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I think this is a great example of how a conservative mind views the world.
They are never happy or joyfull, its always a struggle and you fight for an idea despite you hating all of it. The idea that your life is not filled by misery is alien to them.
At this point being conservative is just akin to mental illness. Destructive, depressed, delusional to themselves and others. If ever there was a real social contaigion, it would be this state of being.
I grew up in a pretty conservative household and we were literally raised that life is work and work is hell. By way of the transitive property, life = hell. It's taken a long time through various degrees of depression and I'm still not fully grown out of it.
But yes, the entire culture and identity is about being miserable and persevering through it, even if that means making yourself and everyone around you more miserable to justify the perseverance.
Like the saying "nothing good comes free." You could say the sunrise is free, but they'll argue it's not because you have to wake up early and waking up early is by necessity miserable so that the sunrise can be good. They're brainwashed into thinking the only way a good thing happens is through suffering. Except the truly lost ones who only see life as suffering.
Wow.. yeah I grew up this way too. But I'm not sure I ever really put it all together the way you did just now. I'm gonna have to think on this.
As an extension, if the conservative sees something free that people need, they will try to monopolize that free thing and then sell it. They call this innovation.
Could also be that any time Lindsey Graham enters a room, all the people around him become miserable, so that's why he thinks joy doesn't exist
It's hard to see any joy in the world when you're a closeted hate-mongerer who can't get laid for free.
"This whole joy and love fest doesn't exist in the real world," said Lindsay Graham, from his mountaintop cave overlooking Whoville.
"MEEMAW! GET THE SLED, WE'RE STEALING VOTES!"
Can't wait for these dinosaurs to go extinct.
Maybe if you're Lindsey Graham. Pretending to be something you're not and constantly sucking up to people who hate you to keep your job sounds miserable enough.
The state of the border is due to Republican interference on that border bill specifically requested by Trump to keep it an issue this election, and Inflation performance was better overall when compared to other Western Nations during Biden's term and worse than during Trumps.
Republicans are full of shit when it comes to both issues.
Republicans are full of shit.
To bolster his claim, Graham pointed to the gas prices, the state of the border
Lindsey? If you're so concerned with the border, why did you vote down the border security bill?
source on Graham's vote on the motion where it was killed
You yourself are responsible now, Graham. You voted down legislation which would have addressed this. This is on you now.
Now who's miserable in their lives and wants to make the rest of the country miserable too?
People who are that deep in the closet usually do lack joy in their lives
He's not wrong. But he doesn't mention his party is the reason for it.
He's got the projection down though
What does it matter what Graham says? His word is literally worthless by his own account
Joy is not easy.
Happy can be had for the cost of a hobby, or of a friend buying another round, or jamming another game onto the screen.
But as J. D. Salinger said: "The fact is always obvious much too late, but the most singular difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is a solid and joy is a liquid."
Happiness needs a vessel of a certain shape and size.
Joy can fill up anything finite.
Don't mock Graham for this. He is expressing his sadness even if he doesn't see it. Express sorrow for his lack of understanding of our time here.
Projection. If he's not happy then how can anyone be?
during Donald Trump’s presidency when “the world was not on fire.”
Dude, where were you? Convenient amnesia? Ever heard Billy Joel's take on "the fire"?
“Americans are not joyful when they go to the gas station and fill up their car,” he continued. “They’re not joyful when they make their mortgage payment. They’re not joyful when they go to the grocery store. People are hurting, and this whole joy love fest doesn’t exist in the real world.”
These are all great points, and he’s right! The problem is that the policies he and his party support are not helpful towards solving any of these issues.
What, banning books and preventing people from getting healthcare don’t bring down gas and grocery prices or interest rates? Surely you jest!
“Life is a joyless slog, and I do my best to help keep it that way.”
To be fair, that IS the face of a man who no longer believes that joy exists 🤷
Wow, poor guy... He sounds so sad and doesn't even realize he's the one causing the problems he's complaining about...
Oh well, we should probably put him out of his misery.
Lindsey Graham proves that all conservatives are angry, hateful people and wants to make everyone else just like him.
That's really fucking dark coming from any legislator, but a rank and file GOP coming right out and saying it?
That's not just weird, that's inhuman or downright evil.
That's not just weird, that's inhuman or downright evil.
It's also a perfect example of psychological projection. He never feels joy and thinks everyone else feels the same way. His is a sad and pathetic existence.
The Republican way of life, ladies and gentlemen.
Let me translate: The DNC was not joyful because it made MAGA fear and loath. He then pivots to project all this on the "American people" remembering that that's who he's supposed to care about.
Lindsey is a windsock; useful to see which way the wind is blowing.
Fucking asshole has the nerve to say the world wasn’t on fire during trumps presidency AND that trump is PRO-Life when he was perfectly ok with Covid as long as it was as gonna hurt cities and therefore Democrats more. Media motherfuckers need to start calling out this hypocrisy in real time.
My take is that statement is perhaps the most authentic thing he ever said in his life. He wouldn't recognise joy of it went up to him and kissed him on the mouth.
He must be bewildered seeing all that happy emotion.
Resign and see how much joy suddenly appears
Lady G needs a prostate massage, STAT! She’s lost the joy in her life!!!
What a sad little creature.
That’s why they didn’t want that student load debt pardon. Everybody must be miserable all the time.
You know, fuck Trump, fuck Graham, and fuck every Republican. But:
Americans are not joyful when they go to the gas station and fill up their car,” he continued. “They’re not joyful when they make their mortgage payment. They’re not joyful when they go to the grocery store. People are hurting, and this whole joy love fest doesn’t exist in the real world.”
Is perfectly accurate. I get that everyone is excited about Harris, but lying to ourselves about the economy makes us look out of touch, at best. Most of us can't afford a down payment on a house. Most of us are a few missed paychecks away from homelessness. Most of us are one bad doctor's appointment away from bankruptcy. Most of us are drowning in student loans. Republicans absolutely want to make all of those worse, but pretending everything is fine is bullshit.
No-one is pretending everything is perfect, but you also have to have a positive vision for the future. Having a whole convention bitching about stuff without solutions is not the path forward.
Democrats discussed ideas to make things better regarding the points Graham made, BUT it's the Republicans that are the major roadblock to any and all solutions.
Graham is the guy taking a massive shit in your living room and then complaining that the cleaning lady is too cheerful about cleaning up the room. And she's not fast enough... And she's to blame for making him take that dump.
Fuck all Republican politicans, they offer ZERO solutions to anything. All they do is stoke fear and division.
When would anyone, ever, be joyful in those activities? Is he saying that if Republicans took over, I would be ecstatic to pay my mortgage?
Pretty much, anything he says can be dismissed with a subtle jerking-off motion.
Graham in 2016:
"I want you to use my words against me. If there’s a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination."
Graham in 2020:
"I fully understand where President @realDonaldTrump is coming from. https://t.co/qlhtEwTCdX
As to my view of filling a Supreme Court vacancy in 2020, I’d encourage you to review these most recent statements.
NBC News https://t.co/wGnCdcpJjr
The Hill https://t.co/cagapf6S9t
The two biggest changes regarding the Senate and judicial confirmations that have occurred in the last decade have come from Democrats.
#1"
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lindsey-graham-backpedals-saying-words-183103615.html
Lady G sometimes dresses fancy and calls himself "Joy", this is just him continuing to be in the closet and deny the clear reality we all see.
When running for president, lindsey graham was once asked who his first lady would be, he replied... "Well my sister would be!"
Oh lindsey... Sweetie :(