We're all extremists, now

Don't deny it. My friends and I agree that it's all your fault.

photo by Pixabay

As near as I can tell, according to somebody’s opinion, you are an extremist. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you think, you are an extremist, in somebody’s mind. I know I am. And a racist. And a White supremacist. And a right-wing extremist.

Is there some standard, some absolute standard by which we can measure who is and is not an extremist, a totalitarian? If there is, then why don’t we use those standards, rather than shoot off invectives and pretend they contain any truth?

There are no specific standards to measure by. I haven’t bothered to Google a definition; I already know that there will be some decent explanations, but they will vary. And I long ago learned that official definitions don’t mean anything anyway. It’s what people think they know that counts.

So, I guess we are pretty much on our own. You are an extremist. I am an extremist. We’re all extremists, in different people’s minds.

I’ll go out on a limb, and state that, in reality, I am not an extremist. So why would anyone think that I am one in spite of the evidence to the contrary? Simply, it is because I support someone politically that makes them feel threatened. Well, that’s reasonable, isn’t it? Sure, but I think they are extremists, for thinking that I am an extremist. Now what do we do?

We have a self-inflicted existential crisis. Who are we? Who are we supposed to be? And why can’t you see that my viewpoint is the correct one? (I slipped that one in to see if you’re paying attention.)

If you think the entire nation owes it to you to see things your way, you are the extremist. It doesn’t matter how liberal or conservative you think you are. What you really are is an extremist. Sure, I know, you are well justified. You are saving the planet. You are eliminating crime. You are ‘preserving democracy’. You are stopping ‘hate speech’. And you are an extremist.

It’s the oldest trick in the book. If a group wants to dominate others, first they need justification such as, “We’re doing it for your own good!” Let me ask you a question: How well do you accept people who you don’t know or identify with, forcing you to comply, “For your own good?” Not much? Do you vocally reject them? Well, look in the mirror. If you insist that others comply with your vision, you are the extremist. If you are profoundly anti-abortion, to the point that you refuse to consider other points of view, you are an extremist. If you are profoundly pro-abortion, to the point that you refuse to consider other points of view, you are an extremist. To each other, these people seem quite different from each other. To me, they are one and the same.

And that makes me an extremist, in some people’s view. It’s a free country, and while I’ve come down hard on extremists, I wouldn’t suggest nobody has the right. We all have the right. We all have the right to strong views. I can like who I want, and hate who I want. I can associate and dissociate as I please. So can we all. THAT is democracy, by any valid definition.

Remember, the strength of your convictions justifies absolutely no expectation of compliance from anyone else. There are two possible ways to get people to go along with you: Force them, or convince them. What is your approach?

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