6 votes

Truth and consequences: In complicated times, a case for more skepticism

2 comments

  1. [2]
    BuckeyeSundae
    Link
    Naturally, there is inherent irony in uncritically praising an article claiming we should be more skeptical, but who would I be if I didn't occasionally commit to ironic positions? More...

    Naturally, there is inherent irony in uncritically praising an article claiming we should be more skeptical, but who would I be if I didn't occasionally commit to ironic positions?

    More skepticism! No way to know all that you don't know, etc., etc. More wisdom in knowing you don't know than in pretending to know, etc.

    All these platitudes I already hold onto with firm, unshakeable certainty. I refuse to reflect on the inherent contradiction.

    Damn.

    2 votes
    1. BuckeyeSundae
      Link Parent
      More to the point of the article, I've been thinking about this supposed fracturing between two parallel societies talk a lot the past few years, and I got to say I'm not convinced it actually is....

      More to the point of the article, I've been thinking about this supposed fracturing between two parallel societies talk a lot the past few years, and I got to say I'm not convinced it actually is. What seems more true is that we continue to have very real, structural classism that prevents people from interacting in a genuine, non-rude way. You have partisans who for their own selfish reasons seek to drive the wedge between left and right even further than it really is to motivate their bases, and you have the mass of people in between who largely still don't care--much to the partisan chagrin.

      The stress points that lead to people breaking social contact with their loved ones ratcheted up this last election cycle, but let's not pretend it's something new or at an unprecedented level. We had people literally getting caned to death in the 1850s for opposing racism in the south, with partisans reacting by sending the murderer replacement canes. We had periods in the 1880s and 1890s where incredibly fierce fights over a silver or gold standard left massive rifts between families. We've had moments in the 1900s and 1920s and 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s where to even smell like a communist was enough to be ostracized from any mainstream media, and to find yourself a political outcast, and where issues of communism and racism became interlinked in a convenient catch all to dismiss people whose views varied from the norm.

      Color me unimpressed with the hand-wringing of modern political pundits about the rift between left and right, or urban and rural. There is no class of people in this country who is worse at predicting future outcomes than pundits, no class of people more self-interested in saying the outrageous thing, and few classes of people less interested in historical precedent.

      3 votes