Understanding The Conservative Mindset (1 Viewer)

[MT15]

Obviously, I am not conservative. I have been struggling with the way a lot of conservatives are responding to the election. I do not understand their willingness to go along with obvious lies by Trump sycophants at all, and their willingness to undermine a presidential election, and by doing so, undermine our very form of government. This thread is from a former conservative journalist, well, he’s still conservative I think, but has left his positions in traditional conservative organizations. It’s a long thread but fascinating.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

Two, how are good, well-meaning Christians not seeing right through his Bible-waving?

Baffles the hell out of me. I've come to the conclusion that politics have co-opted religion in many churches. And that disgusts me.

Similar to a notion I've expressed before there is a very large subset of people out there who use religion as a proxy/justification for their personal social/political beliefs. Their religion doesn't inform their political beliefs rather their political beliefs attract them to a particular interpretation of religion. They then hold that interpretation out as the ultimate divine truth which cannot be questioned -- a pretty nifty rhetorical slight of hand. Such people are effectively re-fighting The Crusades, only this time in America. The Crusades were never really about religion but they used religion as a tool to justify power-grabs and atrocities.

 

[DaveXA]

Similar to a notion I've expressed before there is a very large subset of people out there who use religion as a proxy/justification for their personal social/political beliefs. Their religion doesn't inform their political beliefs rather their political beliefs attract them to a particular interpretation of religion. They then hold that interpretation out as the ultimate divine truth which cannot be questioned -- a pretty nifty rhetorical slight of hand. Such people are effectively re-fighting The Crusades, only this time in America. The Crusades were never really about religion but they used religion as a tool to justify power-grabs and atrocities.

Well said.

 

[superchuck500]

This is quite a threat - they're going to leave schools and universities 'cause liberals.

 

[DaveXA]

This is quite a threat - they're going to leave schools and universities 'cause liberals.

Don't let the door hit ya...bye!

 

[Sandman]

This is quite a threat - they're going to leave schools and universities 'cause liberals.

Says the guy who got his degree from Dartmouth. Keep them stupid. Keep them in line.

 

[Denzien]

Except Trumpers don't. To them, the U.S. can go eff itself because this is about Good vs Evil on a cosmic plane. Evil must be opposed, repudiated and defeated by any and all means.

This is what all partisan thinkers believe. The fringes of the left and right for whom politics is not just a way of life, but a tool to ensure everyone lives in specific ways.

Opinion | The Real Divide in America Is Between Political Junkies and Everyone Else (Published 2020)

Most Americans view politics as two camps bickering endlessly and fruitlessly over unimportant issues.

www.nytimes.com

For partisans, politics is a morality play, a struggle of good versus evil. But most Americans just see two angry groups of people bickering over issues that may not always seem pressing or important.

 

[LivefromDC]

This is what all partisan thinkers believe. The fringes of the left and right for whom politics is not just a way of life, but a tool to ensure everyone lives in specific ways.

Opinion | The Real Divide in America Is Between Political Junkies and Everyone Else (Published 2020)

Most Americans view politics as two camps bickering endlessly and fruitlessly over unimportant issues.

www.nytimes.com

Oh look, it's the tried and true GOP Both sides argument. Whenever you can't deny that the Republican party is doing something hideous in nature fall back on the "Both Sides" argument.

 

[DaveXA]

Oh look, it's the tried and true GOP Both sides argument. Whenever you can't deny that the Republican party is doing something hideous in nature fall back on the "Both Sides" argument.

Well, when that's all you have, you use it i guess.

 

[Denzien]

Oh look, it's the tried and true GOP Both sides argument. Whenever you can't deny that the Republican party is doing something hideous in nature fall back on the "Both Sides" argument.

GOP?

 

[Denzien]

Well, when that's all you have, you use it i guess.

So, you disagree that political extremes see their adversaries as evil, and their own causes as morally justified, sometimes regardless of the means to achieve them?

 

[Taurus]

So, you disagree that political extremes see their adversaries as evil, and their own causes as morally justified, sometimes regardless of the means to achieve them?

The difference being that conservatives A: latch onto authority far more powerfully and B: American (and Middle-Eastern) conservatives believe dissenters are on the side of the actual, literal Devil.
Anything that hurts the Devil is by definition Godly and therefore good. It's how you get to a place where an 'anointed' leader like Trump could shoot someone and his base would believe they had it coming.

 

[Denzien]

The difference being that conservatives A: latch onto authority far more powerfully

Do they? The modern left, from my perspective, is extremely authoritarian - but they're justified because they're "right".
This is not to discount what you've said about Conservatives of course - I have plenty of relatives who fit your description and it's scary. Just as scary are calls to document all Trump supporters for later prosecution.

Personally, I don't see a difference between the two sides of the majority. You're both the same to me. You just have different agendas.
So it's amusing to me when I see one side calling out the other for things they themselves are guilty of.
Conservatives call me a liberal. Liberals call me a conservative (in this very thread, no less). I just want to be left alone, but you each keep invading my life.

 

[brandon]

Do they? The modern left, from my perspective, is extremely authoritarian

Can you expound a bit on how you reached this conclusion?

 

[DaveXA]

Do they? The modern left, from my perspective, is extremely authoritarian - but they're justified because they're "right".
This is not to discount what you've said about Conservatives of course - I have plenty of relatives who fit your description and it's scary. Just as scary are calls to document all Trump supporters for later prosecution.

Personally, I don't see a difference between the two sides of the majority. You're both the same to me. You just have different agendas.
So it's amusing to me when I see one side calling out the other for things they themselves are guilty of.
Conservatives call me a liberal. Liberals call me a conservative (in this very thread, no less). I just want to be left alone, but you each keep invading my life.

I'm curious though, how exactly are one or both sides invading your life?

 

[DaveXA]

Can you expound a bit on how you reached this conclusion?

Oh make no mistake, the left has their own rules. They're different than the right, but they're definitely rules shaped by their own worldview. That much is obvious.

 

[zztop]

So it's amusing to me when I see one side calling out the other for things they themselves are guilty of.

can you give some examples?

 

[Richard]

Is this where I get to chime in to point out that the people described in this thread may call themselves conservatives, but they are not truly conservatives? They are a muddled stew of ultra-libertarians, populists, religious demagogues, conspiracy enthusiasts and individualists who reject quite a few of the basic tenets of conservatism. The very concept of putting the desires and interests of a singular elected official above the best interests of the nation as a whole should solidify their position as anti-conservative and certainly causes me to question their commitment to the preservation of our nation as a constitutional republic.

If this wasn't clear enough, I reject that any of what you see from congressional Republicans lately and from self-identifying Republicans loyal to Trump above all else as being conservative.

 

[superchuck500]

I find myself often wondering about this seemingly high correlation between what some of the most enthusiastic Trump "conservatives" accuse their perceived enemies of doing and them actually doing it. I think there's some psychology to the idea that perhaps those who seem to over-accuse people of aberrant/immoral behavior do so because they can easily imagine themselves doing it that it seems more common than it actually is. Often they actually do end up doing it at some point.