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I’m not a big George W Bush fan but this quote of his has stuck with me for years: > Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging our
by radpanda 2y ago
I’m not a big George W Bush fan but this quote of his has stuck with me for years:
> Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions
- almostgotcaught 2y agohttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_attribution_error https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_attribution_erro...
- YurgenJurgensen 2y agoThe more readily a group tries to restrict some behaviours, the more it implicitly endorses behaviours it doesn’t attempt to restrict.
- DrewRWx 2y ago[flagged]
- adastra22 2y agoA witticism that falls flat when it is pointed out that conservatives are the ones in favor of rule of law and universal constitutional law.
- noirbot 2y ago[flagged]
- adastra22 2y agoTrump is not a conservative… you are mistaking “conservative” for “republican.”
- brookst 2y agoNo true Scotsman, really?
- adastra22 2y agoConservatism is a movement dating back to the French Revolution, arguably further back, didn't originate in America, and isn't defined by or limited to the Democratic Party / Republican Party divide. Trumpism is not conservatism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism
- brookst 2y agoLanguage evolves. Saying that today’s conservatives are not true conservatives is the literal definition of the no true Scotsman fallacy.
- adastra22 2y agoIt's like the distinction between "liberal" and "liberalism." The former being a dirty slur word in American politics, and the latter being an entire field of economic and political philosophy dating back to the enlightenment. The latter definition is still in use among the educated. So too, with "conservative," at least outside of your American news bubble.
- brookst 2y agoI don’t view American news, but thanks for the condescension. Arguing for an academic definition as somehow true and absolute, in contradiction to common usage, is a lost cause. Language prescriptivists always lose in the long run. In the US, classical liberalism is largely despised by the same people who despise political liberalism. Funnily enough, those people are conservatives by either definition. It’s unfortunate that academic conservatism keeps turning into real world populism (and certainly classical liberalism has seen that as well). But language evolves, and it’s n order to be able to communicate, terminology must as well. It’s just a word. Words change. There’s no reason to defend an archaic meaning when it’s just going to cause confusion in almost every context.
- SoftTalker 2y agoI mean it’s sort of a no true Scotsmen thing, but I’ll say it anyway: Trump is not a conservative.
- CalChris 2y agoYes, but conservatives are Trumpers.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- SoftTalker 2y agoSome are. Some aren't. Some are pragmatic about a choice with only two real options.
- gmerc 2y agoRight right.
- harimau777 2y agoLeftists also support rule of law and universal constitutional law.
- adastra22 2y agoThe distinction is is in the derivative: progressives ("leftist" is less well defined) support the expansion of universal constitution law (which, right or wrong, is a change to the existing law), whereas conservatives except in the case of compelling evidence default to making no changes. Hence, being "conservative" about making changes.
- shadowgovt 2y agoThis reasoning implies the current President and his party are not conservative, which is an interesting conclusion.
- adastra22 2y agoYes, that's correct. Why is that an interesting conclusion? Trump is a neo-nationalist (with or without the appended socialist, take your pick), not a conservative. It's notable that the only remaining resistance against Trump in the Republican Party (represented by, e.g. Nikki Haley) are a coalition of conservatives.
- CalChris 2y agoNikki Haley strongly endorsed Trump at the RNC in 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/16/politics/nikki-haley-trump-rnc-speech/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/16/politics/nikki-haley-trump-rn... So we can agree that there is no remaining resistance to Trump in the Republican Party and that conservatives are indeed Trumpers.
- adastra22 2y agoDid we forget the vicious campaign she waged in the primaries?
- sudoshred 2y agoStrongest argument in favor of libertarianism that I have considered.