There\u2019s been a lot of news coverage and talk about extremists lately, and with the upcoming impeachment trial, I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll hear a lot more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depending on your view, you may believe that liberals are more likely to become extremists \u2014 or \u2014 you may believe that conservatives are more likely to become extremists. Actually, political alignment doesn\u2019t seem to make any difference in those developing extremists tendencies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Events such as those in Charlottesville in 2017 and the incident at the Capitol on January 6 leads us to wonder what we can do to stop the spread of these extremest ideologies. I certainly don\u2019t have the answer to that question\u2026. from what I\u2019ve read, extremists, especially militant extremists, usually have a mindset that includes nastiness, grudges and excuses. Most extremists strongly endorse statements approving violent acts, such as \u201ckilling is justified when it is an act of revenge.\u201d Grudges are often a direct reference to our country, such as \u201cthe US is degraded by its COVID pandemic, its alcohol and drug addiction, corruption, of lack of dignified values.\u201d Sometimes the grudge is more general, like \u201cevil has been re-incarnated in the rule of multinational companies.\u201d Although excuses can take several forms, a common feature is justification in people\u2019s own minds of the nasty and violent things they tend to condone.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I said, I know very little about this subject, but one thing I\u2019ve noticed \u2014 no matter what their political, religious, racial, etc. position, extremists find it much harder to admit they\u2019re wrong \u2014 about anything, even when it\u2019s got nothing to do with politics, religion, etc. Even when confronted with new evidence, they are less likely to admit they might be wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So \u2014 it\u2019s my blog and my opinion, but trying to convince extremists is a waste of time. You may be able to brilliantly argue your point, but that\u2019s all you\u2019ll get out of it\u2026 a “won” argument, and probably an alienated relationship.
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There\u2019s been a lot of news coverage and talk about extremists lately, and with the upcoming impeachment trial, I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll hear a lot more. Depending on your view, you may believe that liberals are more likely to become extremists … Continue reading