hot take: people should have systems of values that they try to hold themselves to; whether that be a religion or a moral philosophy or Something. Political tendencies don't count. Something you use to discern what's moral/ethical not just what's justified or must be done.

I'm not saying it has to be anything specific just that you should consider having one and using it to reflect upon your own behavior and whether it's right. Something more complex than simply "do I feel like I'm in the right" or "are people mad at me and do I like those people"

It doesn't need to be rigid either. I get my morals and ethics from Judaism which encourages constant debate over the meaning of the words we live by. What is considered correct behavior is in many cases more like an open debate on what is the right thing to do with 5 opinions

But to reflect on my behavior I can turn to those debates and consider the different stances our modern and ancient ancestors would have had on if it was moral. the Chofetz Chaim would disapprove of me naming names; but there are people who disagree with him too.

What matters, to me, is that it's a system by which I can get an external or systematic way of considering if something is right or wrong to do. It holds me accountable. And the people who piss me off the most with inconsistent shitty behavior tend to be people with no system

OR their entire system is rooted purely in their political tendency. They can be an asshole because they have Correct Opinions on Laos and the person they're being an asshole to has Incorrect Opinions on Syria.

as though this interpersonal interaction has anything to do with it

I've encountered people who are themselves White People and have literally said that their cruel mean behavior towards someone was OK and Good because the person they were being mean to was a white person.... and the interaction is like making fun of their body or 'cringe'hobbies

like idk that doesn't seem like a system that makes sense to me personally. I mean if we ever do manage to tear down capitalism etc. how are you going to determine what it means to be good to one another, or good to the world. what is justice under the new way of living.

I know way too many people whose reasons for why abuse and sexual assault are wrong are exclusively defined by it being a symptom of Patriarchy or Capitalism. as though it would be OK to do in a world without patriarchy or in a relationship with perfectly equal power dynamics

I just think it's better to develop a strong sense of right and wrong which drives your politics and not the other way around. Judaism tells me I am obligated to make the world a better place than when I came into it. So that is why I have to fight for leftist causes.

We have to "repair the world" and "pursue justice" and "love the stranger" etc. etc.

THAT drives me to conclude that capitalism must fall. Capitalism is destroying the world, and I am morally obligated to repair the world as part of my covenant.

That's just my system, though, of course. I know a lot of people who derive a system of ethics and morals from Islam, or Buddhism, or though atheist philosophers, or a personal philosophy they developed on their own. I just think it's good to have Something

I knew someone whose entire moral system was based on "does this increase or decrease agency for the most people in the world" and then, in cases of 1-on-1 interaction "am I increasing or decreasing this person's agency as well as my own"

and just from that derived answers

and it was a good system!! she was an absolutely wonderful person who never allowed others to define who she was but also was very personally accountable to other people. She would just openly state her own flaws and tell people like "Don't let me mistreat you like that"

I think in some ways everyone has a personal system of morals just a lot of people let it go completely unexamined and, upon close examination, it's totally crummy. "If I profess the correct beliefs then I am forgiven for everything I do" is an all too common moral system

A lot of American-raised Xtians definitely believe "If I profess my belief in Jesus then everything I do is forgiven and OK" and then they leave the church and replace Jesus with, like, Kropotkin, or Liberalism, or something. and they do not examine that at all

Idk. "Introspection is good" is my take. Examine how you decide when you're in the right or in the wrong. It could be a religion, a philosophy, a question, something besides "Do I profess the correct allegiance to the correct team." It will make you a better person

Some of my most precious loved ones are atheists whose system of determining what's good is "does this do right by my community without harming another community"

that's great! that's a whole system. It's not the system I use for myself but it's Something that guides you

Anyway I guess technically the harry potter liberals are doing what I'm calling for by using harry potter as a religious text but you know please choose a better system than that too

also I hope it goes without saying that your system should be ever-evolving and itself under critical reflection throughout your life.