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> They're subversives pushing for a fascist dictatorship. Like you, I used too feel like one side had bad faith motives and just wanted to break stuff and hurt

> They're subversives pushing for a fascist dictatorship. Like you, I used too feel like one side had bad faith motives and just wanted to break stuff and hurt people. It was a really miserable outlook to have. Fortunately through life, I ended up meeting a lot of people and being exposed to a lot of political and philosophical diversity, and I learned that it isn't true at all. There are some small number who do want to destroy things, but even they mostly only want that to get to a better place in the long term, (and they see the collapse or destruction as necessary and inevitable to get there). I encourage you to meet people on the other side and really get to know them. It probably won't change your political opinions, but it will correct an erroneous pessimism about people's motives. The world becomes a much better place when you stop operating in defense mode and operate in discovery mode instead, so it's definitely worth it.

FredPret 3y ago
This is so spot-on and applies to both sides. There should be school trips to both Texas and San Francisco.
chankstein38 3y ago
I think you're missing the point that it's not grandma down the street that's got the bad faith motives. You can make as many politically opposing friends as you want that isn't going to prove that the people paid 6 figure salaries while still being paid insane amounts through lobbying are making sound logical decisions based on what's best for the people.
- freedomben 3y ago
  Thanks that's fair criticism. There's definitely a big difference between Grandma down the street and John congressman the political animal. Though even among politicians I've found the same patterns. There are a higher percentage of partisans than in the general population, but they still have the same underlying motives. In my experience they tend to be more jaded, and tend to overly trust others or under trust based on the color of jersey they are wearing, but they mostly have good motives* *Excepting corrupt people, which motives don't matter because their selfishness takes priority
llamaimperative 3y ago
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FredPret 3y ago

This is so spot-on and applies to both sides. There should be school trips to both Texas and San Francisco.

chankstein38 3y ago

I think you're missing the point that it's not grandma down the street that's got the bad faith motives. You can make as many politically opposing friends as you want that isn't going to prove that the people paid 6 figure salaries while still being paid insane amounts through lobbying are making sound logical decisions based on what's best for the people.

freedomben 3y ago
Thanks that's fair criticism. There's definitely a big difference between Grandma down the street and John congressman the political animal. Though even among politicians I've found the same patterns. There are a higher percentage of partisans than in the general population, but they still have the same underlying motives. In my experience they tend to be more jaded, and tend to overly trust others or under trust based on the color of jersey they are wearing, but they mostly have good motives* *Excepting corrupt people, which motives don't matter because their selfishness takes priority

llamaimperative 3y ago

[flagged]