into groupthink in any setting is a dangerous thing to do. The earth is flat, etc.
- saraid216 15y agoYou are a very special and unique snowflake. Just like every other snowflake.
- Karunamon 15y agoPatriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles. ~George Jean Nathan
- GFKjunior 15y agoPatriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. ~Samuel Johnson