This is an argument I've come across recently, and I wanted to address it. In regards to the current administration's immigration policy, "I like immigrants, I just expect them to follow the law" (e.g., to seek and not circumvent legal citizenship), is a bad faith argument. It's an underhanded attempt to legitimize an illegitimate stance (like saying that preventing access to contraceptive health care options has anything to do with being "pro-life", and not anti-freedom), but it is a strategy that conservatives in this country wield frequently and - unfortunately - quite effectively.
The reason this strategy works is because the argument is sound - it's just deliberately misplaced. As I learned while studying philosophy in college, an argument founded on untrue premises can lead logically to a conclusion that is, however, very much untrue. If all ICE were doing was humanely deporting undocumented immigrants, then a focus on proper documentation would be a valid stance. One that you could agree or disagree with (personally, I think the harms are exaggerated, and I support a more empathetic solution in line with our country's historical character), but a valid one nonetheless.
They want you to think that this is all ICE is doing, because it's the only way they can at least pretend their argument has any real footing. But that's not what's really going on. In addition to their purported duties, ICE has been abducting documented immigrants, harassing and assaulting natural born citizens, spreading terror in American communities disproportionately inhabited by Democratic voters (this is not a coincidence), overstepping their authority as border guards (and not domestic law enforcement), recruiting with abysmally low standards and providing inadequate training, eschewing any commitment to transparency (while the administration boldly lies to the contrary) with regards to what goes on inside ICE facilities, how detainees are treated, and what happens to them when they are deported.
All of this is beyond the scope of merely enforcing the law as it is written, and this is what the American people are protesting. For the sake of all that is Good in the world, a white woman was just shot to death in the face by an ICE agent without due cause (the video evidence is all over the internet, so you can judge for yourself), and the administration - up to and including the office of the President of the United States himself - is spreading lies any citizen can debunk with their own eyes, maliciously slandering the innocent woman who was killed, and granting unqualified immunity to her shooter, while obstructing any and all attempts by local or state law enforcement to properly investigate the crime.
This is what enrages us! And conservatives are standing behind all of this egregious behavior, twisting themselves into pretzels to justify this state-sanctioned execution of a law-abiding citizen (in broad daylight!), utilizing bad faith arguments to create the illusion that this is a two-sided issue. And it is an illusion. A thinly-veiled one, at that. And as long as we permit this regime to continue to circumvent the law (and any standard of human decency) without repercussion, these people will continue to be emboldened to sink to new depths of depravity.
I don't know about you, but having armed agents of the federal government in our streets, disappearing people without public trial, and able to murder law-abiding citizens with immunity, doesn't sound like democracy to me. It sounds an awful lot like a fascist state. And I'm terrified, because every step we take is another step closer to becoming a country which has the social infrastructure and legal precedent for everyday bigots to commit deadly hate crimes against minorities, and get away with it! Make no mistake. The real domestic terrorists are the armed thugs occupying our cities. Resisting them by nonviolent means - up to and including trying to escape what could be a deadly encounter with them - cannot be described as anything other than a patriotic act in defense of our fundamental liberties.
---
Before I finish, I have to address the mask issue, because it's another crystalline example of conservatives engaging in bad faith (isn't that a perfect description of conservatism on the whole - "bad faith"?), as well as their failure to hold to any kind of consistent principle. People have raised concerns about the way ICE agents - unlike regular law enforcement - are frequently masked, and reluctant to provide identification. I don't know what purpose is served by these agents wearing masks, but one can easily imagine that it increases their intimidation factor, while also shielding them from accountability for their actions as agents of the state - which is a reflection of the overall lack of transparency endemic to this agency (and the regime overall). On what grounds do conservatives defend these agents wearing masks when, during the COVID pandemic, they openly mocked and insulted progressives for doing the same thing?
Now, the issue here isn't whether you are for masks or against masks all the time or in any situation. It's a question of purpose. During the pandemic, the purpose of wearing a mask was to prevent the spread of an infectious disease. Why did conservatives reject masks then, yet support them now? (Other than to brainlessly counter whatever rational argument a progressive might make). Here are the facts: then, progressives wanted to prevent the spread of a potentially fatal illness; now, they want agents of the state to be held accountable for their actions. To disagree with these positions (as conservatives do) is to support the spread of disease, to value the intimidation of conscientious, law-abiding citizens by federalized agents with guns, and to reject accountaibility when those agents break the law, and violate our civil rights.
I know I'm biased - as we all are. But I just don't see how you can look at the facts and not come to the objective conclusion that conservatives are fundamentally evil - antisocial bullies who value chaos and the suffering of innocents. I know they say similar things about progressives - that we're leftist radicals who've taken leave of our senses. But again, there are not two sides to this issue. One of us is arguing in bad faith, and the other is not. One of us is right, and the other is wrong. The distinction is blatantly obvious, and it's not even close. The only way I can explain it is that - contrary to an idealistic view of the inherent good in humanity - in any population there are bound to be a range of people from the good to the bad. And it would seem that bad people are just inherently drawn to conservative politics.
Which side are you on?
13 January, 2026
08 January, 2026
A Very Unhappy New Year
Democracy is governance of, by, and for the people. When federal agents mistakenly believe that they work for the president (a man who, himself, believes he is beholden to no one), and not the people, the inevitable result is that they will eventually be used as a weapon against the people. This is the truest perversion of democracy imaginable. I'm posting today for no other reason than I want this to be documented for posterity. Three weeks past the legal deadline, the Epstein files are still being slow-dripped with extensive redactions, in a blatant disregard for justice and accountability. We are barely a week into the New Year, and already Trump has started a war by abducting the president of another country; is threatening the military takeover of a NATO ally, which puts global security at risk, mounting tensions for a third world war; and today I am glued to YouTube watching rioters in Minneapolis because federal agents have begun gunning down US citizens in our streets, while the regime is busy spreading propaganda (read: their usual, egregious lies) to spin the situation in their favor. Ladies and gentlemen, it has arrived. Welcome to the Fascist American Dystopia.
13 November, 2025
Advanced Brain Rot
I know it's important to stay balanced. On the other hand, the scales in our country are tipped so far right now (with the emphasis on "far right"), it can be hard to recognize what balance truly is. There's certainly an argument to be made for the stance that fascism doesn't deserve a seat at the bargaining table. With that in mind, I keep myself mercifully insulated from much of MAGA culture, getting my daily dose of psychotherapy from a medical cocktail of Stewart, Colbert, and Kimmell. That said, it CAN be useful to understand the opposition ("know thine enemy"), EVEN when they're batshit insane.
Still, it was a nonconsensual encounter when I came face to face with a pro-Trump meme on Facebook recently that so completely missed reality, that I had to sit there and stare at it agape for full moments before coming back to my senses. My respect for the person who posted it (without any apparent explanation) plummeted, though it wasn't that high to begin with, in the modern political landscape. Still, I was curious enough to check the comments - big mistake, I know, but I guess I was hoping to get some kind of context for the meme, to see if there was some angle I was missing, that could help make it make sense. And what I saw was eye-opening, but not in the way I expected. Not in a good way, either, mind you.
At the tail end of a government shutdown (induced by an utter and unprecendented refusal of the Republican majority in Congress to prevent Americans' healthcare costs from skyrocketing), in which scores of federal workers have gone unpaid for well over a month, and at a time when many working families were facing the prospect of not being able to afford to FEED their kids, this meme said "stop Trump - before we all end up with jobs." Honestly, I thought it was supposed to be sarcastic, but it was too simplistic. There was no clever jab. No subtle reference. And the comments confirmed it.
At this point, I expect the MAGA Republic to twist everything that comes out of the political news cycle to their advantage, no matter how many pretzels they have to bend reality into. What I wasn't expecting was just how out of touch so many of those people were. And I don't mean that they don't know what's real or what's fake. I mean, they're not even paying attention to what's going on. They're not twisting facts, only because they're not aware of the facts in the first place. The overwhelming majority of comments on that post included one or more of the following phrases: "end SNAP", "lazy freeloaders", and "get a job". (I mean, it's no stretch to imagine these people cheering Trump on when he recently demanded that air traffic controllers work without pay). Like, this is SO far removed from anything even remotely like what's happening in the country right now.
You can't even argue to these people that Trump and the Republicans are historically piss-poor at giving regular people an opportunity to work for a living wage, because they're heads are so far up their asses they can't even tell if it's day or night! I can't help imagining them all as frail, 80 year olds who can't see or hear, and are so locked in to what their textbooks said when they were in fifth grade in the 1950s, that nothing else is able to penetrate their thick skulls. I know this isn't a kind assessment, but I won't say it's not fair. It speaks for itself.
I don't love the Democratic party unconditionally. They have LOTS of problems, and I'm happy to point them out. Because we NEED to work on them. But what I've seen lately within the anti-Trump protest movement is at least people responding to reality. We don't all have the answers, and we're not all immune to misinformation or letting our emotions rule the day (although our anger is righteous). But at least we're trying! We're not locked into one outdated worldview that resembles nothing in the world today, and unwilling to let anything else shatter that delusion about what's important. I mean, what is it that traumatized so many people so badly, that to this day the ONLY thing they care about (above and beyond what's in front of their eyes) is some mythological free-loading "commie"?
I can't even. Are these people so dumb, and so adled with age? And why are these people disproportionately represented at the polls? I swear, you should have to pass a cognitive test, as well as a civics test (on modern events) to be allowed to vote. I know that sounds bad, but what else can we do? How else can we stop idiocracy? The people running this country have a tenuous grip on reality (at best), and positively no clue what's going on. It's like the train conductor has put a blind-fold on himself. One thing you don't learn as an intelligent person - probably because you never encountered anyone smart enough to know and teach you - is how much you'll be gobsmacked in life by how incredibly dumb the human animal is, time and time again. The breadth and depth of stupidity is consistently appalling.
Addendum:
I've had a little more time to process this, and it occurs to me that these people literally believe that people are on food assistance because they're too lazy to work. Children are going hungry, and these people are celebrating because they think they deserve it! They want SNAP to end, because they think it will motivate people to get a job. They SUPPORT Trump cutting off funds, as if it's good for the country's wellbeing. They are so deluded! They don't understand how SNAP boosts the economy. They don't understand how many people on SNAP already work. They don't understand the extent to which the working class is exploited so the rich can get richer.
And there's no consideration given to the federal workers forced out of a job, or to work without pay, not to mention the key issue which is affordable health care. What's humane about people not being able to afford to get treated when they're sick? They must think people only get sick because they deserve it. Which is ludicrous - don't they have personal experience with these things? Most of them are working class. Nobody goes through life without having health problems, and knowing people with health problems. How can they be so absolutely dumb, when that stupidity is so incredibly dangerous to humanity?
You just get stuck in your bubble of empathy, and you forget that there are actually human beings out there - a lot of them - who do not have empathy, and do not experience any guilt or shame about not having empathy. That's not rhetoric. That's not exaggeration. That's cold, hard reality. These people are dumb, and mean, and they're being tapped like batteries by people with power and authority to hurt the entire country. And I feel like I'm just pissing in the wind here, because complaining about it doesn't change shit, and the injustice just continues on. (While these asshats - including people in my own family - that are hurting people and destroying the country, are laughing gleefully at my frustration).
And what little satisfaction accompanied my realization of these things - putting pieces together and understanding better how the opposition thinks - has been completely replaced now by an utter and abject despair. I'm so sick of this country's politics, and the very real wounds it's causing in people's lives, even cutting off former friends and tearing families apart. The divide is real. Welcome to the fall of the United States.
Still, it was a nonconsensual encounter when I came face to face with a pro-Trump meme on Facebook recently that so completely missed reality, that I had to sit there and stare at it agape for full moments before coming back to my senses. My respect for the person who posted it (without any apparent explanation) plummeted, though it wasn't that high to begin with, in the modern political landscape. Still, I was curious enough to check the comments - big mistake, I know, but I guess I was hoping to get some kind of context for the meme, to see if there was some angle I was missing, that could help make it make sense. And what I saw was eye-opening, but not in the way I expected. Not in a good way, either, mind you.
At the tail end of a government shutdown (induced by an utter and unprecendented refusal of the Republican majority in Congress to prevent Americans' healthcare costs from skyrocketing), in which scores of federal workers have gone unpaid for well over a month, and at a time when many working families were facing the prospect of not being able to afford to FEED their kids, this meme said "stop Trump - before we all end up with jobs." Honestly, I thought it was supposed to be sarcastic, but it was too simplistic. There was no clever jab. No subtle reference. And the comments confirmed it.
At this point, I expect the MAGA Republic to twist everything that comes out of the political news cycle to their advantage, no matter how many pretzels they have to bend reality into. What I wasn't expecting was just how out of touch so many of those people were. And I don't mean that they don't know what's real or what's fake. I mean, they're not even paying attention to what's going on. They're not twisting facts, only because they're not aware of the facts in the first place. The overwhelming majority of comments on that post included one or more of the following phrases: "end SNAP", "lazy freeloaders", and "get a job". (I mean, it's no stretch to imagine these people cheering Trump on when he recently demanded that air traffic controllers work without pay). Like, this is SO far removed from anything even remotely like what's happening in the country right now.
You can't even argue to these people that Trump and the Republicans are historically piss-poor at giving regular people an opportunity to work for a living wage, because they're heads are so far up their asses they can't even tell if it's day or night! I can't help imagining them all as frail, 80 year olds who can't see or hear, and are so locked in to what their textbooks said when they were in fifth grade in the 1950s, that nothing else is able to penetrate their thick skulls. I know this isn't a kind assessment, but I won't say it's not fair. It speaks for itself.
I don't love the Democratic party unconditionally. They have LOTS of problems, and I'm happy to point them out. Because we NEED to work on them. But what I've seen lately within the anti-Trump protest movement is at least people responding to reality. We don't all have the answers, and we're not all immune to misinformation or letting our emotions rule the day (although our anger is righteous). But at least we're trying! We're not locked into one outdated worldview that resembles nothing in the world today, and unwilling to let anything else shatter that delusion about what's important. I mean, what is it that traumatized so many people so badly, that to this day the ONLY thing they care about (above and beyond what's in front of their eyes) is some mythological free-loading "commie"?
I can't even. Are these people so dumb, and so adled with age? And why are these people disproportionately represented at the polls? I swear, you should have to pass a cognitive test, as well as a civics test (on modern events) to be allowed to vote. I know that sounds bad, but what else can we do? How else can we stop idiocracy? The people running this country have a tenuous grip on reality (at best), and positively no clue what's going on. It's like the train conductor has put a blind-fold on himself. One thing you don't learn as an intelligent person - probably because you never encountered anyone smart enough to know and teach you - is how much you'll be gobsmacked in life by how incredibly dumb the human animal is, time and time again. The breadth and depth of stupidity is consistently appalling.
Addendum:
I've had a little more time to process this, and it occurs to me that these people literally believe that people are on food assistance because they're too lazy to work. Children are going hungry, and these people are celebrating because they think they deserve it! They want SNAP to end, because they think it will motivate people to get a job. They SUPPORT Trump cutting off funds, as if it's good for the country's wellbeing. They are so deluded! They don't understand how SNAP boosts the economy. They don't understand how many people on SNAP already work. They don't understand the extent to which the working class is exploited so the rich can get richer.
And there's no consideration given to the federal workers forced out of a job, or to work without pay, not to mention the key issue which is affordable health care. What's humane about people not being able to afford to get treated when they're sick? They must think people only get sick because they deserve it. Which is ludicrous - don't they have personal experience with these things? Most of them are working class. Nobody goes through life without having health problems, and knowing people with health problems. How can they be so absolutely dumb, when that stupidity is so incredibly dangerous to humanity?
You just get stuck in your bubble of empathy, and you forget that there are actually human beings out there - a lot of them - who do not have empathy, and do not experience any guilt or shame about not having empathy. That's not rhetoric. That's not exaggeration. That's cold, hard reality. These people are dumb, and mean, and they're being tapped like batteries by people with power and authority to hurt the entire country. And I feel like I'm just pissing in the wind here, because complaining about it doesn't change shit, and the injustice just continues on. (While these asshats - including people in my own family - that are hurting people and destroying the country, are laughing gleefully at my frustration).
And what little satisfaction accompanied my realization of these things - putting pieces together and understanding better how the opposition thinks - has been completely replaced now by an utter and abject despair. I'm so sick of this country's politics, and the very real wounds it's causing in people's lives, even cutting off former friends and tearing families apart. The divide is real. Welcome to the fall of the United States.
04 November, 2025
Losing Friends Over Politics
A lot of people seem to treat morality and ethics as pretty much interchangeable. But I think there's a meaningful difference between the two. I've written about this before. In my conception, morals are essentially the private beliefs (no matter where they originate, or how many people with which they are shared) a person has about what constitutes "righteousness" or virtue. It should be used as a guide for one's actions and choices in life. This is a function of religion in my view - I know there are people who disagree, but God isn't a collective concept. It's a personal relationship that nobody else gets to define but you.
Ethics, on the other hand, are the general rules we agree to follow in order to co-exist peacefully with one another. Take the golden rule, for example. It governs how you treat others, not the decisions you make that determine the direction of your own life. Because these are guidelines we are all expected to follow in order to keep things running smoothly, they need to be collectively agreed upon (to a reasonable degree). There are some who think the state should meddle in matters of religion, but the document our democracy was founded upon disagrees - and so do I.
It doesn't seem right, then, that politics should be off the table of polite discussion, the way that religion is. Religion is personal, and powerful. It doesn't require consensus. But politics is about how we construct the society we all must live together in. If you're afraid to discuss your political beliefs because you think you might lose friends or family over it, then I think maybe you need to reconsider your political beliefs and what they say about you as a person. If you're not working together with the rest of the people at the table, then maybe you don't deserve to share in their company.
Ethics, on the other hand, are the general rules we agree to follow in order to co-exist peacefully with one another. Take the golden rule, for example. It governs how you treat others, not the decisions you make that determine the direction of your own life. Because these are guidelines we are all expected to follow in order to keep things running smoothly, they need to be collectively agreed upon (to a reasonable degree). There are some who think the state should meddle in matters of religion, but the document our democracy was founded upon disagrees - and so do I.
It doesn't seem right, then, that politics should be off the table of polite discussion, the way that religion is. Religion is personal, and powerful. It doesn't require consensus. But politics is about how we construct the society we all must live together in. If you're afraid to discuss your political beliefs because you think you might lose friends or family over it, then I think maybe you need to reconsider your political beliefs and what they say about you as a person. If you're not working together with the rest of the people at the table, then maybe you don't deserve to share in their company.
21 October, 2025
No Kings 2.0
It was a beautiful day. You couldn't have asked for nicer weather in the middle of October. I made it to three separate protests in all - which is cool, because I was able to experience a different vibe with each one (I even had the chance to honk at some overpass protesters coming into the city via the parkway!).
The first one was downtown, on the streets in front of the City Council Building. It was just the protest rally vibe I was looking for. For the second one, I walked across town to the North Shore. Held in a city park, it very much had a "summer festival" vibe - with people sitting on the grass, dancers and musicians in addition to speakers, and even food trucks!
Then I zipped over and stood on the side of a busy highway for an hour holding up my signs. We got a lotta honkers, but also a lot of thumbs-down and middle fingers. The fact that anyone could give our fundamental American values the middle finger is deeply distressing. The best case scenario is that they're so brainwashed by propaganda, that they don't realize what they're doing - that's the BEST case scenario. And it's still not a good one.
But to see all the people today who came out to support our democracy was heartening. So many different people with so many different, creative signs. The one thing that stands out more than anything about this movement, is the "intersectionality of outrage". This isn't a single issue protest. It's not even a few issues protest. There are so many different things to be outraged about.
The assault on free speech. Abuse of the military. Vindictive lay-offs. Evasion of criminal justice. The abhorrent behavior displayed toward racial minorities. Attacks on women's rights. Marginalization of LGBT populations. A general disregard for science. The abysmal state of health care. Lack of support for labor unions. And the lies. Oh, so many egregious lies*.
Just about everyone has a legitimate gripe with this authoritarian regime except the billionaires who are profiting from it. And while this protest has been painted as a partisan movement, the actual reality is that we should ALL be united under the banner of #NoKings. The true divide isn't left vs. right, it's top vs. bottom. I wish the rest of us would realize that already, so we can stop fighting amongst ourselves, and topple the oligarchy - for the benefit of we, the people.
*Lying seems like a minor infraction compared to everything else, but I honestly believe it's the worst part. It's not without good reason that it's been said that the death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. Two people could fight about whether a third person deserves human rights - I mean, I think that argument has a clear winner, but apparently there are people in this world who disagree - but if those two people can't agree on a shared reality, they'll never find common ground. It's like putting two fighters in a ring, and then removing the floor.
Make no mistake, deception is the shadow that evil actors use to cloak their misdeeds - misdeeds that would NEVER fly if brought out into the light. And the most insidious form of deception is psychological manipulation - when you've been so brainwashed that even when a thing is presented to you clearly, you see it as something different, because your own mind has been hijacked. You require the filter of your leader and his goons to interpret evidence before you, having lost all independent evaluation and common sense. This is textbook cult behavior.
Of course, because you're being manipulated, you'll accuse your opponents of the same thing. What sets us apart, then? What can resolve this conundrum? Only objective reality. I'm willing to question my biases and have an honest conversation. Are you willing to do the same?
For example, our movement didn't land on the accusation of fascism just because it sounds damning. We reached that conclusion based on overwhelming evidence. You have a big job debunking that one, but go ahead and try. Unless you can pull it off, "if the shoe fits..." On the other hand, calling our political protest (exercising a Constitutional right) a "hate America rally" is so obviously untrue, and designed to manipulate. Do you even HAVE a counter argument for that one, or are you just going to ignore it becuse you know you'll lose a point?
I have plenty of criticisms of the liberal platform, and I'm willing to talk about them (so you can't say I'm a brainwashed dupe), but they're pretty minor compared to the atrocities the right is committing. And their fundamental principles are inherently more humane. How can you even argue against the virtue of empathy? ESPECIALLY if you call yourself Christian? I honestly believe the alternative is so horrible, that people can't realistically face up to it, so they burn off parts of their brain to avoid admitting they just want to take selfishly at the expense of others.
I get that you want the world to be simple. But it's not simple. And neither are people. Gender and sexuality are complicated. Forcing them into boxes to preserve your narrow understanding is a denial of reality that hurts real people (and limits your own vision of reality!). It's okay if you don't understand it, but when did giving people the freedom to live their own lives their own way become a bad thing - dare I say, an un-American thing? You don't like freedom? Sure, it goes against your small-minded view of "God's plan". But if you're American, freedom comes first. Even the freedom to choose your own God. If you disagree with that statement, you are factually un-American, in the most fundamental way - the Constitutional way.
I just want you to answer these challenges. Not ignore them and bury your head in the sand. Because if you can't, if you're not smart enough, then why would you not defer to somebody who's smarter than you? I have legitimate complaints about your ideology. Fundamental, world-shattering inconsistencies. If you continue to shrug it off, that is an acceptance of defeat. Your silence speaks volumes. So if you're wrong, and you know you're wrong, because you don't even have a thing to say in your defense, then why do you persist in letting your egoistic delusions affect other people's lives in very real and measurable ways? ANSWER ME!
The first one was downtown, on the streets in front of the City Council Building. It was just the protest rally vibe I was looking for. For the second one, I walked across town to the North Shore. Held in a city park, it very much had a "summer festival" vibe - with people sitting on the grass, dancers and musicians in addition to speakers, and even food trucks!
Then I zipped over and stood on the side of a busy highway for an hour holding up my signs. We got a lotta honkers, but also a lot of thumbs-down and middle fingers. The fact that anyone could give our fundamental American values the middle finger is deeply distressing. The best case scenario is that they're so brainwashed by propaganda, that they don't realize what they're doing - that's the BEST case scenario. And it's still not a good one.
But to see all the people today who came out to support our democracy was heartening. So many different people with so many different, creative signs. The one thing that stands out more than anything about this movement, is the "intersectionality of outrage". This isn't a single issue protest. It's not even a few issues protest. There are so many different things to be outraged about.
The assault on free speech. Abuse of the military. Vindictive lay-offs. Evasion of criminal justice. The abhorrent behavior displayed toward racial minorities. Attacks on women's rights. Marginalization of LGBT populations. A general disregard for science. The abysmal state of health care. Lack of support for labor unions. And the lies. Oh, so many egregious lies*.
Just about everyone has a legitimate gripe with this authoritarian regime except the billionaires who are profiting from it. And while this protest has been painted as a partisan movement, the actual reality is that we should ALL be united under the banner of #NoKings. The true divide isn't left vs. right, it's top vs. bottom. I wish the rest of us would realize that already, so we can stop fighting amongst ourselves, and topple the oligarchy - for the benefit of we, the people.
*Lying seems like a minor infraction compared to everything else, but I honestly believe it's the worst part. It's not without good reason that it's been said that the death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. Two people could fight about whether a third person deserves human rights - I mean, I think that argument has a clear winner, but apparently there are people in this world who disagree - but if those two people can't agree on a shared reality, they'll never find common ground. It's like putting two fighters in a ring, and then removing the floor.
Make no mistake, deception is the shadow that evil actors use to cloak their misdeeds - misdeeds that would NEVER fly if brought out into the light. And the most insidious form of deception is psychological manipulation - when you've been so brainwashed that even when a thing is presented to you clearly, you see it as something different, because your own mind has been hijacked. You require the filter of your leader and his goons to interpret evidence before you, having lost all independent evaluation and common sense. This is textbook cult behavior.
Of course, because you're being manipulated, you'll accuse your opponents of the same thing. What sets us apart, then? What can resolve this conundrum? Only objective reality. I'm willing to question my biases and have an honest conversation. Are you willing to do the same?
For example, our movement didn't land on the accusation of fascism just because it sounds damning. We reached that conclusion based on overwhelming evidence. You have a big job debunking that one, but go ahead and try. Unless you can pull it off, "if the shoe fits..." On the other hand, calling our political protest (exercising a Constitutional right) a "hate America rally" is so obviously untrue, and designed to manipulate. Do you even HAVE a counter argument for that one, or are you just going to ignore it becuse you know you'll lose a point?
I have plenty of criticisms of the liberal platform, and I'm willing to talk about them (so you can't say I'm a brainwashed dupe), but they're pretty minor compared to the atrocities the right is committing. And their fundamental principles are inherently more humane. How can you even argue against the virtue of empathy? ESPECIALLY if you call yourself Christian? I honestly believe the alternative is so horrible, that people can't realistically face up to it, so they burn off parts of their brain to avoid admitting they just want to take selfishly at the expense of others.
I get that you want the world to be simple. But it's not simple. And neither are people. Gender and sexuality are complicated. Forcing them into boxes to preserve your narrow understanding is a denial of reality that hurts real people (and limits your own vision of reality!). It's okay if you don't understand it, but when did giving people the freedom to live their own lives their own way become a bad thing - dare I say, an un-American thing? You don't like freedom? Sure, it goes against your small-minded view of "God's plan". But if you're American, freedom comes first. Even the freedom to choose your own God. If you disagree with that statement, you are factually un-American, in the most fundamental way - the Constitutional way.
I just want you to answer these challenges. Not ignore them and bury your head in the sand. Because if you can't, if you're not smart enough, then why would you not defer to somebody who's smarter than you? I have legitimate complaints about your ideology. Fundamental, world-shattering inconsistencies. If you continue to shrug it off, that is an acceptance of defeat. Your silence speaks volumes. So if you're wrong, and you know you're wrong, because you don't even have a thing to say in your defense, then why do you persist in letting your egoistic delusions affect other people's lives in very real and measurable ways? ANSWER ME!
19 September, 2025
Evil Absence
According to conventional religious doctrine, the problem of evil is resolved by the presence of free will. God lets bad things happen because it's important that we have the freedom to choose good or evil. In the case of tragedies not caused by anybody's choices - like natural disasters, or childhood cancer - it's all part of God's plan. What is God's plan, you ask? We're not allowed to know. Or we couldn't possibly understand. What's important is that in either of these cases, there is no material difference in reality whether there is no God, or there is an unreachable, unknowable God.
Why, then, should we believe in a God, when no God would result in the exact same reality? Because believing it has a positive psychological impact, perhaps? Understand that the question of whether believing in God helps us is very different than the question of whether God exists. In a lot of cases, that belief IS helpful to people - especially people who are coping with grief and tragedy. Because, like air rushing in to fill a void, it provides us with something that is lacking. In other words, we believe in a God because we NEED there to be a God, to make sense of what is unfortunately a senseless reality.
On the other hand, history provides us no shortage of examples of the worst kind of horrors perpetrated for the glory of God. The problem is that blind, unquestioning faith has - as atheist activist Greta Christina once put it - no reality check. It can be (and has been, and continues to be) used as a blanket to cover up the justifications for all manner of atrocities. If it can go both ways, then isn't it better that we stick to a philosophy that's beholden to rational analysis? Reason can be questioned. It can be put on trial. Our judgment may be inferior to God's, but who is fool enough to believe the man who says his own judgment IS God's? Because he figured out how to put on a priest collar? Shouldn't God be able to speak for Himself?
So why does He remain silent? If God exists, why does He permit men to do evil in His name, when He could easily set the record straight? Is such a being even worthy of the title? Worthy of being worshipped? What kind of an egotistical narcissist must He be, to care more that you show your devotion in the absence of any evidence, than He cares to actually be present in our lives and provide guidance to those of us who so desperately need it? He's no better than an absentee father, demanding but undeserving of your love.
Why, then, should we believe in a God, when no God would result in the exact same reality? Because believing it has a positive psychological impact, perhaps? Understand that the question of whether believing in God helps us is very different than the question of whether God exists. In a lot of cases, that belief IS helpful to people - especially people who are coping with grief and tragedy. Because, like air rushing in to fill a void, it provides us with something that is lacking. In other words, we believe in a God because we NEED there to be a God, to make sense of what is unfortunately a senseless reality.
On the other hand, history provides us no shortage of examples of the worst kind of horrors perpetrated for the glory of God. The problem is that blind, unquestioning faith has - as atheist activist Greta Christina once put it - no reality check. It can be (and has been, and continues to be) used as a blanket to cover up the justifications for all manner of atrocities. If it can go both ways, then isn't it better that we stick to a philosophy that's beholden to rational analysis? Reason can be questioned. It can be put on trial. Our judgment may be inferior to God's, but who is fool enough to believe the man who says his own judgment IS God's? Because he figured out how to put on a priest collar? Shouldn't God be able to speak for Himself?
So why does He remain silent? If God exists, why does He permit men to do evil in His name, when He could easily set the record straight? Is such a being even worthy of the title? Worthy of being worshipped? What kind of an egotistical narcissist must He be, to care more that you show your devotion in the absence of any evidence, than He cares to actually be present in our lives and provide guidance to those of us who so desperately need it? He's no better than an absentee father, demanding but undeserving of your love.
01 September, 2025
Thoughts on a Labor Day
"Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life." You'll also never see a single paycheck, because that's not how work works. However, that does describe my lifestyle - though not entirely by choice. I enjoy the flexibility and control over my own time, and the freedom from stress and dealing with other people. But not receiving the capital that our society defines as value has a definite lasting impact on my feeling of self-worth. And that's a significant price to pay for these privileges.
I know there are people out there who work really hard at their jobs. (I also know that how hard you work doesn't necessarily scale with the size of your paycheck). But I also know that I work at least as hard as some people who do get paid a full-time wage (office jobs are notoriously padded with downtime). From my perspective, you can't blame me for thinking that what you're getting paid for isn't the service you provide or the product you create, it's dealing with the stress and the inconvenience of making yourself uncomfortable on somebody else's time. You're trading your soul and your peace of mind for money, a little bit at a time.
And I still envy you, because there are a lot of things I could do with money that would make me and the people I care about happier than they are.* But if my persistent anxiety is any indication, I fear I'd have to conclude that I don't believe it's worth it. I just hate the feeling that I'm a valuable resource - I'm smart, and I'm a hard worker in spite of my avoidant personality - and my life is being wasted because nobody out there is in a position to tap my potential. I want to do big things. I want to matter. But I've seen the future, and I die a nameless nobody. My journey is just a process of learning to accept it. I'll probably even outlive most of the few people who know me and care about me. That is, if my fragile heart doesn't give out way before my time...
---
*Money doesn't buy happiness, but it can offset a lot of unnecessary suffering, and put you in a better position to thrive. You hear about it, but I feel like it's hard to imagine when you live in a bubble. I don't want to out anyone, or embarrass anyone, so I won't name any names, but I've personally known (and in some cases personally helped, despite not even having a job) people who have been unable to afford groceries, to pay their electric bill, to get their air conditioner fixed in the summer, to buy gifts for their kids at Christmas, to hire a lawyer to sue for custody arrangements, to have a place to stay and food to eat and clothes to wear after their house burned down in a fire...
These are, by and large, necessities of living in modern day civilization - not luxuries. I don't approve of all of these people's lifestyle decisions, and not all of them are good at managing money. But I still like them as people, and I don't think they deserve to suffer without the basic necessities of life. It's also hard to say no when people you care about are asking you for help, even when you're barely living above their means. It's a no-win situation. You either enable their vices (like buying them groceries after they've spent all of their own money on cigarettes), or feel like a horrible person (because you're letting them go hungry).
But that's why these difficulties aren't isolated to the people that suffer them. It's the reason I changed my mind about drug laws. I used to think that if somebody wanted to eat poison and destroy themselves, they should have the freedom to do so. But then I saw firsthand the effect that has on your loved ones, who didn't consent to seeing you destroy yourself, but moreover, didn't consent to the financial and emotional drain your destruction would inevitably have on them.
People make dumb decisions sometimes and it hurts more than just themselves. But that's our responsibility as a society, to help each other out. But how can we help each other out when we're stretched so thin that we can barely help ourselves? And yet a few people in this world have obscene stores of money. You think anybody actually deserves that much more money than a person can make working an honest living at a full time job? Billionaires aren't gods. They aren't saints. I believe some people do deserve more than others. But there is no cosmic justice, and we do a horrible job of deciding what anybody deserves or doesn't deserve.
It's why our justice system is a circus court. But I can tell you this, nobody deserves to have a billion or even a million dollars until everybody can afford at least the basic necessities of life. And if you think somebody deserves less because of poor choices they've made, well too bad. Because the people who make good choices and deserve more don't always get it, either. That's just not how the system works. So congratulations for making it in this unfair world. You think you can just vote to keep things more or less the same, so you can go on thriving, as long as it's somebody else who has to suffer for the failures in our system? What a wonderful person you are.
I'm not personable. I prefer to keep to myself mostly. I don't want to suffer for the poor choices other people have made, that I've consciously avoided making. That's why you won't see me opening up a soup kitchen, or inviting refugees into my home. But I'm not putting my head in the sand and saying "I've got mine - that's all that matters." That's why I support social reform. If people can help themselves, then it's less of a burden on me. So, yeah, it's selfish, but it's selfish in the sense that I thrive when other people are thriving, too. Not by profiting off of their misery. Isn't that how society should work?
I know there are people out there who work really hard at their jobs. (I also know that how hard you work doesn't necessarily scale with the size of your paycheck). But I also know that I work at least as hard as some people who do get paid a full-time wage (office jobs are notoriously padded with downtime). From my perspective, you can't blame me for thinking that what you're getting paid for isn't the service you provide or the product you create, it's dealing with the stress and the inconvenience of making yourself uncomfortable on somebody else's time. You're trading your soul and your peace of mind for money, a little bit at a time.
And I still envy you, because there are a lot of things I could do with money that would make me and the people I care about happier than they are.* But if my persistent anxiety is any indication, I fear I'd have to conclude that I don't believe it's worth it. I just hate the feeling that I'm a valuable resource - I'm smart, and I'm a hard worker in spite of my avoidant personality - and my life is being wasted because nobody out there is in a position to tap my potential. I want to do big things. I want to matter. But I've seen the future, and I die a nameless nobody. My journey is just a process of learning to accept it. I'll probably even outlive most of the few people who know me and care about me. That is, if my fragile heart doesn't give out way before my time...
---
*Money doesn't buy happiness, but it can offset a lot of unnecessary suffering, and put you in a better position to thrive. You hear about it, but I feel like it's hard to imagine when you live in a bubble. I don't want to out anyone, or embarrass anyone, so I won't name any names, but I've personally known (and in some cases personally helped, despite not even having a job) people who have been unable to afford groceries, to pay their electric bill, to get their air conditioner fixed in the summer, to buy gifts for their kids at Christmas, to hire a lawyer to sue for custody arrangements, to have a place to stay and food to eat and clothes to wear after their house burned down in a fire...
These are, by and large, necessities of living in modern day civilization - not luxuries. I don't approve of all of these people's lifestyle decisions, and not all of them are good at managing money. But I still like them as people, and I don't think they deserve to suffer without the basic necessities of life. It's also hard to say no when people you care about are asking you for help, even when you're barely living above their means. It's a no-win situation. You either enable their vices (like buying them groceries after they've spent all of their own money on cigarettes), or feel like a horrible person (because you're letting them go hungry).
But that's why these difficulties aren't isolated to the people that suffer them. It's the reason I changed my mind about drug laws. I used to think that if somebody wanted to eat poison and destroy themselves, they should have the freedom to do so. But then I saw firsthand the effect that has on your loved ones, who didn't consent to seeing you destroy yourself, but moreover, didn't consent to the financial and emotional drain your destruction would inevitably have on them.
People make dumb decisions sometimes and it hurts more than just themselves. But that's our responsibility as a society, to help each other out. But how can we help each other out when we're stretched so thin that we can barely help ourselves? And yet a few people in this world have obscene stores of money. You think anybody actually deserves that much more money than a person can make working an honest living at a full time job? Billionaires aren't gods. They aren't saints. I believe some people do deserve more than others. But there is no cosmic justice, and we do a horrible job of deciding what anybody deserves or doesn't deserve.
It's why our justice system is a circus court. But I can tell you this, nobody deserves to have a billion or even a million dollars until everybody can afford at least the basic necessities of life. And if you think somebody deserves less because of poor choices they've made, well too bad. Because the people who make good choices and deserve more don't always get it, either. That's just not how the system works. So congratulations for making it in this unfair world. You think you can just vote to keep things more or less the same, so you can go on thriving, as long as it's somebody else who has to suffer for the failures in our system? What a wonderful person you are.
I'm not personable. I prefer to keep to myself mostly. I don't want to suffer for the poor choices other people have made, that I've consciously avoided making. That's why you won't see me opening up a soup kitchen, or inviting refugees into my home. But I'm not putting my head in the sand and saying "I've got mine - that's all that matters." That's why I support social reform. If people can help themselves, then it's less of a burden on me. So, yeah, it's selfish, but it's selfish in the sense that I thrive when other people are thriving, too. Not by profiting off of their misery. Isn't that how society should work?
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