jedrider wrote:evilgenius wrote:What you guys are describing is, metaphorically speaking, essentially the same argument that revolves around the topic of equity. Jordan Peterson argues, basically, for how new roads will only encourage new growth. Those who continually find themselves on the short end of resources, having to constantly do work arounds for the lack of it, are arguing for a different form of equality than how everybody who doesn't share their need keeps voting "no" when road and other infrastructure spending comes up on the ballot.
It used to be that we lived in a Republic. That means that we elect these representatives, and trust them to make these sorts of decisions. If people got offended, they could raise it to a new level, but it was difficult to do it. Nowadays, it is easier. That's both bad and good. It does mean that people have to know more. It does mean they have to pay attention to details they never had to before, when they could trust that their representatives weren't just trying to represent one faction of the electorate.
Yes, politics has certainly changed in the USA. Now it is 'divisiveness' and 'knee-jerk reactions' that is running the show. No room for argument. Perhaps it is because we now live in a nation of isolates in front of our entertainment devices who, largely, see no purpose in their lives other than rooting for their team.
I think what you say is true. For me, it boils down to reason vs. experience. It used to be that any thinking person knew that they could never pick one or the other as being the ultimate means to gain wisdom. They function in tandem. Anybody who has ever made anything from scratch knows this.
You start with a plan. You try to implement it. You fail. You see where you went wrong. You change your plan. The essence of your plan may, or may not change. If you can't handle any change, though, you can't force the elements that conspire to make it fail to change. They are reality, not your plan, so to speak. But if you only rest upon the way things have always been, allow the elements to dictate to you how you will live, you will never experience what you can.
When people come at you from some "silo" they think they have everything figured out. They don't need to change anything. It's what both the Republicans, who use reason, and the Democrats, who espouse experience, are doing. As a consequence, they talk past each other. Everything each side says about what it holds dear being under threat seems real to them. But what their pet things are under threat from is not the other side, it is from the truth. The truth always lies in the middle.
