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[The Big Sort] or How we only associate with other ppl who agree with us
Grain
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I am borrowing this interesting book from a friend of mine. The basic premise is that Americans have self-segregated themselves for many years by only living within communities that have the same political/world vies as themselves. The author argues that this has strengthen the partisan divide among our citizens and has directly contributed to the intolerance of conflicting political opinions exhibited by both the Right and the Left.
The issue here is that when you live and operate solely among people who agree with you then you remove a critical self-reflection aspect to your life that can result from interactions with people who may not have your same political views. I find this to be particularly the case now with our generation and the types of forums we typically inhabit. We aren't being challenged to reflect on why we think or feel the way we do. We just seek out the type of people who can confirm our pre-existing beliefs.
Just wanted to get y'alls opinion on this. Do you find your own social circles and your own internet forums to be composed strictly of people who are of the same political mind as yours?
The issue here is that when you live and operate solely among people who agree with you then you remove a critical self-reflection aspect to your life that can result from interactions with people who may not have your same political views. I find this to be particularly the case now with our generation and the types of forums we typically inhabit. We aren't being challenged to reflect on why we think or feel the way we do. We just seek out the type of people who can confirm our pre-existing beliefs.
Just wanted to get y'alls opinion on this. Do you find your own social circles and your own internet forums to be composed strictly of people who are of the same political mind as yours?
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White: 1721-3651-2720
White: 1721-3651-2720
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There's also big money in it. So the problem keeps getting worse because people with money have a vested interest in it getting worse.
I've lived in very liberal/educated university communities and relatively conservative small towns (although, admittedly, not the "eat the poor" kind of conservative) and it's pretty clear that most of the people on either side of the fence don't really have a conception about what the other side is like, just a kind of representative image of what they think it is. And, usually, they don't care one whit to learn otherwise, and are just as likely to get defensive if you try to tell them.
It's easy to be a self-sufficiency conservative when you live in a small, rural town and don't see a lot of the day-to-day problems inherent in humanity. But I don't think it's that mindset keeping those people in those small towns so much as a sense of belonging and an appreciation for some level of solitude.
The reverse can be said for liberals. It's much easier to understand why social programs need to exist, and why we should respect other cultures, if you're surrounded by tons of people all the time.
It's a segregation, sure, but I don't think it's ideologically motivated. I think in large part it comes about because of different experiences.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
I got a bit of a bonus in this because my father worked for lockheed my entire life, and was thus forced to move 8 times, each to opposite ends of the country, to places with vastly differing conditions.
Born in a mountain town in washington state, moved to 3 different houses, and had one parental bankruptcy to deal with, moved to PA, moved to youngstown, moved again to vegas, moved to northern, then southern california, then moved to ohio.
One thing I've quite grown used to hearing from staunch liberals or conservatives is the following "Man, all those (liberals/conservatives) are stupid, all they do is lie, and the government is bought and paid for by (liberals/conservatives) why don't (liberals/conservatives) understand they are stupid.
I also hate the 'both sides are just as bad' argument, because, while superficially true, it's not very specific. Basically 'both sides are just as bad' about ignoring good ideas from the other side, and refusing to think for themselves because they just want to fit in, and pigeonhole another group of sheep. It's VERY hard to agree with absolutely everything that comes out of a powermongering politicians mouth, yet, people claim to 'agree with everything XXXXX says' pretty frequently.
Also - university/educated and conservative are NOT some kind of antithesis, nor is small community and educated. I've lived in quite a few of both big cities and small ones, and I've met just as many city-stupids as I have cleetuses.
I agree, I'm sorry if it sounded like I was implying that. I've ran into plenty of people with Ph.Ds that were complete idiots; I guess they were just good at working the academic system/brown-nosing.
However, they are kind of on different ends of a cultural spectrum. Certainly most of the educated-imbecile types I've met imagine themselves as existing on kind of plane above the unwashed masses who don't even know who [obscure theoretical author] is. But of course that's anecdotal on my part.
Of course, not all academia is bad; I want to become a professor myself. But both sets of communities definitely can become somewhat isolated. Even individual academic departments can have ridiculous misconceptions about other people in related fields. People will probably pare off based on as trivial a difference as you can come up with.
If you go around looking for the nicest place to live that you can afford, and your options are a place where nobody else hunts/fishes/games/whatever and a place where everybody hunts/fishes/plays backgammon/whatever, you're going to pick the one that's full of people like you anyway.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
No offense at all, it's just one of the misconceptions that I noticed a ton of people have.
Really I kinda held it too until my last few moves, One of my better friends from high school, lived in more or less the heart of amish country, would just have bonfires and parties almost exclusively in the woods or cornfields, hell, even the occasional bluegrass concert, but talk to any of his family and they are liberal to an amazing degree.
Though it does kinda speak to the stereotype of liberal academics, because I'm pretty sure his father is a professor, and he went into teaching as well.
Still, it was very refreshing and kinda eye-opening for me to meet such staunch liberals in BF Ohio after living in a freakishly conservative area in palmdale california.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547237723/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1PD6MBCB24RXTC6606WD&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
White: 1721-3651-2720
I have seen this too but I disagree with your assertion that is superficially true and lacks specifics. The complaints sometimes are vague but they at least reference some area of politics.
Hippies in Boulder: Damn Republicans are ruining the environment because they are ignoring global warming/mountain top removal/etc.
Republicans in Dallas: Damn liberals are taking away our freedom! They are stepping on the constitution.
Hint: One view is based on some vague factual data the other is based on horrible misconceptions or lies.
back on topic: I would also argue that we self segregate because it is harder to build a community with people you disagree with vehemently.
Political beliefs also aren't innate; someone who believes in an ideological concept who moves to an area where that concept is widely disbelieved in is likely to change their original belief, which reinforces this kind of "segregation."
Also because different areas have different policy needs, and since it's quite reasonable for people who live in one area to favor their own interests, it shouldn't be that surprising that different areas "segregate" themselves.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat