stokesjokes wrote: ↑April 20th, 2023, 10:33 am
Whatever happened to the marketplace of ideas, to letting your ideology stand on its merits and persuading others that it's the better option? If you abandon your own ideology because you're so scared of the alternative, you don't really believe in your ideology. And if you're willing to use undemocratic means to enforce your ideology, you don't really believe in democracy either.
What happened is too many on both sides became more consumed with winning than defending their ideals to the point of being right. American politics isn’t about being right or having the best idea anymore. Each side adopts their ideology because it helps them win power where they are.
Been that way for FAR longer than people realize. I’m reading now about reconstruction after the Civil War, and it goes back at least that far in the federal government’s history.
People are choosing their truth now. Being to married to one’s ideology so much that one ignores pragmatism is akin to swallowing a sword because you need more iron in your diet.
And when you talk about abandoning ideology and whether or not one really believes in it - you’re falling prey to making politics your religion. Nobody here wants that, do they?
Lastly, you’re right: Undemocratic means shouldn’t be used. Capitalism and a democratic republic aren’t perfect, but they’re what we’ve got and better than all the rest.