On Oct 4, 9:25?am, "HeyBub" wrote:
coffee wrote:
This democrat/Republican hating is killing the country. But to
understand what is really going on you have to dig pretty deep and do
your own investigating. This is something that alot of Americans do
not do. Instead they blindly follow the news agencies and echo what
they say. Let me expand on this a bit.

My nephew is a very hard core liberal type. He is quite young just
out of High School and does alot of protesting and such. What amazes
me is that when confronted and asked serious questions about what he
believes he cannot answer them and takes it as a personal attack on
him. Why? Because he never did his homework. Of course, He never did
it in school either. I see this on talk shows and message forums all
the time. It doesnt matter what side you are on. Those that blindly
follow cannot support their side when one asks questions about it.
Rather they get very upset and start attacking the person that asks.

I commend for your consideration a slim volume entitled "The True Believer"
by Eric Hoffer. His thesis is that mass movements, whatever the espoused
causes, have characteristics in common that can be studied.

You can't read this book quickly because every paragraph you have to put
down the book, stroke your chin, and say: "Hmmmm."

1. People join mass movements to escape individual responsibility. They join
the movement first, then adopt the goals of the movement.

2. Membership in mass movements is interchangable. Whether Save-the-Whales,
Burn-the-Bra, End-The-War, Stop-Global-Warming, etc., the membership in
these groups, is, for the most part, identical.

3. A mass movement can exist without a God, but it will always fail without
a devil. A mass movement must have something to hate.

4. People mind their own business when it's worth minding. When it's not,
they take their mind off their own meaningless affairs by minding other
people's business.

5. Logic is not the driving force of mass movements; emotion is.

Anyway, buy the book. If you don't like it, if the thoughts don't give you a
whole new way of looking at some organizations (and perhaps your nephew),
*I* will give you your money back.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

This is half sense, and half nonsense. All very well to make ad
hominem attack against those you disagree with- I see you don't
include any right leaning groups- it lets you avoid any of the issues
they raise- which I think is what Hoffer was up to as well. Anyone
who has ever been in or around any such organisations knows there is
truth to what you say- there are tribalistic aspects to them- hey,
guess what, tribalism infects most of what humans do- but
organisations like these have in the past and do now accomplish many
things- agree or disagree with their objectives, and by all means
criticise such groupy aspects as you specifically see in particular
groups, but it seems invalid to make such a blanket condemnation as
you do.