Post #291140

Part 21 of a series—things I've said here that seem worth repeating on their anniversaries, such as the following words from exactly two years ago. "Our current political strife is essentially a #CultureWar. Not a policy war; its worst fights aren't really about policy preferences. So, comprehension of issues (or lack thereof) isn't necessarily what fuels the conflict. "Rather, it is motivated by scorn for separate groups of people, where their separateness is mostly recognized by their unfamiliar values. Cultural values, mainly. "And from the alt-right's viewpoint, curiosity is among the most unfamiliar of cultural values; thus curiosity is a marker of Them, not Us. "Therefore, while leftists and centrists have much hope of overcoming ... biases ... by embracing curiosity, folks on the Right often don't have nearly as much. "Cultures of progressivism and centrism normally celebrate curiosity, science, the life of the mind, etc. Hence, their culture warriors need not switch sides to begin questioning stuff better. They have it relatively easy. "Whereas alt-right culture warriors lack such an advantage. Their incentive to embrace curiosity is negative, typically. They face constant pressure to dismiss its benefits since valuing them would be a cultural betrayal. "In the middle of a war." https://mindly.social/@setsly/111869898245471105 https://mindly.social/@setsly/111869900962250669 https://mindly.social/@setsly/111869903030628874