No Wonder They Are Angry

“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.” ~ Mark Twain

It seems that the least little disagreement with someone on the Left triggers an enormous response of anger, if not rage, far out of proportion to the topic. Such response renders any rational discussion impossible, and works against any attempt to reach agreement or to find truth.

In an attempt to understand this phenomenon, and in part out of a sense of self-preservation, I put together a list of topics and beliefs that I observed would trigger such responses to disagreement. The exercise was instructive, and I offer my list below for those with similar concerns and experiences.

Things the Left Knows for Sure

1. January 6, 2020 events were an insurrection
2. Donald Trump told the J6 people to overthrow the government
3. Gender is just an arbitrary selection made by a doctor when a person is born.
4. Donald Trump called Neo-Nazis "very fine people"
5. Judging a person by their character is racist.
6. Donald Trump is literally Hitler and wants to be an authoritarian dictator
7. MAGA is a dangerous, anti democracy personality cult
8. Israel is occupying land that rightfully belongs to Palestinians
9. Russia helped Donald Trump get elected in 2016
10. Our elections are fair, honest, and without significant fraud
11. Claims that machines are used to manipulate elections are lies told by sore losers and MAGA conspiracy theorists
12. Illegal migrants can vote if they register
13. Americans are too proud to do the jobs illegals are doing
14. Reality is a consensual creation and is whatever a majority of people agree it is.
15. America was founded so people could freely practice slavery
16. Only white people can be racist
17. Conservatives want to force women to stay home and raise kids
18. Islam is a religion of peace
19. 1Facts are just talking points made up to support an argument
20. There is no objective reality
21. Christianity is used to justify oppression of other cultures
22. The Crusades were unjustified Christian aggression against peaceful Muslims and Jews
23. Christianity has killed more people than all other wars combined.
24. People on the Left are always truthful, while those on the Right will lie, cheat, and steal at any opportunity
25. Capitalism is theft and exploits the poor
26. The Trump tax cuts only benefit the rich
27. Socialism is the ideal way to organize society
28. 2Guns are evil, kill people, and must be eliminated for public safety
29. 2Police are the enemies of free people and exist to oppress minorities
30. Climate change is caused by CO2 in the atmosphere
31. Wind and solar are reliable sources of energy.
32. The human population is too large for the planet to support. White people need to stop having babies.
33. Migrants in America and Europe are all honest, hardworking people who just want a chance at a better life for their families.
34. The purpose of science is to create evidence to support a position of the Left
35. The Left is compassionate; the Right are cruel bigots
36. American Indians were good stewards of nature and were peaceful before the white man came.

Things the Left Knows for Sure

37. Fascism and Nazi ideologies are Right-wing
38. Illegal migrants have the same rights under the Constitution as American citizens.
39. Patriotism is a false belief in the virtues of America
40. America has exploited poor populations across the world, stealing their wealth and suppressing legitimate revolutions against colonial oppressors
41. Men can become women and women can become men
42. Gender is not determined by biology, but rather by choice or feelings
43. Men who believe they are women should be treated as real women.
44. Socialism would work if it were only done exactly right
45. The Constitution is obsolete and should be ignored as an historical relic
46. Antifa is an humanitarian organization defending freedom and the oppressed
47. America is a democracy
48. Diversity is strength and doesn't cause divisiveness.
49. Equity in outcome is just, even if some must be penalized to achieve it
50. Black slavery was started by white slave traders to support American plantations. It didn't exist before America was founded.
51. The mainstream media accurately and truthfully reports news
52. Conservatives are a danger to democracy
53. Laws only apply to you if you agree with them
54. Biden was one of America's greatest presidents
55. George Washington and the Founding Fathers were terrorists
56. Covid vaccines keep people from getting Covid
57. Police cause crime. No police - no crime!
58. Blacks have to be given special privileges and support because they can't make it on their own.
59. The Constitution makes it unlawful for Trump to fire bureaucrats.
60. Only authorized members of a national militia can have guns.
61. Public schools only teach essential skills and do not indoctrinate students
62. It is more important to teach people what to think than how to think.
63. Conservatives want to overthrow the government and are a danger to democracy
64. People who oppose transgenderism are racist bigots
65. People on the Left always know what is best for everyone else.
66. Men can get pregnant and give birth.
67. History is whatever story supports the current narrative. There is no objective history.
68. All inventions and social advances attributed to whites were actually stolen from other peoples and cultures.
69. Freedom of speech doesn't mean people can say whatever they want.
70. The First Amendment to the Constitution prohibits any religious expression or recognition in government facilities.
71. Only a universal one world government can ensure global peace.
72. People are born inherently good and all evil is a result of bad life experiences.

As I look at the list, every item fails a reality test in one way or another

Psychologists used to employ something called "reality testing" to evaluate mental illness. In that process, an individual's expressions and beliefs were evaluated on their consistency with objective truth. Truth was based on actual recorded history, scientific accuracy, objective facts, willingness to entertain alternatives, and depth of belief. Significant divergence was considered evidence of mental illness. For example, if someone expressed a belief that invisible Martians were siphoning off water to rehydrate Mars, and they resisted all requests to provide evidence of such activity, a therapist might consider such a belief delusional.

As I look at the list, every item fails a reality test in one way or another. What, exactly, does that imply? The fact that disagreements with these points engenders such extreme anger suggests the presence of a longstanding, perhaps even lifelong, condition.

Imagine for a moment that for as long as they have lived, someone was always on the wrong side of an issue or position. Imagine them always seeing others rewarded and admired for expressing ideas or positions opposite their own, and in fact, often being ridiculed or mocked for their positions What if the only people from whom they could obtain recognition and approval were those who shared their erroneous beliefs. After a lifetime of always being on the wrong side of things, might not such individuals be a bit defensive and prone to overreaction when their condition is again confronted?

For the Left, reality testing consists of asking other leftists what is true until obtaining consensus on "truth"

I know that if I were to express a position that is manifestly at odds with fact, and if that was pointed out to me with at least some evidence in support, I would investigate - do my own reality testing - and seek to correct any errors in my position. That is, after all, the foundation of science, that we make assertions about the world and then test them for accuracy, revise them as necessary, until they conform to what we can observe of objective reality. Data must always be superior to theory. This approach is also the foundation of Conservative thought.

For the Left, reality testing consists of asking other leftists what is true until obtaining consensus on "truth". This process leads to the condition described where an individual can persist in false beliefs, and defends those beliefs with anger and contempt.

Much of this defensive behavior originates in our public schools, where the teacher is always "right" and disagreement is penalized to a greater or lesser degree. The lessons become that approval is a result of recitation of whatever is the position of the teacher rather than what is true or correct.

Education becomes a magnet that draws those who seek to enforce agreement with their beliefs, rather than those who would teach their students to seek truth. The techniques of critical thinking, of independent investigation, of evaluating evidence and forming questions are casualties of an approach that seeks to indoctrinate students in what to think rather than how to think.

This is a dangerous condition, not only for its victims, but also for the nation as our success

Hence we now have at least one, and more likely two to three generations with impaired abilities for reality testing. Confused at almost every turn by experiences that conflict with and even contradict what they have been taught and what has always before brought them approval and rewards, is it any wonder that some of them will lash out against their perceived tormenters?

We see others mired in hopelessness, retreating from the world into a form of childhood, even to the extent of seeking their parent's support, or a form of societal parentage like Socialism or Communism that supports them without overtly challenging their beliefs..

This is a dangerous condition, not only for its victims, but also for the nation as our success, even our continued existence, rely on the general ability of the populace to accurately assess the world around them and form rational approaches consistent with reality. Anything else is to invite failure and frustration, and ultimately, defeat.

While the list I compiled was done somewhat tongue-in-cheek as a moderately humorous exercise, as the list grew longer, I came to realize its seriousness. I invite others to share their own experiences and suggest additions. The comments section is a good place to share. I welcome your observations.

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