Dear Miss Manners
Dear Miss Manners: I have a number of good friends and loved ones who support a political philosophy that I believe will bring misery to untold millions, ravage the natural environment, and rob our society of hope for the future. It seems to me that adherents of this political philosophy tend to be mean-spirited, vindictive and contemptuous of both compassion and truth. Should I say anything?
Gentle Reader: I know how frustrating it can be to see one's friends participate in the destruction of all one holds dear. But the power of one person to change the beliefs of another is unfortunately limited, especially when those beliefs touch on politics or religion. You must weigh the very small likelihood that your words will change the world for the better against the much greater likelihood that those words will cause ill feeling among your friends without changing their minds in the slightest. Enjoy your friends and don't try to improve them.
Gentle Reader: I know how frustrating it can be to see one's friends participate in the destruction of all one holds dear. But the power of one person to change the beliefs of another is unfortunately limited, especially when those beliefs touch on politics or religion. You must weigh the very small likelihood that your words will change the world for the better against the much greater likelihood that those words will cause ill feeling among your friends without changing their minds in the slightest. Enjoy your friends and don't try to improve them.
posted by Daryl McCullough
13 Comments:
Judi Taylor Gullatt Wow - Gentle Reader must be harboring some unpleasant feelings about those good friends and loved ones to believe their political philosopy qualifies them as mean-spirited, etc. Has there ever really been open discussion without judgement? It's disheartening to think not. What happened to the days we could say, I love you but I think you're wrong? And move on.
Daryl McCullough You don't have to harbor unpleasant feelings towards people in order to have unpleasant feelings towards their political philosophy. Politics is an abstraction to most people, it's not who they are. Who you are has to do with how you treat people around you, not how you think about the world as a whole.
Daryl McCullough
That's the problem with politics. It's an abstraction to most people. But the consequences are very real.
Judi Taylor Gullatt
No, I just meant that saying most people who support a particular philosopy are either wonderful or horrible seems by implication to extend even to one's friends who support it. As much as I dislike even thinking about politics, treating i...t as an abstraction is increasingly dangerous - likewise religion - because people do the most unbelievalbe things in the name of those two philosophical whatchamacallits. Philosophical philosophies? That can't be right...
Daryl McCullough
I'm distinguishing between the people and their philosophy. the people aren't horrible.
Doug Harper
So do I, Daryl. I hold you in high regard with great affection despite my sincere considered belief that you have it exactly backwards about political systems and their consequences.
Daryl McCullough
Have a nice day.
Doug Harper
Hey, you too. Hope the weather's improved in Ithaca.
Doug Harper
Hey, how did this morph into a Notes discussion? Didn't look like that at first.
Judi Taylor Gullatt
Last comment (from me). Darryl, I know you would never think that way. But look at the first paragraph. It says, "It seems to me that ADHERENTS of this political philosophy tend to be mean-spirited, vindictive and contemptuous of both compassion and truth. Should I say anything?" Hmmm. This is why I just love you all and normally forego the political discussions.
Daryl McCullough
I have no problem with honest disagreement about goals and the best way to achieve those goals. The mean-spiritedness I'm talking about is not an honest disagreement. Obama is a Muslim. Obama wasn't born in America. Obama wants to institute... death panels to decide who's worthy to live. Obama is trying to brainwash children. Obama is setting up internment camps for political dissidents. Health care reform is government takeover. The political discussion in America today is not about honest disagreement about means and ends. It's about a huge group of people who have used lies and slander to advance their political goals. It's an evil ideology. Not as evil as some, but evil.
Daryl McCullough
Judi, you're right. I should have said that it tends to encourage adherents to blah, blah, blah.
Judi Taylor Gullatt
Thank you, dahling. And that is really my last comment.
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