You’ve made it to the end! Thanks for reading. I hope it gave you something to think about or argue with. It’s the closest I’ve come to stating what I actually believe – about the left, about conservatism, and about what’s actually at stake. If the thinkers mentioned here are new to you, my quotes post on conservative thinking is worth a look:
Very well put - thank you! Being kind has terrible consequences that have to be faced.
In the days when people were Christians, everyone had to accept the need for repentance. People were asked to be humble in the face of things they didn't fully understand. They prayed for grace. They had an intergenerational community to belong to - which provided perspective on life, death and suffering. All that has gone now, for almost all people. There are no checks on human capacity for hubris. You see the consequences everywhere.
"The right sees the damage and concludes that the compassion was always fake."
But sometimes it's more nuanced than that. It is difficult to tell if the compassion was fake, or if the person — who is truly a caring person — is more motivated by the desire to *appear* compassionate than to show true compassion in a way that actually helps.
Agreed. And this is writ large across DC Dem leadership, Hollywood and leftist cities mayors. Aided and abetted by social media (patting themselves on the back for their goodness) and corporate media’s constant propaganda for the Left.
In Moral Foundations Theory, liberals report emphasizing the "care/harm" value over the other four, while conservatives seem to value them equally. Might this explain the temptation for some to isolate "kindness" and sacrifice all the other values to it? I'd argue yes, and that conservatives (or anyone) can experience the same problem if overemphasizing any of the other values as well, like say, Purity.
Brilliant as ever, thank you. Coming from a left wing background, I know that the kindness isn’t fake. It comes from a complete conviction that the left are the morally superior ones. From there it’s as if a three wise monkeys syndrome descends….hear no evil, see no evil, do no evil. The trouble is that the blindness and deafness shuts out truth. Critical thinking is immediately shut down just in case any of those awful right wing opinions sneak through. And ‘do no evil’ becomes a compulsion to stick with the tribe no matter what. I’m lucky that the scales fell from my eyes a long time ago and it’s an amazing feeling of freedom to be able to judge issues on their merits and sod the abuse. It does take courage to be a free thinker but I’d rather that than be a sheep. And I should add that ‘being kind’ is often the polar opposite. How about they start being kind by listening to alternative opinions rather than shrieking abuse and calling for cancellations.
A fine essay, thanks. I would quibble with P. Hitchens as a useful example, however. His character hasn't changed (he's still a self satisfied bully). But his sphere of exerting those unchanged aspects of his character has altered.
Great article, although I don't like the terms 'Right' and 'Left' because they appear largely meaningless. Neither 'Right' nor 'Left', as used today, bear any resemblance to our previous understanding of the terms.
You’ve made it to the end! Thanks for reading. I hope it gave you something to think about or argue with. It’s the closest I’ve come to stating what I actually believe – about the left, about conservatism, and about what’s actually at stake. If the thinkers mentioned here are new to you, my quotes post on conservative thinking is worth a look:
https://www.gadflynotes.com/p/quotes-on-the-conservative-disposition
Great writing, hats off!
Very well put - thank you! Being kind has terrible consequences that have to be faced.
In the days when people were Christians, everyone had to accept the need for repentance. People were asked to be humble in the face of things they didn't fully understand. They prayed for grace. They had an intergenerational community to belong to - which provided perspective on life, death and suffering. All that has gone now, for almost all people. There are no checks on human capacity for hubris. You see the consequences everywhere.
"The right sees the damage and concludes that the compassion was always fake."
But sometimes it's more nuanced than that. It is difficult to tell if the compassion was fake, or if the person — who is truly a caring person — is more motivated by the desire to *appear* compassionate than to show true compassion in a way that actually helps.
Agreed. And this is writ large across DC Dem leadership, Hollywood and leftist cities mayors. Aided and abetted by social media (patting themselves on the back for their goodness) and corporate media’s constant propaganda for the Left.
In Moral Foundations Theory, liberals report emphasizing the "care/harm" value over the other four, while conservatives seem to value them equally. Might this explain the temptation for some to isolate "kindness" and sacrifice all the other values to it? I'd argue yes, and that conservatives (or anyone) can experience the same problem if overemphasizing any of the other values as well, like say, Purity.
Brilliant as ever, thank you. Coming from a left wing background, I know that the kindness isn’t fake. It comes from a complete conviction that the left are the morally superior ones. From there it’s as if a three wise monkeys syndrome descends….hear no evil, see no evil, do no evil. The trouble is that the blindness and deafness shuts out truth. Critical thinking is immediately shut down just in case any of those awful right wing opinions sneak through. And ‘do no evil’ becomes a compulsion to stick with the tribe no matter what. I’m lucky that the scales fell from my eyes a long time ago and it’s an amazing feeling of freedom to be able to judge issues on their merits and sod the abuse. It does take courage to be a free thinker but I’d rather that than be a sheep. And I should add that ‘being kind’ is often the polar opposite. How about they start being kind by listening to alternative opinions rather than shrieking abuse and calling for cancellations.
A fine essay, thanks. I would quibble with P. Hitchens as a useful example, however. His character hasn't changed (he's still a self satisfied bully). But his sphere of exerting those unchanged aspects of his character has altered.
Excellent way to think about not only left and right but how the responses (progressive and hard right) need each other to fight against. Thank you..
'Hard Right'?
Great article, although I don't like the terms 'Right' and 'Left' because they appear largely meaningless. Neither 'Right' nor 'Left', as used today, bear any resemblance to our previous understanding of the terms.