The largest, most powerful companies in the world - “tech companies” - are openly collaborating with governments around the world, and when you point this out to certain people they accuse you of wanting the government to get involved. Is binary thinking so prevalent that they can’t read the first sentence and realize that’s not the solution but the problem? There are more than two choices. A month ago I probably would have defaulted to torches and pitchforks as my answer but after watching the glorious actions of WallStreetBets, it appears people are developing solutions on their own. People are learning how to weaponize their autism beyond “meme wars.”
Once again, I feel the need to mention that common refrain idiot lolbertarians have now managed to get even progressives to repeat; “It’s a private company.” Very cool. When the Walmart-owned boxcars show up to take you to the Amazon-run re-education camps, make sure to leave both companies a good Yelp review, you double-digit IQ twits.
Logic and consistency are dead. I don’t know how many times this must be said before people accept it. And if you refuse to understand that because of some egoistic principle, you’re useless. Enjoy being logically consistent in a corner by yourself because you refuse to adapt.
When Vin Armani and I realized that facts and logic were dead, we were forced to get uncomfortable. I talked about hijacking narratives. Vin went further and said we had to start “practicing magic” as well. He illustrated this point by painting a scenario in which the “Priests in the White Coats” explained to the American people how burning sage and chanting would make the virus disappear. But Vin, knowing the ‘lolbertatian’ mind, mentioned that if there was a libertarian at said ceremony, he or she would inevitably try to point out that this solution was not in accordance with science, at which time almost everyone in the room would tell this worshiper of “facts and logic” to shut the fuck up! Why are libertarians always trying to fuck things up?
What we are experiencing is not new. In history people have always been willing to trade safety for liberty and the response to COVID 19 is just another marker in humanities’ march toward totalitarianism. We all knew the day was coming when the powers that be would figure out a way to get people to acquiesce to tyranny. The day when liberty would become an afterthought in the minds of the people was inevitable. People have faithfully believed for two centuries that they were entitled to the liberties laid out by the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, but have never been willing to put themselves at risk to preserve them. How long did they think it was going to last with no effort on their part??
The Declaration of Independence references rights as being endowed by a “creator” and never seeks to explain what he, she or it is. Does it really matter? The most important thing is that the rights promised by the Founders are endowed from a “magical realm” that cannot be explained. To me, even the concept of natural rights makes no sense outside of the realm of the spiritual. No, this country’s “Great Experiment” was started on magical ideas by people using magical language. And if you use that language in reference to the founding with the average American today, they accept it. This language, that to many is devoid of “logic and reason,” may just be our journey back to a path of individual liberty and flourishing. What have we got to lose?
Correct.
Ethics requires an ought to derive a universally preferable behavior, so if you are attempting to avoid subjectivity and relativism then you need a metaphysics in order to derive an epistemic argument, and you cannot get that from pragmatism given that there are all sorts of false beliefs and assumptions that can be derived pragmatically.
Which is why Natural Law is silly. In the animal kingdom I see predator v. prey. Without a God and specifically one that expressed Free Will and Personhood Ethics becomes ungrounded. Hume 101.
If you aren't personally taking "give me liberty or give me death" to heart, you will get slavery followed shortly thereafter by death. At this time in history, your life in slavery isn't the commodity it once may have been, to those in "mastery."
"Vivir con miedo es como vivir a medias" ...literally.