Left vs. Right? You are not paying attention.
Equalitarianism: all humans are equal in fundamental worth or moral status. That includes people who are born outside whatever imaginary land borders we have drawn on a map.ย
All people are protected under the law (in the US, “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This is under the 14th Amendment.)
Dogma: a belief or set of beliefs that are accepted as true by a group or community and are not open to debate or questioning.
Evidence: the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.
True: in accordance with fact or reality.
Truth: the quality or state of being true.
Politics: the way that people living in groups make planned decisions (or other power relations).
Power: the ability or capacity to do something or act in a particular way.
Dogmatism, in a political context, implies a strong belief system that is considered absolute and not open to question or revision. Dogmatic individuals tend to be resistant to new information or evidence that contradicts their existing beliefs. They may also tend to generalise and stereotype others who hold different political views. Dogmatic thinking can lead to political polarisation, reduced open dialogue, and difficulty in finding common ground (watch what happens below to understand why this is blinkin nonsense).
Stereotype: a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.
Person: a human being regarded as an individual.
Thing: an object that one need not, cannot, or does not wish to give a specific name to; an inanimate material object as distinct from a living sentient being.
Us vs. Them: refers to the tendency to view the world as divided into an ingroup (“us”) and an outgroup (“them”). This division can lead to preferential treatment of the ingroup, increased conflict with the outgroup, and a general lack of empathy for those perceived as different.
Preferential treatment: providing advantages or benefits (whether real or imaginary) to one individual or group over others.
Empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
World: the earth, together with all of its countries and peoples.
Country: a nation with its government, occupying a particular territory.
Nation: a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.
Descent: an act of moving downwards, dropping, or falling; the origin or background of a person in terms of family or nationality.
Family: a group of related things.
Culture: the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement, regarded collectively.
United: joined together politically, for a common purpose, or by common feelings.
Common: occurring, found, or done often; prevalent.
Feelings: an emotional state or reaction.
Perceive: become aware or conscious of (something); come to realise or understand; to interpret or regard (someone or something) in a particular way.
Conscious: aware of and responding to one’s surroundings.
Understand: perceive the intended meaning of (words, a language, or a speaker); interpret or view (something) in a particular way; be sympathetically or knowledgeably aware of the character or nature of.
Character: the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.
Sympathy: feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune.
Sorrow: a feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others.
Suffer: experience or be subjected to (something bad or unpleasant); tolerate.
Tolerance: allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of (something that one dislikes or disagrees with) without interference.
Existence: the fact or state of living or having objective reality.
Objective: not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.
Reality: the state of things as they exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.
Idealism: the unrealistic belief in or pursuit of perfection.
Perfect: having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be; absolute; make (something) completely free from faults or defects; make as good as possible.
Absolute: not qualified or diminished in any way; total.
“Humans do not crave power. The real drive is the need to understand life and find meaning, because happiness comes from insight, not control.”
Life: the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.
Death: the total cessation of life processes that eventually occurs in all living organisms.
Happiness: the state of being happy.
Happy: feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.
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