As long as statists are the majority, humans are probably doomed.
Unless the rest of us are exceptionally powerful in some way.
The debate over TikTok drew me into "conversations" with many government-supremacists, and exposed me to their beliefs about a great many things-- guns, governments, censorship, spyware, propaganda, rights, etc.
Maybe it also exposed them to mine, but from the interactions, I don't think my words were cracking their shells. If anything, maybe some seeds were planted, but I'll never know.
I was told that by criticizing one government it was clear I am a tool of a competing government, no matter how clearly I stated that all political government is evil. All of them are the enemy, but the one that has more power over your daily life is the greater threat to you. This is true for anyone in any place on the planet.
I got called a communist, a Chinese spy, an idiot, and other things.
They (seemingly willfully) misunderstood what I said.
I was treated to government narratives about anti-gun cases that I know to be untrue, just because they thought it supported their side in some way.
I saw elaborate straw men being constructed and artfully burned.
I didn't see logic or rationality.
It doesn't give me a lot of hope for the species.
Maybe we'll be lucky and they'll all kill each other off and some of the rest of us will survive to try again without the superstitious belief in "authority" that has crippled humanity for all these thousands of years. It's unlikely, but probably the only hope.
Show your support.
I think I get why you try to engage in a dialog with your ideological opponents and can recognize that if it should initiate some self-questioning reflection in those receptive that it might even have some utility. The tales that you relay here about your involvement however confirm my experiences with only observances of the ‘herd’ rather than your engagement with them. As you noted in this post, “They (seemingly willfully) misunderstood what I said.” I believe that the real reasons and purpose of their responses had nothing to do with a failure to understand but only with attempts to coerce an obedient compliance with the group think they find safety in conforming to. Such people regard any variation or difference from their adopted norm as a threat that must be condemned if it can’t be ignored. I realized long ago that like the old adage, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”; that while you can expose someone to the truth only they can see, acknowledge and accept it. Regrettably it seems, the majority have no such capacity.
ReplyDeleteProbably the biggest reason why I engage with them is to help me organize and test my own thoughts. I've found it helps me understand why I think as I do better than having a conversation with those who agree with me does. Trying to lay it out-- to people who I know aren't going to follow along no matter what I say-- helps me put the thoughts into order in my own mind.
DeleteIt's not always a pleasant experience, and I have to take breaks. It's work. In the long run, I think it helps me.