this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2023
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Showerthoughts
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This. I hate the whole left/right tribalism.
Like I know that it can be used to get a rough idea of what political motivations someone might have and I know that where my own ideologies would mostly fall in that inaccurate one-dimensional linear spectrum but ultimately it is too inaccurate to use it to classify everyone's political motivation.
Worse it creates a whole us-vs-them divide. "Oh you aren't right, when then you must be a commie". "Oh you aren't left, then you must be a fascist". So you might consider yourself in a different position on a political spectrum and just see the differences to someone on the other end of a political spectrum even though you might have more in common then you think. Heck, if you are on complete opposite ends you might even have more in common then you think.
Ultimately, the focus should be less on left/right and more on individual policies. Like should healthcare be public or privatized, should be build another road or another train track here, etc
Why does political debate always have to turn into this tribalistic mud fight instead of proper discussion on how to best address the needs of citizens?
The two party system.
They built nonsensical coalitions to get votes, so people often find that their preferred party has positions they don't like.
Then the primary system encourages the most extreme candidates for either party.
Then you have intentional amplification of the assholes like MTG.
Then you create an artificial us versus them mentality where someone on the other side is pure evil. Obviously the GOP is far and away worse at this, but it's across the spectrum.