American Fash also tend to believe without any awareness that they're "Good people" and consequences only happen to "Bad people". They often express shock, confusion, and outrage when, for instance, they are denied an abortion because they think that as "good people" they deserve it. Is there anything resembling rational analysis here? No. But that's what they think and it goes a long way to explain why they'll vote for things that will harm them; They believe those things will only harm their enemies.
Obviously there's a long and integral dynamic of 'good in-group / bad out-group', but I'm convinced its further exacerbated in the US by the so thoroughly intertwined Christian aspect, particularly the WASPy say the right things, give the church money, and do what you like types to still be righteous.
Yeah. Fucking secular Calvinism is a huge obstacle. Catholics and I think Greek Orthodox both believe in good works whereas Calvinists think that good or bad is like a permanent thing you're born with, then they go on to be completely incoherent by believing that your material wealth reflects your spiritual condition. And Americans have no idea they do it, it's baked in to their racism and contempt for poor people and they have no idea it's a religious belief.
Like, historians always talk about how we can't understand the way that pre-secular society was completely organically integrated with religion, and we can't understand how peoiple made no distinction between daily life and religious life and it's like no, brah, you've got religious beliefs that you live every moment of the day just like 12th century peasants, but like 12th century peasants you just think those things are compeltely normal and mundane and don't even notice them.
American Fash also tend to believe without any awareness that they're "Good people" and consequences only happen to "Bad people". They often express shock, confusion, and outrage when, for instance, they are denied an abortion because they think that as "good people" they deserve it. Is there anything resembling rational analysis here? No. But that's what they think and it goes a long way to explain why they'll vote for things that will harm them; They believe those things will only harm their enemies.
Obviously there's a long and integral dynamic of 'good in-group / bad out-group', but I'm convinced its further exacerbated in the US by the so thoroughly intertwined Christian aspect, particularly the WASPy say the right things, give the church money, and do what you like types to still be righteous.
Yeah. Fucking secular Calvinism is a huge obstacle. Catholics and I think Greek Orthodox both believe in good works whereas Calvinists think that good or bad is like a permanent thing you're born with, then they go on to be completely incoherent by believing that your material wealth reflects your spiritual condition. And Americans have no idea they do it, it's baked in to their racism and contempt for poor people and they have no idea it's a religious belief.
Like, historians always talk about how we can't understand the way that pre-secular society was completely organically integrated with religion, and we can't understand how peoiple made no distinction between daily life and religious life and it's like no, brah, you've got religious beliefs that you live every moment of the day just like 12th century peasants, but like 12th century peasants you just think those things are compeltely normal and mundane and don't even notice them.