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Here’s the moral dilemma we face, in a nutshell:
As a matter of ethics, I think Eric is 100% right. Millions of Americans who would otherwise not be violent sociopaths *are* the victims of propaganda. In an ideal world, there would be a pathway to save them.
But there isn’t. 1/ https://twitter.com/ericlevitz/status/1347544936070180867
As a matter of ethics, I think Eric is 100% right. Millions of Americans who would otherwise not be violent sociopaths *are* the victims of propaganda. In an ideal world, there would be a pathway to save them.
But there isn’t. 1/ https://twitter.com/ericlevitz/status/1347544936070180867
The ethical choice is wildly trumped by the cognitive-behavioral brick wall of tribalism, and by nature of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution:
There is no interpretation of the 1st Amendment that would empower you to do re-education on ~ 70 million Americans.
And worse. 2/
There is no interpretation of the 1st Amendment that would empower you to do re-education on ~ 70 million Americans.
And worse. 2/
There is no interpretation of the 1st Amendment that would empower you to shut down fascist propaganda. Fox News is legal. So is Rush and the WSJ editorial page and the entire sewage heap of fascist media in the United States.
So, even if you *could* re-educate a few thousand 3/
So, even if you *could* re-educate a few thousand 3/
... you’d never catch up to ongoing indoctrination of millions.
And even if you *could,* you’d hit *another* wall: Tribalism.
Great irony of US progressive advocacy is, combined forces of Left intellectuals, think tanks, funders, policy experts *believes in rational choice* 4/
And even if you *could,* you’d hit *another* wall: Tribalism.
Great irony of US progressive advocacy is, combined forces of Left intellectuals, think tanks, funders, policy experts *believes in rational choice* 4/
Which is to say, we believe in evidence-based decision making.
Sounds reasonable right? NOPE!
*HUMANS ARE NOT RATIONAL CREATURES WHO MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON EVIDENCE*
We are *tribal* creatures who make decisions based on *heuristics* 5/
Sounds reasonable right? NOPE!
*HUMANS ARE NOT RATIONAL CREATURES WHO MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON EVIDENCE*
We are *tribal* creatures who make decisions based on *heuristics* 5/
Biologically speaking, our tribe is single most important element of our survival. Not literally, in 2021, when groceries are stocked with food - but behaviorally, based on a couple 100 thousand years of evolution.
We *think* we’ve evolved to be rational. But we haven’t. 6/
We *think* we’ve evolved to be rational. But we haven’t. 6/
Our brains are swimming in tribal heuristics - shortcuts we use to survive complexity.
And guess what? As the world grows more complex, we lean more heavily on ...
... tribal heuristics. It’s getting harder and harder to make decisions because there’s *too much info* 7/
And guess what? As the world grows more complex, we lean more heavily on ...
... tribal heuristics. It’s getting harder and harder to make decisions because there’s *too much info* 7/
Time to solve for rising fascist tribalism on right was 30-40 years ago, when it became clear powerful forces in GOP had placed their bets on fascism. Plenty of folks pointed this out.
But there are VSPs in DC *today* who say, with a straight face, that Fox News is legit. 8/
But there are VSPs in DC *today* who say, with a straight face, that Fox News is legit. 8/
So while my empathic brain says yes, we should try to help these people, my rational brain says no, they can’t be helped and my tribal brain says, they have attacked us and want to kill us and we really need to muster a response that is proportional to the threat. /fin for now
