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Nov. 19th, 2004 09:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jrisingI've had several fantastic discussions recently, and I have things to say that I feel more strongly about then I have in a while.
Until recently, I'd been more intrigued by the events of the world than concerned by them. Being more interested in things philosophically and academically, and being more interested in trends than invested in particular structures, I could stand back. Conservative people aren't wrong; corrupt politicians are to be expected; and the wrongs in the world result from large enough structures that they are best attacked on a long time scale.
Recently, though, I've become very afraid. Said simply, I think that the current trajectory of the United States could result in a Hilter-like state in the next 10 years. The biggest reasons I have concern the use of fear, and recently hatred, for political purposes, and the effects of modern propaganda techniques, from both parties, on the workings of democracy. This is not a test.
But the reason to fight now, very hard, at the expense of practicality and in disproportion to the clear evidence, is not that the doomsday fears are correct. It's because the fight is righteous. First they came for the terrorists and I did not speak out because I was not a terrorist. Next they may come for the homosexuals. There's something mad about that kind of virtuous life, but I want that kind of madness in my life.
That said, I still think I can finish my year at Olin, before I commit myself full-time to the task, as long as I'm making progress. But the natural end of these thoughts are all-consuming.
Until recently, I'd been more intrigued by the events of the world than concerned by them. Being more interested in things philosophically and academically, and being more interested in trends than invested in particular structures, I could stand back. Conservative people aren't wrong; corrupt politicians are to be expected; and the wrongs in the world result from large enough structures that they are best attacked on a long time scale.
Recently, though, I've become very afraid. Said simply, I think that the current trajectory of the United States could result in a Hilter-like state in the next 10 years. The biggest reasons I have concern the use of fear, and recently hatred, for political purposes, and the effects of modern propaganda techniques, from both parties, on the workings of democracy. This is not a test.
But the reason to fight now, very hard, at the expense of practicality and in disproportion to the clear evidence, is not that the doomsday fears are correct. It's because the fight is righteous. First they came for the terrorists and I did not speak out because I was not a terrorist. Next they may come for the homosexuals. There's something mad about that kind of virtuous life, but I want that kind of madness in my life.
That said, I still think I can finish my year at Olin, before I commit myself full-time to the task, as long as I'm making progress. But the natural end of these thoughts are all-consuming.
