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  • logicbomb@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Are there any issues where conservatives are correct? I mean, like even if it means they agree with progressives.

    I was thinking both are against murder, but conservatives seem to support the genocide in Palestine. They seem excited about the idea of a civil war.

    I was thinking both reject the rape of children, but conservatives lately seem to have been warming up to that.

    I think the reason it’s hard to find a good answer is that their opinions aren’t based on anything logical, just whatever they’re told to believe at the moment. A person with no truly held convictions cannot be right about anything.

    • BozeKnoflook@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      There’s a certain level of childish contrarianism going on. “I was going to do this, but now I have learned you want me to do it and so I’m going to refuse

      My brother and I tried to convince our father to install solar panels when he was considering replacing our parents’ entire roof due to age. The house was perfect for it: it wasn’t shaded by trees, the roof was a 35 degree angle facing mostly to the south, the whole roof needed to be replaced, and there where still some really good tax advantages at the time.

      We ran all the numbers for him, showed how it would pay for itself in something like 5 years and actually generate money for him after that, how the tax breaks would save so much money, how a large home battery could be used to power the home when the electricity is out due to Indiana’s frequent tornadoes and storms…

      Nope. Saving tens of thousands of dollars wasn’t enough to overcome the dangers of Critical Race Theory powered panels generating a woke communist DEI field that is going to transgender the tan suit wearing raccoons of the Southern Indiana AntiFa Brigade.

      I’m glad he died before COVID hit. He would absolutely have been the sort to say that wearing a mask is something only blue haired lesbian socialists do and gotten our mother killed.

    • okwhateverdude@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      I think the reason it’s hard to find a good answer is that their opinions aren’t based on anything logical, just whatever they’re told to believe at the moment. A person with no truly held convictions cannot be right about anything.

      This isn’t too far from what has been researched. Take a gander: https://theauthoritarians.org/

    • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.works
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      3 days ago

      Are there any issues where conservatives are correct?

      If you look at earlier 19th and early 20th century conservatives, they absolutely make pretty good points.

      More than a few social safety systems world wide were instituted by conservatives, under the thinking that people are fucking shit to eachother and thus it falls to institutions to take care of basic needs. A famous example is the German welfare state created by Bismarck.

      A lot of natural beauty has been protected by conservatives, because they used to believe in actually conserving things.

      Conservatives of the past have done a LOT of good in preventing and reversing government overreach in personal liberties.

      I could have absolutely had a great discussion with a conservative from 1925. We would have some major disagreements, but more than a few similarities. And a modern conservative would loathe everything about that same past conservative.

    • markovs_gun@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      There are aspects of “Make America Healthy Again” that are actually good ideas but the problem is that they are tied to extremely bad ones. Like getting rid of artificial dyes in food and improving food purity are good ideas on the surface, but they’re tied to dumb ass ideas like seed oil panic and anti vax. Furthermore, none of this stuff is actually being supported by law. It’s all just rhetoric and the actual law and policy changes are just more pro corporate nonsense and all action taken by corporations so far has been voluntary statements saying they’ll do something in the future. I think this is the real problem of the conservative movement at least in its current form. Even when they stumble upon a good idea, the fact that there is no underlying logical framework to that idea other than just further enriching those in charge means that said idea can’t be implemented properly and without other nonsense.

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Are there any issues where conservatives are correct?

      Flawed premise and why we’re in this shit-mire. We keep thinking that we can appeal to the minds to relate with or connect with or change the policies of a third of our population when they’re not using their minds to begin with.

      They are the segment of the population not concerned with policy and values and principles, It may seem backwards to say they don’t have values when they have such violent ideology, but their entire motivation for the things they defend violently is entirely emotional.

      If their feelings change, so do their stances. If you can tell a better story that engages them and makes them feel feelings, their brains will latch onto that new narrative and they will either abandon the old one or encorporate it even if it contradicts… because again, concepts like contradiction and inconsistency are products of logic and reason, and we’re talking about a side based in emotion and impulses. For example, when a conservative suddenly has a family crisis and needs assistance, they become entirely for public support systems and socialism. When they need an abortion, suddenly they’re pro-choice. When one of their kids is harmed by a shooter, they want gun controls. They can hold these changes in belief WHILE also remaining anti-socialism, pro-gun and pro-life. We have a very hard time understanding this if we are people who read and write and think with language.

      Trump and his ilk tap this easily by saying short, pithy and powerful statements to help emotional minds validate their own feelings. You sad and overworked? it’s the migrants! Worried about your kids education? TRANS PEOPLE IN THE BATHROOM.

      It doesn’t have to logically make sense, our brains don’t work like that by default, they just need a story to explain the feelings.

      • dandelion (she/her)@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        2 days ago

        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality-based_community

        ^ and it’s nothing new, reactionaries have always preferred fantasy and power over reality and goodness.

        Reactionaries are unknowingly self-harming, and their victimization fuels their faith and anger, which is redirected conveniently to scapegoats and political enemies.

        Climate disasters lead to conspiracies about the government controlling the weather, rather than accountability for oil companies or action to stabilize the climate.

        Poverty and economic hardship becomes hatred against immigrants and decadent elements of society (intellectuals, gays, trans, etc.), instead of bolstering workers movements and unions or translating into policies that improve outcomes.

      • Dagwood_Sanwich@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Those who do not think for themselves cannot conceive that they can be wrong. They always accept whatever they are told by their political party without question, even if it contradicts what they were told previously and will promptly discard previous stance without question. If Trump was a Democrat, the Democrats would rally around him and the Democrats’ minions would worship the ground he walks on, even as he deports illegal immigrants. There would be a small handful that rail against him, but the bulk would genuflect mindlessly, just like they did with Obama when he was declared “deporter in chief”

        " If you can tell a better story that engages them and makes them feel feelings, their brains will latch onto that new narrative and they will either abandon the old one or encorporate it even if it contradicts"

        Partially correct. The mindless will change their minds, but only when their political gods tell them to. If the better story comes from anyone else, they reject it without a second thought. This applies to both parties.

        The irony is watching Democrats/left wingers on here declaring themselves the arbiters of truth and morality and howling about Trump being a pedo when Biden was openly touching and sniffing little girls on national TV with the same Democrats desperately trying to explain it away as being “fatherly”. Then when the Ashley Biden diary was confirmed to be real, the Democrats rejected reality because it would mean that they were wrong about Biden.

            • ameancow@lemmy.world
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              2 days ago

              I blocked him, I don’t think any of us should be wasting our time and energy on people who get so high off their own farts that they decide to move in there and stay in their own ass forever.

          • Dagwood_Sanwich@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            It’s not insane. It’s the truth. Why do you think the FBI, who does not pursue lost or stolen personal possession cases, went after the Ashley Biden diary?

            The Biden Administration knew it would be bad news if the contents of that diary were made public. Some of it was and even SNOPES had to admit that it was real and the contents that were released were confirmed.

            And why else would Ashley write that she had to wait until late at night to shower because of her father? Those who worship the Democratic Party ignored the obvious, that he was a pedo and he has dementia.

            Call it insane if you want, I call it reality.

            • ameancow@lemmy.world
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              2 days ago

              I care a lot more about material outcomes the current administration’s attempts to like… destroy motherfucking democracy, than conspiracy stories about a diary, and I care more about power structures that support things like sex-trafficking islands for billionaires than one family’s attempts to keep their private shit under wraps.

              It is insane, I read the whole thing and stand by it, it’s more useless hype and distraction-for-clicks that’s preventing national mobilization and unity against a force that will someday take away even your ability to read these emotion-validating stories on the internet that make you feel better about yourself for whatever reason.

              • Dagwood_Sanwich@lemmy.world
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                2 days ago

                Define “destroy democracy”.

                It’s a meaningless buzz phrase the Democrats bandy about to stir up hysteria and prevent people from thinking critically. It wasn’t Trump who tried to weaponize the government to force a political candidate from running and tried to keep said candidate tied up in court so they couldn’t campaign.

                People capable of critical thinking burned out on the hysteria between 2016 and 2021. This is why Trump got reelected in 2020. The Democrat hysteria didn’t work and the Democrats actively trying to weaponize the government to stop Trump was so blatantly obvious that it turned a huge number of people against them.

                Also, you’re doing precisely what I described. Denying reality in service of your political party. You call it a “conspiracy theory” because then you can use that label to deny reality. Biden was a pedo and has dementia, it was obvious. you didn’t care because he was “on your team”.

                It’s also not a theory. It’s a fact.

                • ameancow@lemmy.world
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                  2 days ago

                  I can’t engage with militant centrism, again I care about outcomes. Right now we’re heading for bad outcomes because people (like you) are so incredibly self-consumed that they can’t get their heads out of their asses long enough to mobilize communities and get social and start uniting instead of finding yet more things to feel special about under every rock.

                  Have a good one. Or a bad one. Or one in between because GOOD AND BAD ARE THE SAME THING WAKE UP SHEEPLE.

                  • Dagwood_Sanwich@lemmy.world
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                    2 days ago

                    You “care about outcomes”? Bullshit. you care about your political team winning. There’s a difference. It’s why you engage in the typical Democrat hysteria and spew their talking points with no consideration for reality.

                    Then when the midterms come, if Republicans gain more seats, you’ll be screeching louder and becoming more and more hysterical. Then in 2028, if (assuming he’ll run) JD Vance wins, you’ll be shitting yourself and wondering why so many people are “turning into fascists” as you continue blindly spewing your political party’s talking points.

                    If Trump was a Democrat, you’d be polishing his shoes with your tongue and talking about how good the polish tastes and talking about how no one is above the law, which is why illegal immigrants have to go home and come back the right way.

                    Don’t lie to yourself. This is why you spent 4 years defending Biden, despite his obvious dementia.

                • NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world
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                  2 days ago

                  Lets not say “destroy democracy” and instead say “dismantling the government and systems in place to protect citizens and the basic rights of human beings in favor of a theocratic fascist regime.”

                  • Dagwood_Sanwich@lemmy.world
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                    2 days ago

                    You can say it, but you’d be hysterically wrong, like any other time Democrats or Republicans have whipped themselves into hysteria to protect themselves from reality.

            • NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world
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              2 days ago

              The shower thing was her recollection of a dream. Maybe read the shit you claim to know so much about, you’ll either spread less disinformation or at least be better at it.

    • merc@sh.itjust.works
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      2 days ago
      • Sometimes there are too many regulations. When corporations get big and powerful, sometimes they push for regulations that will make it harder for their competitors.
      • Immigration isn’t always well managed. Often corporations will try to bring in immigrants so that they can avoid paying non-immigrants a higher wage. Illegal immigrants should be deported (but the companies that employ them should be heavily fined too).
      • Drugs are bad, m’kay? Mexico’s issues with narcos terrorizing them, destabilizing their government, etc. is driven by the demand for drugs from the US. It’s true that when Americans are buying illegal drugs, they’re often funding these narcos.
      • Freedom of speech. This is normally something that is more of a conservative value. The left is typically more willing to say certain points of view shouldn’t be heard.
      • There is waste, fraud and abuse in the government. An occasional house cleaning is a good idea. But, it was Al Gore who did it the right way. DOGE was a clusterfuck.
      • Think of the Children! Sometimes the world moves too quickly, and it has a bad effect on kids. Take, for example, kids getting addicted to their cell phones and social media, or kids using ChatGPT to cheat. Raising kids in a more traditional way while we figure out the effect of these new-fangled technologies might be smart.
      • Chyna. The west really should have been harsher with China. China didn’t respect IP rules with respect to US patents and trade secrets. China’s government continues to promote and back certain companies. The “de minimis” rule was awful and really needed to be fixed.

      What makes this hard to answer is that conservatives and liberals have flipped on a number of issues over the past decade or so. In Ye Olde Days, the left wing was protectionist because labour unions were strong. It was the conservatives that were pro free-trade, etc. Then the neo-liberals were pro-free trade, and the conservatives have become protectionist. Protecting nature has shifted back and forth as a conservative or liberal value. The left used to be skeptical about big business, but then it was the right who was trying to regulate the Silicon Valley companies, while the left defended them, and now the bosses in Silicon Valley are going hard right. The right used to be much more pro-immigrant because it was good for business, while the unions on the left opposed it. Now the right is anti-immigrant and the left is pro-immigrant. The right used to be the pro-war party, while the left was anti-war. Now the right is isolationist and against getting involved in military things overseas, and it’s the left who wants to continue working with allies and intervening to protect vulnerable countries like Ukraine or vulnerable minorities who are being persecuted. (Both parties are terrible on Israel and Gaza). The right used to have freedom of speech as a core value, and it was the left who thought some people shouldn’t have a platform and shouldn’t have their views heard. Now it’s the right who wants to censor everything and the left defending free speech.

      • logicbomb@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Your idea that conservatives generally are against government waste is an issue that I think conservatives are right on. Whether they’ve ever implemented it well (like you mentioned), or whether they apply it sanely (like military vs. healthcare)… None of that matters since I was talking about the issue itself. So, I think this is an almost unanimously held conservative belief that is correct.

        I was originally going to take issue with some of your other points (and had actually written quite a few things), but the challenge was to give me one issue that conservatives are correct, and you’ve done that.

        • merc@sh.itjust.works
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          1 day ago

          Thanks. It’s hard because there’s what conservatives say vs. what they do. They always talk about being the financially responsible side, and lowering the debt. But, when they actually govern what they tend to do is lower taxes and not touch spending causing the debt to balloon. So, they identified an actual problem, but they never actually solve it.

          That and trying to figure out what is actually a conservative view these days makes it really hard to pin down anything they’re correct on. But, I tried.

    • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Are we talking conservatives in theory here, or conservatives in practice?

      In theory, it’s not a matter of right or wrong, it’s a matter of balance. The government needs brakes, it needs people who look at every issue from the perspective of “should we do this thing, how far should we go with it, and how much should it cost”. In practice, conservatives have had way too much power for far too long. They’ve gone past the point of being brakes, and become full-on regressives that have been co-opted by corporations and religious fanatics that flock to the stability and “traditional values” that the ideology initially had as it’s foundation.

    • Turret3857@infosec.pub
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      3 days ago

      I’ve seen local rural conservitards who are anti-data center. its mostly because they’re old and don’t understand computers but as a self hosting advocate I’m all for it.

    • explodicle@sh.itjust.works
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      2 days ago

      The problem is that if they almost have a good idea, they add “for white people” at the end. Gun rights for white people. Financial freedom for white people. Low taxes for white people.

    • skisnow@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      Both the Right and the Left agree you shouldn’t get to freeload off other people’s work, they just disagree on who it is that’s doing the freeloading…

    • Dagwood_Sanwich@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      “The positions my political party takes is always correct. Those who disagree with my political party are always wrong” is the single most intellectually bankrupt, arrogant, and narcissistic view a person can have.

      It shows a complete lack of critical thinking and a deep, outright religious zeal for the message of the doctrine of the political party they worship.

      • logicbomb@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Well, then, it should be easy for you to come up with examples. You wouldn’t just get all worked up and morally righteous if you didn’t have tons of examples where conservatives were correct, would you? I’m sure you can list hundreds, but let’s start with one.

        Edit: Dagwood_Sanwich has made 9 comments in the time since I made this one, so I think it’s a given that they can’t come up with one answer. If anybody out there needs to learn how to deal with conservatives, I suggest you take notes from LBC’s James O’Brien. Conservatives tend to make general statements and grandstand, but just ask them to explain one thing and they crumple.

        Of course, James O’Brien’s style works best when you are in a conversation with them. On the internet, they’ll just find somewhere else to go and spread their misinformation. But if we all acted like James O’Brien, there would be nowhere for propagandists to go.

        • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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          2 days ago

          The account is also less than 2 weeks old and seems to mostly make comments like the above. Either they’re as much of a whiny Republican when challenged on their talking points as they present themselves to be, or they’re a troll/astroturfed. Either way, blocked

          • logicbomb@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            I’m not sure they’re worth blocking. Their account will probably be banned soon, anyways, presumably like their previous accounts were.