[MD] Hippies in Sodom and Gomorrah

[Arlo J. Bensinger]

[Platt] 
Talk about distortion! You can't even quote correctly what is right in 
front of your nose. I never said you said "we are to blame for 
terrorism" I said (see above) that according to you "we must accept 
blame for terrorism." which you confirm by saying  "right-wing idiots  on both
sides share good amounts of culpability." Deny what you say all  you want, but
your denial flops.

[Arlo]
Fine. I read "we must accept blame for terrorism" as being "we must accept full
blame". My bad, as they say. So, if my stance that culpability is shared among
right-wing zealotry here and there is what you call a "liberal" idea, then I
conclude that "conservatism" is the blind belief that "my side" can do no wrong
and "your side" can do no good. You demonstrate that outright by being unable
to come up with ONE platform on which you differ from the Holy Conservative
Writ.

[Platt]
I said nothing about you daring to disbelieve conservatism or that you  were
subservient to the democratic party. But yes, you are subservient to an
ideology -- the ideology of altruism, the dogma of a do-gooder.

[Arlo]
This is simply redefinition to exclude meaning. If EVERTHING is ever and always
subservient to ideology, then you completely miss the point. But that's typical
of those who wish to justify their position by attempting to lower everything
to them.

Ideology is the willful transference of agency to authority. The problem, as I
have always said, is in the creation of ONE external representant for ALL
belief. You demonstrate this quite well, as a matter of fact, in your absolute
adherence to party ideology. On every issue, on every conceivable stance, on
every idea and problem, the "conservative authority" ALWAYS defines what is
"right".

There are times, as I also said, that we must transfer agency to authority. The
world is too complicated to do otherwise. But one must always be aware of the
results of this, and be cautious as to accept as unassailable dogma the
dictates of ANY political agenda. 

As I said to Rebecca, the more agency given to one authority, the more
supporting that authority supercedes all else, the more it is not only
impossible but heretical for the authority to act immorally, and the more one
must rely on distorition to deflect criticism. 

In a complex world, my friend, THAT is the most blinkered position to let
oneself be in.

Arlo