Lyle Lovett - "Her First Mistake"
I recently came across a (mostly) good post on tribal politics that really struck a chord with me.
As documented in Losing My Religions, I was fired for quoting what a celebrity said about vegans. Also, a national conference (that had previously elected me to their self-important "Hall of Fame" banned me).
The publication of Losing has led to another wave of vitriol. This time, the attacks are from those angry that I dare question the "We're destroying the planet" "We're all going to die" narrative in the climate catastrophe movement.
(This isn't meant as a "Woe is me, I'm so persecuted rant" like all the multi-millionaire "comedians" whining about "cancel culture." Despite continual professional failures, I'm so well-off it is embarrassing.)
This is just another example of how it has basically become impossible to have a good-faith discussion about any topic. Everyone has chosen their team and defends all of that team's positions at all costs, including considering any evidence and facts that might not be to their side's liking.
This was brought home at the end of the tribal politics post referenced above. After making very insightful comments, Friedman hops into his camp, dismissing the impacts of a full meter of sea level rise.
<sigh>
4 comments:
Have you seen "What's Our Problem" by Tim Urban?
https://amzn.to/3yB3dNh
It is really good and he talks about how tribalism is the root of all evil.
I'm working on a book report that I'm going to put on my blog.
The book is based on a series of blog posts he did on the Wait But Why blog.
Really thought-provoking, insightful, and uncomfortable at times.
Thanks Tony! (I knew a Tony K in high school, back in Ohio)
I am not a fan of tribalism, but we are social creatures. I must admit there are times I mourn the community I had ten years ago, when I thought I had literally hundreds of friends.
I miss the community (tribe) too. The last 6 years have made me realize a lot of it was based on false premises.
Let's start a new tribe of people who try to look at and understand the actual issues and find the best solutions. People whose philosophy is "I'll believe it when I see it" (science) rather than "I'll believe it when I see it." (tribalism and confirmation bias).
I can tell that you are my people.
BTW, I'm not your classmate. Lol.
>The last 6 years have made me realize a lot of it was based on false premises.
Yup, that is so true I can still hardly believe it.
>People whose philosophy is "I'll believe it when I see it" (science) rather than "I'll believe it when I see it." (tribalism and confirmation bias).
The problem is: everyone thinks they have the science.
https://www.mattball.org/2021/10/last-mental-health-note-mind-is-fragile.html
And, having been wrong so much, I'm trying to keep this in mind:
https://www.mattball.org/2018/04/we-all-have-our-blindspots.html
Thanks for commenting, Tony! Glad to know you.
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