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comment by WanderingEng

I worry about left leaning folks being sucked into conspiracy theories the way the right was with Obama. I don't mean that to be critical of you, lil. It's something I feel I've been seeing for a while, long before this article.

I'm interested in your thoughts. Are we, the collective "left," falling into a trap?





lil  ·  2499 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Don't mistake my "posting" something for "subscribing" to it.

As I've frequently said here and elsewhere, I am certain of nothing, and everything else is judged only in proportion to the available evidence, which itself might be suspicious.

We can acquire a facility for living in the world without believing anything.

"The only truth we can point to is the ever-changing truth of our own perceptions." (from Marat-Sade, a play by Peter Weiss - Peter Brooks did the movie).

We know little and control even less.

All dualisms are delusional. Reject the binary.

    Are we, the collective "left," falling into a trap?
We are all blinded by conditioning of various sorts. We are brought up with a set of myths to which we add more. Everybody, why do you believe what you believe?

Sorry for the rant.

user-inactivated  ·  2498 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Even though I'm tired and burned-out, I'll be the rd95 this time (partly because I need a break every ten minutes now):

People subscribe to a certain worldview without actively subscribing: that we, somehow, ought to have 100%, or whatever we have is worth little, if anything at all. It's something we grow up with, much like the childish narcissism that we grow to adore in our young.

To say that we were "blinded by conditioning" is to assume we were sighted in the first place. That we were blessed with this perfect vision and somehow, it all went away with time and the obstacles that made us weary.

Truth is, we all start with zero. We have nothing and are born into everything. Is there any wonder we couldn't comprehend everything, given how incredibly complex and delicate in detail our world is? As we grow, we don't lose simplicity - merely the perception of simplicity. The world used to be a lot simpler - and a lot grimmer - when I was younger.

Is it to say that bullshit is not abundant? No. There's plenty of it wherever you go. It's for this reason that we need something straight to hold onto, something true to our deepest beliefs. It's the reason we believe what we believe: because it holds us onto who we are and who we want to be. We believe what we believe to not lose touch with the world we know.

I grew up in the bullshit. The continuous mental sewer was my world for a long time. My world was chaotic, to say the least: whims of a person who relies on no values but others' appreciation; we all know how feeble that is. Why do I believe in what I believe, then? Because it gives me ground I need so damn much. After years of swirling in the tornado, it's nice to stand on something hard and stable for once.

I've just been reading something for our Psychology class. It said: we don't change but develop; not simply fumble around aimlessly with our identities and core values, but build upon the ones we've had prior. We acquire experiences that shape our worldview. I think it's a very profound thought. We remain true to ourselves yet gain new parts every moment of our being.

I wanted to say "we're inherently biased", but even that assumes there's some sort of an ideal point of view that we best adhere to - or, rather, that this ideal point of view exists in reality. Each of us is both born into and grows into something of their own. We want to remain what we are because it gives us the security of certainty, and the feeling of security is a powerful motivator in whatever we do. It's why changing some people's views is so damn difficult despite how corrosive those views are even to the observer themselves.

It's a wise thought to remain flexible of mind. I believe it's no less wise to hold onto something in the world as inherently chaotic as ours.

lil  ·  2497 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Thanks for your thoughts on certainty, TFG. There is definitely a connection btwn certainty and identity. I appreciate what you say about standing on something "firm and stable," such as certain beliefs.

user-inactivated  ·  2497 days ago  ·  link  ·  

You're welcome, lil.

lil  ·  2497 days ago  ·  link  ·  
This comment has been deleted.
johnnyFive  ·  2498 days ago  ·  link  ·  

That anyone's surprised by this (i.e. that the left is falling into conspiracy theory too) just means we've forgotten that we're people first and tribes second. The human element is always the fallible one in a system.