I’d like you to take a minute to watch this video, not
because of its message, but because it illustrates perfectly some of the strategies
that people use to bypass clear thinking about all kinds of things.
First, it takes guy who looks like he just graduated from
SEAL training & starts talking about patriotism. He then alters the meaning
of the word & uses it to promote ideas that are either not related or
irrelevant.
Second, He appeals to emotions, not logic or rationality. Ask
yourself how long a culture can last if it’s based on diverse &
contradictory values. Just as a cracked foundation can’t support the physical
weight of a house, so a divided culture can’t indefinitely support the weight
of internal contradictions.
Third, he equates agreement with an idea with love &
seems to want us to believe that disagreement with his view is neither loving
nor patriotic. In doing this he cuts off any prospect of discussion. How can
there be love without rational discussion?
Fourth, he mixes various kinds of "identities" together which
shouldn’t necessarily be mixed. For example, ethnicity, physical gender, & disabilities
are not things that can be chosen. If gender identity is chosen, that should be
considered in a different category.
Let's not twist the meanings of words. Let's think rationally & follow ideas to their logical conclusion. Let's learn to reason together.
