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Weird tweet coming all about social conservatism.
I grew up around cults (what a start, I know) and one thing I know a lot about is social progression and social regression from this group of people.
In some ways I feel bad for social conservatives, though mostly I don’t.
I grew up around cults (what a start, I know) and one thing I know a lot about is social progression and social regression from this group of people.
In some ways I feel bad for social conservatives, though mostly I don’t.
Think about what social conservatism actually is. It’s not a static set of things, it’s more a comfort set of things. aka “I feel comfortable with this set of things therefore we need to keep it this way”. By definition, this is societally regressive as societies always progress
A 2020 70 year old social conservative would have markedly different views than a 1920 70 year old and they different to a 1820 70 year old social conservative.
There is no static set of things
There is no static set of things
And that’s the rub. Things we ALL believe today were heresy 50/100/200 years ago.
The counter to social conservatism doesn’t have to be radical progress as it is often stated. The counter can simply be being open to new ideas and changing your mind/viewpoint.
And this is where I have no pity for social conservatives. If one cannot open their mind, change their mind, or be open to progress, then the views are likely nothing more than a societal boat anchor.
In sports. Can you imagine football without the forward pass? Basketball without the 3 point shot? Baseball without the home run? Sports regressive can. Now, I doubt there are *any* sport regressives this regressive today, but as recent as 25 years ago you could still find them
The point is things change, thoughts evolve, things morph and the once unacceptable is now the norm, even desired (3 point shot, home run, forward pass). The once acceptable is no longer the acceptable.
Another point. People find themselves along the societal adoption bell curve at all sorts of points. And geographical places have their own progress microclimates. Now, the real challenge is the gap between the most regressive and the most progressive in the same geo
But even more, imagine you are at the mid-point on the bell-curve and you are interacting with someone at the tail end of the curve. This person might still sound like a relic. And to this person you, a completely societally average adopter, likely are a radical hippie.
The main point here is that folks who identify as social conservatives are not being honest with themselves. If you took them and time warped them to 1720 they would be radicals. This tells you all you need to know. They are conservative for a very specific point in time
And being point in time and adamant about it with all your vigor and intellectual capacity means you are actually being dishonest with yourself. You have a set of beliefs and you adhere to them. It’s not about society, it’s about you and your comfort.
And because it’s about you, you have the work to do, not society. Society is going to move ahead at the pace that societies do. Society cannot be held back by a singular individual.
Progress is progress. It always happens. It’s literally inevitable on a time horizon spanning more than just our own lives, society will always become change, progress, and adapt in ways that make previously comfortable people now uncomfortable. Deal with it.
