Leftists Can’t Take a Joke
It is important to debate ideas. Debating those who disagree with you clarifies your own thoughts and shores up weaknesses in your reasoning. Civil argument is wonderful exercise for the mind. Healthy minds make good citizens. Good citizens maintain strong societies.
It is, therefore, not an exaggeration to conclude that one of the first signs of a crumbling society is the inability of its people to argue peacefully among themselves.
I think most people born before 1990 would agree that public debate has disintegrated over the last three decades. We are no longer able to argue passionately — perhaps even shouting at each other — and end our disagreements by shaking hands, smiling, and moving on. Everything today is a vicious grudge match that participants treat as existential in nature — either I win this debate or my worth as a person is zero!
Ideological zealotry has replaced thinking. Thinking requires a person to accept the limitations of his knowledge and the possibility that he might be wrong. Ideological zealotry short-circuits the mind’s capacity for reason and prevents those so afflicted from enjoying true creativity.
In my experience, this affliction primarily torments those who would identify as being part of the political left. No doubt they would call me a partisan and explain all the ways my Christian beliefs trap me in a mental prison. They would be wrong. People who are confident in their beliefs should welcome outside challenges.
At some point as we move from adolescence to adulthood, those with enough curiosity to chase answers in this life have an epiphany: Truth abides regardless of how vigorously it is tested. It is only when we are willing to leave the relative safety of what we already know to ask questions about what we do not that we can intellectually, morally, and spiritually prosper. A person’s convictions are only as strong as that person’s willingness to test those convictions daily. Faith leads us to truth, and truth leads us to faith.
In this regard, modern leftists fail. They are currently unwilling and unable to test their beliefs. They are not capable of admitting past mistakes or acknowledging the limits of their knowledge. Perhaps because so many reject the existence of God, they are more inclined to see themselves as gods in this world. To question their beliefs, in other words,
Article from LewRockwell
LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
