Political Philosophy

Lee has been talking to me about political philosophy and I've been resisting the term. Partly that's because I don't like being confined to a label, and partly it's because I don't think most people's views are all of a piece. Still, as a member of the "reality based community" (one label I'm happy to self apply) I have to admit that we humans do have a tendency to group ourselves into teams, and most people wouldn't find it hard to decide whether I was on the liberal or conservative team.

If there is one unifying theme to my political views it's hostility to the modern Republican party. It seems to me that they are deeply radical, in the sense of being willing to do great damage to the country in order to get their way, deeply mistaken about some crucial facts, and transparently in the service of a tiny group of the super rich.

A lot of my differences with the average Republican have to do with my belief that they are deliberately ignoring the facts. I get that gun owners love their guns, and I even think that I know why. But why do they insist that the CDC not collect data about gun deaths? Mostly because they know the data is going to hurt their cause, which means they want to preserve the lie at all costs.

There are a few things about which liberals are equally attached to imaginary realities. I don't sympathize with them either.

This post wound up not going anywhere, but I decided to publish it anyway. Think of it as the scraps left over from an unsuccessful attempt to synthesize some ideas.

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