JP Hochbaum
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2012
- Messages
- 4,456
- Reaction score
- 2,549
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Independent
Not sure if this belongs in philosophy, as it is probably more psychology but I couldn't find the right forum top fit for this:
"As someone who has had an interest in American politics and government I find I have come through a certain transformation over the years. When I first jumped into the internet debating sites on politics, I went into it looking for someone to challenge me in a debate. As I started this way, I didn’t intend to alter my beliefs or my stances as I had thought I had everything figured out, as I was really just looking for ways to better form and cement my arguments. I really enjoyed debating with other people as it was a way for me to gauge my intelligence against others. For years I was stuck in this stage of debating just to measure up against other people, and to become a more intelligent debater and also gain more knowledge of the world.
This stage is very similar to what psychologists call the immersion-emersion phase (typically reserved for race identity but I think it applies for political identities as well), where I was aware of my beliefs, was adamant about them, took pride in them, and disparaged others with differing view points. I became more involved in groups and attended events with people of like beliefs, and became more emotionally attached to them. This is a phase that I think a lot of people end up stuck on when it comes to political beliefs. Now that I look back at this phase, I see this as a very immature and emotionally stunted stage to be stuck in, and I believe this is why we have such a deep divide in this country."
Continue reading at the link.
Divided and Conquered Part 1 | Heretical Druthers
"As someone who has had an interest in American politics and government I find I have come through a certain transformation over the years. When I first jumped into the internet debating sites on politics, I went into it looking for someone to challenge me in a debate. As I started this way, I didn’t intend to alter my beliefs or my stances as I had thought I had everything figured out, as I was really just looking for ways to better form and cement my arguments. I really enjoyed debating with other people as it was a way for me to gauge my intelligence against others. For years I was stuck in this stage of debating just to measure up against other people, and to become a more intelligent debater and also gain more knowledge of the world.
This stage is very similar to what psychologists call the immersion-emersion phase (typically reserved for race identity but I think it applies for political identities as well), where I was aware of my beliefs, was adamant about them, took pride in them, and disparaged others with differing view points. I became more involved in groups and attended events with people of like beliefs, and became more emotionally attached to them. This is a phase that I think a lot of people end up stuck on when it comes to political beliefs. Now that I look back at this phase, I see this as a very immature and emotionally stunted stage to be stuck in, and I believe this is why we have such a deep divide in this country."
Continue reading at the link.
Divided and Conquered Part 1 | Heretical Druthers