“Politics is an extension of war by other means. Arguments are soldiers. Once you know which side you’re on, you must support all arguments of that side, and attack all arguments that appear to favor the enemy side; otherwise it’s like stabbing your soldiers in the back—providing aid and comfort to the enemy.”
I first read this article 6 years ago, back when I knew nothing about politics and had never had a political discussion with anyone before. I was incredibly puzzled by it. I thought, “Maybe that kind of black-and-white thinking and argumentation exists for people who become invested in trivial things like sports teams, but surely that’s not really how most of society talks about something like politics. My friends are scientists. They know better than that.”
Fast forward to 6 years later, today. I’ve learned that the article is painfully accurate. It doesn’t matter whether my peer has a PhD in biology or a master’s in chemistry. No matter what their apparent commitment to rational thinking, almost all of them denounce a political party in the US for (sometimes, they claim, singlehandedly) causing the failings of the entire country.
I feel afraid to even express that sometimes I feel that views from the political party my peers hate seem reasonable. This is even when I don’t agree with the ideas. Even when I don’t claim that the other party is right. I’m afraid to even say, “this idea from the other political party might have a grain of truth to it” because their hatred is so strong and their reaction to such words from me is so immediate and negative. They claim to be open to other ideas, but as soon as they disagree, they start a long in-depth explanation of why the opposing ideas are completely wrong, sometimes without letting the speaker introducing the ideas even finish their sentence. Whereas in any other subject, my peers would praise me for considering other viewpoints and carefully weighing evidence, when it comes to politics, even considering the other side seems to actually feel treasonous to them.
I feel saddened, remembering my skepticism from then. The world is not nearly as rational as I hoped it was when I was 6 years younger.
“Politics is an extension of war by other means. Arguments are soldiers. Once you know which side you’re on, you must support all arguments of that side, and attack all arguments that appear to favor the enemy side; otherwise it’s like stabbing your soldiers in the back—providing aid and comfort to the enemy.”
I first read this article 6 years ago, back when I knew nothing about politics and had never had a political discussion with anyone before. I was incredibly puzzled by it. I thought, “Maybe that kind of black-and-white thinking and argumentation exists for people who become invested in trivial things like sports teams, but surely that’s not really how most of society talks about something like politics. My friends are scientists. They know better than that.”
Fast forward to 6 years later, today. I’ve learned that the article is painfully accurate. It doesn’t matter whether my peer has a PhD in biology or a master’s in chemistry. No matter what their apparent commitment to rational thinking, almost all of them denounce a political party in the US for (sometimes, they claim, singlehandedly) causing the failings of the entire country.
I feel afraid to even express that sometimes I feel that views from the political party my peers hate seem reasonable. This is even when I don’t agree with the ideas. Even when I don’t claim that the other party is right. I’m afraid to even say, “this idea from the other political party might have a grain of truth to it” because their hatred is so strong and their reaction to such words from me is so immediate and negative. They claim to be open to other ideas, but as soon as they disagree, they start a long in-depth explanation of why the opposing ideas are completely wrong, sometimes without letting the speaker introducing the ideas even finish their sentence. Whereas in any other subject, my peers would praise me for considering other viewpoints and carefully weighing evidence, when it comes to politics, even considering the other side seems to actually feel treasonous to them.
I feel saddened, remembering my skepticism from then. The world is not nearly as rational as I hoped it was when I was 6 years younger.