Conservation of self worth. pt2

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

AKA "What my prior post has to do with actual politics".

I have a very low opinion of progressive/left-wing ideology. Please note that this is not the same thing as having a low opinion of progressives as people.

Now I understand that upon reading the above sentence some people will feel compelled to stop reading and bombard the comments section with macros and napalm. However I feel that in order to have a constructive, adult, conversation about an ideology one must first try to understand the underlying assumptions of the person holding it. This was my reasoning behind posting yesterday's piece of exposition.

The question on lips of those progressives/leftists who are still reading is probably something like "How can Sandwich' (and conservatives in general) be such a horrible person(people)? Doesn't he understand that we are trying to make the world a better place?"

I will do my best to answer.

As illustrated in yesterday's story I believe that changing one's circumstances is largely a matter of outlook and applied will. By extension I believe that people have free will. (some may beg to differ that's a topic for another post)

The left side of my brain understands that this is largely a conceit designed to give life meaning and justify a sense of self worth depite being nothing but a random scrap of biological material in a ultimately doomed universe, but the right side of my brain says that as conceits go it's not bad, or particularly uncommon, so just go with it.

That's Great, but what does it have to do with politics?

I have gathered from numerous comments and blog posts that most progressives simply can not wrap their heads around why someone who is not a rich white banker would be conservative. Ironically the answer is in how they frame the argument.

When you say that the government needs to solve problem X or bail-out/support group Y there is an underlying implication/assumption that the people involved are incapable of solving the problem or helping themselves. Some progressives go so far as to make it part of their platform Now I'm not going to goi into whether or not this is in fact true but it is worth noting that implying that someone is weak/incompetent is not the best way to make new friends. Like wise the whole concept of the government as a protector/parent is predicated on the idea that the majority of citizens are unable to function as an adults.

You want the government to forgive student debt or help people who are underwater on their mortgages? That's great and I admire the sentiment. However consider the message this sends to those who lived within their means and paid (or are paying) off their debts.

I freely admit that there are many conservative who are motivated by Greed, Religion, or simple tribalism, but there are just as many if not more who feel that the idea of "personal responsibility as a virtue" is under attack and as such they are not fighting to defend the wealthy or the statis quo so much as they are fighting to conserve their own sense of self worth.


Hat tip to panookah whose journal and comments I raided for provided inspiration.

Comments

Re: Look how low my self worth is!

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

personal responsibility on actions that aren't even reflected upon, but nevertheless happen all the time, like breathing.

That's a horrible example for the point you're trying to make. That's not an action you can choose to take responsibility for as it's done by your unconscious. Regardless, whether you believe it or not, I've observed that most people every day state something in a way that doesn't take personal responsibility.

Re: Look how low my self worth is!

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

lordy, I am *not* talking about subconscious actions, I am talking about the human actions of making decisions and learning from mistakes. I thought that was obvious. Your observations sound extremely odd to me.

Re: Look how low my self worth is!

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

Which is why "breathing" is a horrible example of your point, which is what I said.

Re: Look how low my self worth is!

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

The point was that our days are filled with decisions and lessons that we take upon ourselves, and the blaming-something-else type of analysis is usually a pretty big anomaly, even if when happens semi frequently with some individuals. (I never dreamed that someone would mistake the breathing analogy for sub or unconscious actions in this example)

Re: Look how low my self worth is!

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

Again, my observations don't agree with that conclusion.

Re: Look how low my self worth is!

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Well okay then, so your observations show that people *don't* make decisions and learn from mistakes frequently. How quaint.

Re: Look how low my self worth is!

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

I didn't say that. I said that they don't take responsibility for their actions or outcomes.