Posted on 10/08/2019 5:11:25 PM PDT by Captain7seas
The answer can be simple or complicated.
Simple: the moral fabric of society as a whole has disappeared.
Complex: Assuming the above, good people find like-minded people to associate with and keep their circle small to avoid problems and survive. Bad people roam freely. Politicians are of the same ilk as those that chose them.
Ex. In the 90’s, those that valued character over pocketbook would have rejected Bill Clinton after the Monica debacle. Being a liar and an adulterer vs. ‘the economy is great’. Pocketbook won
The differences of opinion leading to hostility would not exist if folks had the decency of basic respect (a moral shortcoming). Rampant corruption would not exist if those watching thought it was wrong. Greed, power, lies, theft...all due to lack of morals and values.
I am convinced that the ‘bad’ people far outweigh the ‘good’ people. Maybe this has always been the case, I do not know. Being a child in the seventies, my perception is that narcissism and materialism starting in the 80’s and the decline of family units has lead us here.
I have noticed most people (even libs) are generally civil but the group think and zombie nature of the libs is outright scary. I will never reconcile with these people as a whole. Honestly,I hate the left’s guts and only wish them dread. Never forget what they think of us and WILL do when they get the power back.
Following up on my previous comment.....
If all I mentioned were not the case, then colleges and MSM would not be able to sell socialism to our youth. Parents have outsourced their job for decades to feed their narcissism and materialism.
Sun Tsu’s “Art of War” has been proven an accurate descriptor of human behavior over the course of thousands of years.
There are passages in it which describe the situation where we find ourselves now. It tells of likely outcomes for different paths that could be taken.
The book is written to be understood by men of war.
Find one and have them explain things to you.
It wasn’t really directed at you, Cap’n. Just a taunt to Nancy et al.
I don’t dispute the Holy Spirit, or even the good intentions of some mortal Christian, regarding the emotional and spiritual points being made.
But the actual mechanical reasons for the increase in public divisions over policy is quite simple. Division itself is not a bad thing. In fact, an evolved shortage of divisions within our original constitutionally free republic framework is the source of the problems described.
There was a reason our system was designed with so many divisions. Both horizontal - the co-equal branches. And vertical - fed, state, lowers. Because we did not WANT a highly centralized power to evolve. For 2 big reasons: we don’t all agree on important matters which affect our lives personally and we don’t trust (especially back then) an absolute central authority to do much of anything except protect our nation from invasion and external force.
The genius framework slowed the undesired consolidation of power but did not stop it over the generations.
It is not wrong for Christians to hope for everyone to get along and play nice. But it clearly is wrong, both spiritually and politically, to assume our charge includes fighting to achieve such goals within a government framework.
I pine for the love of Freedom. And mourn the death her defenders.
Currently, Republicans ought most to be ashamed. For a time they controlled... well, everything. Pres, Senate, the People’s House, most the state houses, most the state executives and even an arguably less liberal SC. And they did literally nothing to even start turning power back to the states/people.
For those seeking allegories or analogies, think of it this way...
Trump and most America-lovers want a fence to protect our nation. From the hordes. Physically.
The Founders and most Freedom-lovers want the constitutional fence to protect our Freedom. From the hordes. Politically.
There is nothing inherently good about democracy. Individual freedom is the unique defining value of America. And the US Constitution is the fence meant to protect Freedom - FROM raw democracy, especially at the central level.
A perceived need to compromise is actually an indication we need to further review our original mission to de-centralize. The structural way to achieve the most freedoms and satisfaction for the highest percentage of individuals is to enable/protect a system where the most affecting decisions are made at the lowest level possible.
Put another way: you might die waiting to give an opinion to your US Senator or Congressman, but your local statehouse rep will probably mow your lawn for a chance to get your vote. Who do you want making decisions affecting your life directly. Neither in most cases. But the latter would be less bad by virtue of being more locally accessible and more subject to your own influence.
We are not all the same. Never have been. But more and more decisions are being made at the top. Which means less and less satisfaction at the bottom. It’s not a change of hearts nor fear of anything, really. It’s just simple math. Decisions which previously were customized or rightly ignored among 50 states or thousands of lower levels or millions of individuals are increasingly being made today by central authority or even individual fed bureaucrats. The percentage of dissatisfaction is unavoidably higher because there is only one top decision instead of many varied localized decisions. And the expression of this higher dissatisfaction is now a centralized expression. On top of that we have many more ways today to express that dissatisfaction publicly and socially.
Don’t compromise. DE-CENTRALIZE!
The author, after getting his head out of his spinkter, has a great need to hid under his mommy’s bed in a fetal position, sucking his thumb thinking “it’s just a bad dream” over and over again.
People here tend to assume, if no link given, that it's the poster's original material.
Russ Roberts book “Adam Smith Can Change Your Life” is an interesting dive into Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments.
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