Why standards matter

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I was poking around on social media as I do seemingly more and more as an observer rather than a poster. Many more of my posts either deal with other, innocuous things, or they link to my blog here. I’ve grown more and more weary of the constant whining from both sides as they harp on the latest bit of rage porn or meme, and usually see it in passing, occasionally stopping to read the comments and even more rarely, voicing my opinion. Online, the sides have become more and more entrenched in their narratives, and the echo chambers have grown more isolated. My concerns over a second Civil War grow, and my optimism that we avoid such things wanes.

I find it most frustrating that the discourse focuses so much on the trivial (at least in the grand scheme of things). But one distinct aspect of it is the hypocrisy, and, when it comes down to it, how very little the super progressive folks really care about the people they claim to care about.

I want people to operate and live their lives as safely as possible. I do. I really do. But people do stupid and crazy things all the time, things that are beyond my ability to control. I cannot force someone to do a thing they don’t want to do, and no amount of shaming, guilt tripping, or yelling will change their hearts. Our country faces a crossroads, with two very different visions for its future. On the one hand we have a group that believes that the government can use its power and scope for “good.” That they can help the downtrodden and fix what eons of human civilization and human evolution could not. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to live in a world where everyone has everything equally and everything is free and everyone is happy, and there’s no war, no disease, no death, no suffering. But that’s not our world. While we focus on whether we should open our economy, arguing over pronouns, suing over election results, screeching about masking or not masking, and hyperbolizing our discourse over the most miniscule difference, millions of people around the world starve, at least that’s what the UN says.

If we want a world in which people follow the mandates and recommendations of government officials, health experts, scientists, religious teachers, educators, or anyone else in a position of trust, power, or authority, then having standards matter. And I guess that’s what I’m seeing less and less of these days. We’ve hit nine months of “fifteen days to slow the spread.” And it seems that the common refrain from people is that we need to continue these lockdowns ad infinitum, to mask constantly, and completely ignore when the politicians, media, and health experts ignore their own warnings.

Whether it’s having fancy dinners at expensive restaurants, getting a haircut, travelling to Cabo, going to a wine bar, attending a massive funeral, or one of the myriad of other flubs and “mistakes,” that have plagued mayors, governors, medical professionals, or president-elects, these are not a good look. It shows more and more that we have two standards: one for them and one for everyone else. I suppose in a way, that it’s a unifying thing, and that it shows that the American people aren’t as divided as some claim we are. The key division is in money and class, and the longer these lockdowns drag on, the more clearly that division becomes permanent.

But it’s not just in politics, it’s in our social behaviors as well, which I believe is actually more toxic and detrimental to the future of our country than anything some politician could do. What are the standards by which we should operate in this country? I have less and less certainty of that answer, since what I had thought were the basic principles for decency have seemingly been torpedoed in the public sphere.

I hear the argument from people on the Progressive/Authoritarian left that we are supposed to respect “my truth.” I personally don’t really like this description, because “my truth,” is fairly interchangeable with an amalgamation of opinion and experience. It reminds me of the Allegory of the Cave. I will likely do a post on that later. But it seems that the acknowledgment only flows in one direction, and that there is little tolerance for one’s truth if it goes against the message presented in today’s discourse.

This become problematic on many fronts, and contributes to the heat generated from the culture war, and in my opinion, will ultimately decide whether we go from a cold Civil War to a hot one. If we are truly to have the standard by which we accept people’s differences, then we must apply that uniformly. If we are to believe that “my truth” is valid and should be respected, the we should respect other people’s truths. If we are to live in a tolerant society, we must tolerate things we dislike or even hate vehemently, because that is the standard by which we are operating. But I fear that the standard by which we operate will continue to be I will attack you for the things I do not like and try to destroy you. This standard is a disastrous one, and will surely end in bloodshed.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.