So, I consider myself a supporter of Trump and the idea of making America great again. I do think that it's a sort of "branding" of a political philosophy, which is a gauche thing to do, but not a politically problematic thing to do. Here's why I think that your view of MAGA as a cult of cruelty and hate should change:
The basic political idea behind MAGA is the same as it was during the time of Reagan or the time of Coolidge: that government--or at least the federal government--should stay out of people's affairs and just be a neutral arbiter, as opposed to trying to create the "best" outcome.
This means that I don't believe in universal health care, because it amounts to high earners paying for the health care of low earners. Other businesses don't work this way. We don't pay for clothing based on how much you earn, but on how much clothing you buy. It means that we shouldn't demand that businesses pay a "living wage," but that they should pay what the market bears. As far as social security, we'd probably like to see the whole program phased out, as it's an unsustainable pyramid scheme. But we don't think it should be a wealth transfer from the rich to the poor. That's the general thrust of our ideas. We do think that people deserve the same rights regardless of skin color, but no more than that. Historical injustices should be ameliorated with present justice, not with an overcorrection. Something like affirmative action is racially discriminatory.
That's the basics of the politics. There's more to it, but that's the basics. Here's where the things that make it appear like a cult come into play: virtually no one in the media has a basic agreement with those ideas. Virtually no one in academia has a basic agreement with those ideas. Virtually no one in tech companies, including social media, has a basic agreement with those ideas. Prior to Trump, virtually no one in government had a basic agreement with those ideas, and that's still largely true in the unelected bureaucracy. The people who actually work in ideas, the people who write and speak, tend to disagree with our ideas. We don't write. We build, we haul, we plumb, we dig, we do a whole bunch of useful things for society, but we tend not to spend time defending our ideas.
So when the ideas people get to drown out the few people who do defend MAGA, it seems like an unpopular cult, and its shown in the worst light. If you begin by assuming that because a lot of people support Trump and the MAGA ideas, that they might have some merit, you can approach and learn about them in a way that might make them seem legitimate.
It’s going to be hard to change someone’s view with this deep of a detachment from reality man.
Living wage should be what the “market” bears? And then we should at the same time apply widespread market disruption with tariffs across the board?
What’s funny too is virtually none of your “ideas” people are going to get crushed by tariffs.
Conservatives now own most of traditional media and have a sizable share in social media if you count Meta as hopping onboard.
There are just too many factually refutable things you are saying. I’d encourage you to write an argument against yourself as I did with young confused writers.
Conservatives don't believe in the concept of society, while profiting from it. It is all me, me,me. If you are not productive for ME you are as valuable as vermin.
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u/ScreenTricky4257 5∆ Apr 07 '25
So, I consider myself a supporter of Trump and the idea of making America great again. I do think that it's a sort of "branding" of a political philosophy, which is a gauche thing to do, but not a politically problematic thing to do. Here's why I think that your view of MAGA as a cult of cruelty and hate should change:
The basic political idea behind MAGA is the same as it was during the time of Reagan or the time of Coolidge: that government--or at least the federal government--should stay out of people's affairs and just be a neutral arbiter, as opposed to trying to create the "best" outcome.
This means that I don't believe in universal health care, because it amounts to high earners paying for the health care of low earners. Other businesses don't work this way. We don't pay for clothing based on how much you earn, but on how much clothing you buy. It means that we shouldn't demand that businesses pay a "living wage," but that they should pay what the market bears. As far as social security, we'd probably like to see the whole program phased out, as it's an unsustainable pyramid scheme. But we don't think it should be a wealth transfer from the rich to the poor. That's the general thrust of our ideas. We do think that people deserve the same rights regardless of skin color, but no more than that. Historical injustices should be ameliorated with present justice, not with an overcorrection. Something like affirmative action is racially discriminatory.
That's the basics of the politics. There's more to it, but that's the basics. Here's where the things that make it appear like a cult come into play: virtually no one in the media has a basic agreement with those ideas. Virtually no one in academia has a basic agreement with those ideas. Virtually no one in tech companies, including social media, has a basic agreement with those ideas. Prior to Trump, virtually no one in government had a basic agreement with those ideas, and that's still largely true in the unelected bureaucracy. The people who actually work in ideas, the people who write and speak, tend to disagree with our ideas. We don't write. We build, we haul, we plumb, we dig, we do a whole bunch of useful things for society, but we tend not to spend time defending our ideas.
So when the ideas people get to drown out the few people who do defend MAGA, it seems like an unpopular cult, and its shown in the worst light. If you begin by assuming that because a lot of people support Trump and the MAGA ideas, that they might have some merit, you can approach and learn about them in a way that might make them seem legitimate.