Watching my VERY left-wing friends talk about how awesome older working class men are - helpful, kind - before quickly adding “EXCEPT FOR THEIR POLITICS”. It’s honestly pretty funny
For starters, how neurotic is it to have someone blocked and yet continue to QT them on a weekly basis? Who does this?
Second, who gets to decide what’s “arbitrary”? Once you’ve made imposition of man’s will over other men the supreme evil that must be vanquished from the world, everyone is going to begin debating what constitutes an “arbitrary imposition”.
You might think biological sex is not an “arbitrary imposition”, but millions do, and they are more than happy to use the moral architecture you’ve constructed to make their case for why transing kids is now a liberal human right.
And the same principles applies looking back in time.
The older conservatives and reactionaries of a century or two ago might have thought that the throne and altar were not “arbitrary impositions” but rather cherished inheritances passed down from generation to generation that should not be altered lightly.
And yet the James Lindsays of 1789 or 1848 got their way precisely because they was able to tear these things down in the name of eliminating all “arbitrary impositions” from the world.
And now, James wants to stand athwart history and shout “STOP! THIS FAR AND NO FURTHER!” to a revolution he helped unleash, as if he gets to draw the line between what’s arbitrary and what’s sacred.
How is the James Lindsay standard for declaring what is and is not “arbitrary” not itself an arbitrary standard?
This is why you are fighting a losing battle. You’ve already torn down the sacred, and now you’re upset the revolution is moving past you, which is why you’re now a conservative despite being a lifelong liberal who voted for Obama.
@ChristianHeiens Exactly. All these “centrists” who want to go halfway back up the slippery slope and stay there this time are delusional. None of them are smart or honest enough to fully embrace their beliefs and where they lead