I had noticed the Republican party beginning to slide from the late 1980s and through the 1990s… just after I was old enough to become politically aware. I initially sympathized with Republican positions and attitudes. As the years passed, I moved further to the libertarian center and became more politically independent. After I left the… Continue reading The GOP’s Slide towards Perdition
Aside from being the name of a Mars rover, curiosity is a key value in forming and maintaining cross-cutting friendships. These relationships are important to maintain social peace in a diverse community and to build the character of both ourselves and others. But increasingly they seem more elusive than ever.
Franklin Veaux posted a piece, “Virtue Signaling Left and Right.” It ties in nicely to a conversation I recently had, about tribalism and shunning behavior on the left and right. Virtue signaling is definitely part of that process, but in my thoughts I usually skip over it.
I remember this interview. Still an excellent, nuanced reply. During the 2020 Presidential Primary campaign, Pete Buttigieg was challenged by Chris Wallace at a Fox News town hall.
A meme, seen on Facebook: So many folks talk about how they’re being “forced to accept” things that go against their beliefs. You’re not being forced to accept them. If you have a problem with people of color, with gay marriage, with trans people, with immigrants, with women of any race, then you’re still welcome… Continue reading Forced to Accept
In the light of this year’s CPAC, I’m reminded of a post from 2020: The Republican Fundamentalist Cult. I had written this during Trump’s first impeachment trial, and I predicted that the Republican party would justify his misbehavior, even against clear evidence. I was right. I wish I had been wrong. The current Republican party… Continue reading The Republican Fundamentalist Cult, the Sequel
I hate rejoicing in someone else’s demise, but in this case, I really don’t have much good to say about him. His career started in the Reagan era, I believe. I remember him from when Bill Clinton was in office, and he furthered what I now know to be conspiracy theories. (Vince Foster, anyone?) Through… Continue reading Remembering Rush Limbaugh
From Canadian news, “Republicans face backlash for speaking out against Trump ahead of impeachment trial.” This report made me realize something about cults. Something I’ve been struggling with ever since I was shunned from my old religious community. You see, we didn’t have an explicit shunning policy. But I was shunned anyhow. I was shunned… Continue reading Shunning
Here’s a good example of the religious brainwashing that I had gone through, and the political brainwashing I believe many Republicans have gone through. Seen on Facebook: Atheist: Man wrote the Bible. Me: Man wrote the theory of evolution. Every book you’ve read that attacks the Bible was written by man. Now listen here, knucklehead.… Continue reading Religious and Political Brainwashing
I’ve described to friends how the Trump ecosystem reminds me of the religious fundamentalism that I grew up in, the religious dogma that took me almost 45 years of my life to escape. Farhad Manjoo’s commentary in the New York Times, “The Capitol Was Just the Start,” so vibrantly describes the reality-bending insanity of the… Continue reading The Fundamentalism of the Trump Ecosystem