Things I’ve figured out about politics

Politicians are effects, not causes
Radicalizing your base also radicalizes your opponents
Demonized people will, in time, act demonically 
Lumping opposition groups together will bring them together
Attempts to censor and silence the opposition always fail
Failure to engage in debate is the same as losing the debate
Lies have a short shelf life
Hope is a sustainable and effective motivator, anger is not
Winning at all costs will eventually cost all
With people, like atoms, fusion is more powerful than fission
To be trusted by people, you must be willing to trust them
The most effective leaders are humble
Though some are entirely wrong, no one is entirely right
Public sacrifice, when necessary, must be equally shared by all
Wealthy politicians are almost always corrupt
Mistakes will not be forgiven unless and until they are admitted 
Broken promises are never completely forgotten
When wagons are circled it is often around the drain
Refighting a lost battle never wins it
Revenge is a tasty but poisonous and addictive dish 
In the long run charisma is no substitute for competence 
All policies have both intended and unintended consequences 
Credibility is power
Credibility is created by transparency  
Poorly chosen friends are as damaging as enemies 
Laughing at them is better than shouting at your opponents 
Campaigning against the other candidate’s followers helps them
Like banks and churches, governments are based on faith
When faith in faith based institutions is lost they fail 
No one is responsible for the sins of their ancestors
Hypocrisy is hard to hide for very long 
Character maters, and can’t be hidden 
When most people think you’re wrong you probably are
Broad brushes are excellent for painting yourself into a corner
People want to be respected
Pandering to people is disrespectful
Political firestorms are easier to start than to put out
Great leaders have great hearts
 True courage is communicable 
Coercion causes resentment 
Resentment causes resistance 
Resistance leads to rebellion 

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QMS's picture

Agreed --
People want to be respected
Credibility is created by transparency
Hypocrisy is hard to hide for very long

Not so much --
When faith in faith based institutions is lost they fail (not always)
Attempts to censor and silence the opposition always fail ?
Resentment causes resistance (and ulcers)

thanks for posting!

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question everything

mimi's picture

I am grateful that you included

No one is responsible for the sins of their ancestors

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Sima's picture

@mimi

I agree with this list, and with you on

No one is responsible for the sins of their ancestors

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1 user has voted.

If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

River Rover's picture

Thanks especially for disagreeing with some of my points

That’s how politics is ‘sposed to work.

Now I have to think

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Rivers are horses - and kayaks are their saddles

QMS's picture

@River Rover

the fine tuning of ideation is what this place is about!

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question everything

River Rover's picture

That shouldn’t have to be said

But it does

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Rivers are horses - and kayaks are their saddles

River Rover's picture

the other sight don’t allow that at all

and echoes git old purty fast

I ‘bleve I hang out here

with ya’ll a lot more

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7 users have voted.

Rivers are horses - and kayaks are their saddles

QMS's picture

@River Rover

assumptions aside, most of us came from from
some other place. You will find a robust exchange
within this sphere as to where we are a'going.
Thanks again, and welcome!

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4 users have voted.

question everything

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

Agree With:

Radicalizing your base also radicalizes your opponents
Lumping opposition groups together will bring them together
Winning at all costs will eventually cost all
To be trusted by people, you must be willing to trust them
Though some are entirely wrong, no one is entirely right
Mistakes will not be forgiven unless and until they are admitted
Broken promises are never completely forgotten
In the long run charisma is no substitute for competence
All policies have both intended and unintended consequences
Campaigning against the other candidate’s followers helps them
Like banks and churches, governments are based on faith
When faith in faith based institutions is lost they fail
Broad brushes are excellent for painting yourself into a corner
People want to be respected

-----

Tentatively Agree With:

Demonized people will, in time, act demonically

Some, but surprisingly many won't. The most truly oppressed
can hardly afford to be anything but sweethearts.

Wealthy politicians are almost always corrupt

Probably true, but group generalizations like this are a slippery slope.

Credibility is created by transparency

It must be said that sometimes, reliable results are enough.

Hypocrisy is hard to hide for very long

...from people who pay scrupulous attention, perhaps. My family was
fooled by the Clintons for decades; in hindsight, I'm not 100% sure why.

-----

Disagree A Bit With:

Politicians are effects, not causes

Only to a certain extent, and it varies immensely by politician.

Attempts to censor and silence the opposition always fail

Never totally, otherwise nobody would bother to do it. Those who pursue such tactics always ultimately fail for the same reason they pursue those tactics in the first place: They're simply wrong, and there's no censoring the Pimp-Hand of Reality.

Lies have a short shelf life
Depends on which lies you have in mind (or what you mean by "shelf life"); some lies have managed to persist for millennia.

Hope is a sustainable and effective motivator, anger is not

As The Empty Chair made painfully clear, hope is empty calories; it'll get you across that next hill, but without the delivery of more, it is not sustainable; anger is about as good - and for some purposes, better. The trick is being and staying angry at the right things.

With people, like atoms, fusion is more powerful than fission

This is sort of a 'vase-and-faces' thing; depending on context, this could be spot-on or horribly wrong.

Public sacrifice, when necessary, must be equally shared by all

I thought this was called "flat tax"...?

Failure to engage in debate is the same as losing the debate

Again, context is necessary.

The most effective leaders are humble

Napoleon wasn't. What the world needs now is Great People, and we are suffering immensely from the 20th-Century Cult of Mediocrity that has crushed or marginalized today's heroes - and since the cats have been away, the mice (CEOs, corporate bureaucrats and political hacks) have been playing, which is exactly what's led us to this nightmare scenario.

Great leaders have great hearts

A great MIND is more important.

-----

Disagree A Great Deal With:

Refighting a lost battle never wins it

Tell that to all the sore losers of the 20th Century who've been waging a
so-far-winning blitzkrieg on not just the past 100 years, but the past 400.
Now, they lost FOR A REASON, so they should lose again, but your one-liner is at least
perilously simplistic...even fatalistic.

"A lost battle is a battle one thinks one has lost."
- Jean-Paul Sartre

Revenge is a tasty but poisonous and addictive dish

AGAIN, depends on what you mean; done right, I think it can do a world of good,
and we are suffering under a culture that almost universally denounces it (except
perhaps the Church of Satan).

Credibility is power

No. INTELLIGENCE is power. INTEGRITY is power. REAL POWER COMES FROM WITHIN.
Credibility is just one of many external rewards of that power.
This whole concept of "social power" is an obvious illusion, and HAS
GOT to be done away with.

When most people think you’re wrong you probably are

Words cannot begin to describe how dangerously wrong this is;
this is practically Groupthink 101.

Skimming a history book should be enough to reveal that the majority is nearly
ALWAYS wrong - only a gifted handful, who usually are stuck with the miserable
role of Cassandras, turn out to be right.

"Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth."

- Mahatma Gandhi

True courage is communicable

I wish; most people are incorrigible cowards.
It is the true Achilles' heel of democracy. :/

"People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest."
- Hermann Hesse

-----

Agree Tremendously With!:

Poorly chosen friends are as damaging as enemies

WORSE.

Pandering to people is disrespectful
Political firestorms are easier to start than to put out
Laughing at them is better than shouting at your opponents
No one is responsible for the sins of their ancestors
Coercion causes resentment
Resentment causes resistance
Resistance leads to rebellion

When wagons are circled it is often around the drain

Two ways to interpret this, both correct:
Sometimes the wagons are circled because they are going down the drain
OR
Sometimes the obsolete human instinct of wagon-circling itself
is what sends everyone down the drain, even though that need not
have been inevitable otherwise.

Not Sure About This One...:

Character maters, and can’t be hidden

...
...
1OffJ.k3.jpg...???

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

River Rover's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat well I never really left the drawing board

so I cain’t go back to it

you punched a lot

really good

holes into

my half

baked

ideas

Well done !

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Rivers are horses - and kayaks are their saddles

Russia! Russia! comes to mind. Hell, how long did the Bell Curve "proving" Africans were incapable of being as intelligent as whites take to disprove?
At least lies are revealed. One day, we might get the archives on the JFK assassination revealed.
I have learned politics is blah blah blah for the 99%, a benefit for the 1%. I will never spend a red cent or1 minute of my time for the effort for someone to get elected to any public office.
Let someone else fund the charade.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

janis b's picture

It sounds like you have more figuring to do, like all of us, but isn’t it sweet to have a safe and respectful place to do it in.

You and Moonbat are a promising team. It’s all great stuff to think about. Thank you for initiating it.

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River Rover's picture

The other site is rapidly

becoming irrelevant

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Rivers are horses - and kayaks are their saddles

River Rover's picture

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Rivers are horses - and kayaks are their saddles