Something that I’m sure a lot of us have noticed, is how shitty certain members of the Right side of the political spectrum can be… As a social conservative, it’s not something that’s gone beyond my notice. This isn’t a political rant, uh, per se. The Left can be similarly as atrocious, but in different ways. And I think that’s generally the difference between the Right and the Left. 
I believe Hanlon’s Razor applies to the Left, while Fred Clark’s Law, more commonly applies to the Right…
Leftists tend to espouse and value compassion, while the Right tends to take a more prudent approach…
Regardless of whether or not that compassion is under some circumstances twisted, and under other circumstances toxic and misguided, I feel it’s fair enough to state that anyone without a bias, and knowing that most people couldn’t admit this, (and as a social conservative) could reasonably agree that there’s generally more compassion and tolerance among the Left. Regardless of whether or not that tolerance is extended to areas where it really shouldn’t be in some occasions isn’t relevant to the point at hand. Didn’t most of us start off at the left of the political spectrum? As kids and teenagers, we were taught about humanity and equality and all that. I think “equality” is too static a concept to have any utility when applied practically to the world according to the, ugh… “contemporary” definition. Maybe the West is too individualistic. That’s why so many people aren’t familiar with the concept of delegating themselves to something greater than themselves without getting up in arms and throwing a conniption fit about ‘mUh EqUaLiTy’ and shit… But I’m trailing off here. I guess to finish this thought, it’s like being a warrior serving a worthy master. The best example that comes to mind is the samurai. Now don’t get me wrong, the Japanese were fucking BRUTAL, but my point is, they had a tried and tested social system in place, and that gave people purpose and direction, among other things. Don’t get me wrong the samurai were often oppressive mother fuckers, but look at what it achieved… Japan has retained and cultivated one of the most evolved and unique cultures in the world. And while it wasn’t perfect, I guess what I’m trying to say is it gave their society some direction for the time.
I guess the takeaway of this post is “I think people need to learn to delegate themselves before they can delegate others”.
That self responsibility and self delegation is built into Japanese culture. It’s a shame culture, with some solidarity among the people… That opposed to Western “guilt” culture which subsequently contains nuanced elements of coercion and is more individualistic. Japan actually has the lowest rate of sociopaths popping up in their society because of the community of the people.
I’m not sure how to effectively word this, but to circle back to my original point, right wingers, having themselves fallen victim to the blight of stereotyping, end up often tragically more stereotypical than those whom they stereotype… I’ve never actually seen a conservative SIT DOWN and calmly discuss with a black man WHY welfare is bad, instead of immediately getting heated and yelling a bunch of slurs. The closest to that I’ve ever seen is Joyner Lucas’ “I’m not Racist”, but I haven’t actually seen anyone from either side try to reach out and I don’t think that song has made much of a true difference. Idk. I’m getting tired and this post is getting long. It could probably be more well written but I’ve more or less had my say.
Oh wait I forgot to say that clevername brought up Hanlon’s Razor all the time. I don’t know if anyone here remembers him but he thought the reverse was true, but it turns out what he was really getting at was Fred Clarks’s Law. There. Now I’m done.
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Actually no, I’d like to say that the Left is just as guilty of this as the Right.
My opinion, you brought up politics so that is all I can lend, is that people are too complicated to sort into “leftist” and “right wing”, rather we all have elements of both. Take your post, you espouse values of tradition which is usually more conservative, but you also value others who have different values, a more progressive stance.
I confess, if you force me to define myself with a side I’m probably a leftist. I don’t want to be. I want to sit in the middle and choose a side based purely on the merit of their argument. Why that isn’t something I can do right now is a complicated conflict that I don’t have the patience to deconstruct.
What really struck me is the guilt vs shame, individualism vs collectivism topic you touched on. Guilt has always seemed to me a worthless emotion. Why regret, unless it leads to self examination and change. Shame though, I struggle deeply with shame. I long for an honorable cause to delegate myself to, and only recently am I considering that such a cause doesn’t exist.
What is the cure to that disorder, eh? Should I continue to seek a worthy cause, or should I elect myself the arbiter of my morality? I really want to know.
The only thing that comes to mind is religion, and Nietzsche. A worthy cause could be a religion, and I thought I had found it in Rastafari, which is, I found, a much more accessible version of Christianity, and they consider marijuana a sacred herb, which I agree with, if there’s anything that ever made me feel like our prayers were answered, it’s marijuana. But I knew there had to be a catch, and it quickly became apparent in the Zionism of Rasta. I really don’t know much about it, I think Rasta could have been an ethnic movement instead? *shrug*
Anyway, Nietzsche spoke of the Ubermensch and how God is dead, and how God is dead and man can create their own values, but it seems anyone who devoted any critical thought to the matter concluded that they can’t. I think I concluded Nietzsche was bunk as some point, but I don’t remember my reasoning. I wish I could help more.
The best, most worthy cause I can promote is learning to delegate yourself well in an effort to spread order and peace. It takes one. One person can change the world for the better, and lead by example. It’s hard to achieve, but it’s an ideal.
Maybe It just whooshed over my head, but I’m curious how all of this ties in with your suicidality?
Oh. It really only relates to clevername, and the old days when sp was filled with deep and intellectual conversations that flowed into suicide and stuff. This version of the site is a shadow of its former self. Clevername was a genius with an IQ of 170 something and it definitely showed. He was cool, definitely a thoughtful and smart guy
I guess you could also says it relates to hopelessness, or, more suitably, futility.
What was your username back then?
Thanatos.
I don’t remember that username but good to meet someone who remembers clevername. You’re right, this site was full of intellectual discussions during those times.
Yeah. I’ve seen your name before but I don’t know if I remember it from all the way back then. It’s my hope that maybe clevername sees this some day.