The rot at the core of American conservatism

Peter Daou argues that the anti-environmentalism espoused by the political right wing is not only wrong-headed; it is dangerous:

Of all the wrongheaded ideas proudly trumpeted by America's right, anti-environmentalism occupies a unique position: it is at once the most devoid of a rational or moral foundation and the most dangerous. It is selfish, crass, illogical, willfully blind, a denial of the undeniable reality that humans are pillaging irreplaceable natural resources and spewing filth into the air and water and soil at unsustainable rates. Green-bashers stubbornly negate what is directly before them. There is no moral imperative underlying their belief (or lack thereof). It's about unbridled hostility at the suggestion that we must all make shared sacrifices. It's about refusing to acknowledge that the environmental movement has been right to sound the alarm. It's about laziness. And greed. And irresponsibility. And colossal shortsightedness. Green-bashing exposes the rot at the core of modern conservatism.
The reason this conservative attitude toward the environment is dangerous is that it would leave us unprepared for the quickly approaching transition from oil to post-oil. It would be an economically and socially dangerous transition even if we planned well for it. I've argued before, and I still maintain, that the right wing uses its anti-environmentalism as a badge of group identification (among other things). In short, I don't believe that most right-wingers are truly against the green positions that they publicly disparage. I'm not convinced that most right-wingers have actually thought their positions through (e.g., most conservatives don't realize that there's only enough oil in Alaska to run the U.S. for six months, which makes "Drill Baby, Drill palpably absurd). I believe that when conservatives shout down green positions, they are actually shouting up their membership in the right-wing herd. But how can someone take a policy position contrary to the facts without a straight face? See the Dunning-Kruger cognitive bias, which refers to the fact that "people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it." Thus, many people are ignorant of the fact that they are ignorant, thus freeing them up to pontificate to others and to run for Congress in good conscience. We're surrounded by this, and we're fed "news" media stories that flout this conflict pornography (featuring know-nothings shouting at people who do know something) in order to sell commercials. Note that self-critical fact-finding and careful analysis is not treasured anywhere in this process. See also, this earlier post on tortucanism.

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My recurring frustration with progressive calls for action.

I'm really getting tired of progressive organizations sending me emails with disturbing headlines, colorful call to action links and THIS: No links to any independent information that would allow me to really understand whether the organization's claim is true. If the problem concerns pending legislation, send me a link to the legislation so that I can verify the problem myself. If the claim is the supposed existence of a dangerous food or drug, send me a link to a neutral site so that I can go read about the alleged problem myself. I am not persuaded by circular links back to your own unsubstantiated claims -- I don't care how many times YOU make the claim on your own pages. I want reassurance that it is true before I take any action at all. I'm not going to write to Congress just because you give me a scary headline and tell me to. I sympathize with many (not all) progressive causes, but I will never simply take it on faith that I need to write my Congressional reps just because an organization tells me to (even an organization that has been somewhat credible in the past). Do you hear me, Move-On, and all you others out there? Do you think that your followers are stupid? sheep? Stupid sheep? Come on. If you've got a legitimate cause that needs attention, provide us with the means to independently verify your claims. For many years, I've seen this tactic used in many right-right calls to action. For example I receive link-less material such as "Click here to write your representatives because OUR public schools won't allow students to voluntarily pray at recess!!" It's a shame to see this tactic spreading to so many progressive organizations, however. It is a disreputable tactic meant for people without brains.

Continue ReadingMy recurring frustration with progressive calls for action.

More quotes!

As I've often written, I love quotes. Ever since I was a pre-teen. Mini-explosions in small strings of words. A novel in a single sentence! I collect lots of quotes and I occasionally publish my favorites in small groups on this website. If you want to see other batches, simply choose the (left side margin) "category" called "quotes." I hope you find these fun, challenging, mind-stretching and sometimes disturbing . . . Confusion is always the most honest response. -Marty Indik A poet more than thirty years old is simply an overgrown child. -Mencken Our quaint metaphysical opinions, in an hour of anguish, are like playthings by the bedside of a child deathly sick. -Samuel Taylor Coleridge A cult is a religion with no political power. -Tom Wolfe Conceit is God's gift to little men. -Bruce Barton Great persecutors are recruited among martyrs whose heads haven't been cut off. -E. M. Cioran Universities are of course hostile to geniuses, which, seeing and using ways of their own, discredit the routine: as churches and monasteries persecute youthful saints. -Ralph Waldo Emerson One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny. -Bertrand Russell Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors. -Francious de la Rochefoucauld Satire is often the reflection of a kind of moral nausea. -Crand Briton The subtlety of nature is greater many times over than the subtlety of the senses and understanding. -Bacon Truth: An ingenious compound of desirability and appearance. -Bierce I'm worried that students will take their obedient place in society and look to become successful cogs in the wheel - let the wheel spin them around as it wants without taking a look at what they're doing. I'm concerned that students not become passive acceptors of the official doctrine that's handed down to them from the White House, the media, textbooks, teachers and preachers. -Howard Zinn Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy. -Franz Kafka Sentimentality is a superstructure covering brutality. -C. J. Jung People travel for the same reason as they collect works of art: because the best people do it. -Aldous Huxley [more . . . ]

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