Conservativism is, and always has been, a misdirect. It isn’t an ideology. It’s something you say so that it sounds like you have principles, but there are no inherently conservative principles.
Check your history books, it’s always been this way.
Conservatives establish their priorities by first drawing a circle on the ground around themselves, and the deciding who is with them inside the circle. Everyone inside the circle is a member of their group, the Self. The Self is good because they are inside the circle, and the circle was drawn to define who is good.
And that’s it. Everything else is a flexible derivation of that decision. Policies that are good for the Self are good because the Self is good. Policies that are bad for the Self are bad. You get the picture. Everything a Conservative does or says is in service of defending and advancing the Self’s interests.
Importantly, anyone outside the circle is the Other. The Other can be bad, or they can be irrelevant. The Other cannot be good, because they aren’t the Self. If the Other tries to oppose the Self, the Other is bad. If the Other does not oppose the Self or even assists the Self, they are irrelevant.
If the Self lies or cheats or murders, then those were necessary acts in service of the Self, and therefore good. If the Other acts heroically or honorably or respectfully, it is irrelevant.
The good news is that you can be inside the circle, as long as you agree to go along with the game. Support everything the Self does, oppose anything the Other does to stop you, and refuse to acknowledge the inherent ridiculousness of your lack of fundamental beliefs.
Eh, those things are flexible. If you’re willing to play the game, you can be inside the circle. See: Log Cabin Republicans, Raphael Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Ben Carson, you can be “one of the good ones” as long as you’re willing to toe the line.
It’s not that they are asocial. It’s narcissism, plain and simple.
Conservativism is, and always has been, a misdirect. It isn’t an ideology. It’s something you say so that it sounds like you have principles, but there are no inherently conservative principles.
Check your history books, it’s always been this way.
Conservatives establish their priorities by first drawing a circle on the ground around themselves, and the deciding who is with them inside the circle. Everyone inside the circle is a member of their group, the Self. The Self is good because they are inside the circle, and the circle was drawn to define who is good.
And that’s it. Everything else is a flexible derivation of that decision. Policies that are good for the Self are good because the Self is good. Policies that are bad for the Self are bad. You get the picture. Everything a Conservative does or says is in service of defending and advancing the Self’s interests.
Importantly, anyone outside the circle is the Other. The Other can be bad, or they can be irrelevant. The Other cannot be good, because they aren’t the Self. If the Other tries to oppose the Self, the Other is bad. If the Other does not oppose the Self or even assists the Self, they are irrelevant.
If the Self lies or cheats or murders, then those were necessary acts in service of the Self, and therefore good. If the Other acts heroically or honorably or respectfully, it is irrelevant.
The good news is that you can be inside the circle, as long as you agree to go along with the game. Support everything the Self does, oppose anything the Other does to stop you, and refuse to acknowledge the inherent ridiculousness of your lack of fundamental beliefs.
What happens if 100% of humans are inside the circle, and there is no other?
Nobody knows, conservatives have never allowed that to happen.
They redraw a smaller circle
This is amazing. I copied it and sent it to my wife. Well done. 👍
Because your wife needs to hear it? Or because she’d get a kick from hearing it?
Kick. I couldn’t be married to one of them.
But you also have to look like you belong in the circle: look like them, use their shibboleths. A Black trans woman will never be in the circle.
That said, the circle is dumb and the people within it are asocial jerks.
Eh, those things are flexible. If you’re willing to play the game, you can be inside the circle. See: Log Cabin Republicans, Raphael Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Ben Carson, you can be “one of the good ones” as long as you’re willing to toe the line.
It’s not that they are asocial. It’s narcissism, plain and simple.