PostHeaderIcon Please Understand Me

Getting back to the subject of your “Unable to Cope” post, Troy, another thought it engendered was the problem of expecting others to think like we do. Remember when we got tangled up with that freethinker forum, where we first met? Expecting it to be a place where ideas were freely discussed, we were somewhat taken aback to find it dominated by ACLU type atheist activists, who were as rigidly dogmatic as the Christian fundamentalists about which they obsessed.

To your credit, you were the first to flee those stultifying groupthink environs in horror. Several more of us soon followed, and we created a new forum, which we called 'Reasonable Rationals' (as opposed to 'Atheist Activists'), where we thoroughly enjoyed daily kicking around interesting ideas for over a year.

As an exercise in comity, early on we explored David Keirsey's work on innate temperament differences, derived from Jungian personality types, identified by Meyers-Briggs type personality tests. He describes the four basic temperaments, out of the 16 possible Jungian combinations, which are not evenly distributed in the population. He briefly explains them here, and then elaborates a bit on each:

'SJ' Guardians 40 – 45%

'SP' Artisans 30 – 35%

'NF' Idealists 15 – 20%

'NT' Rationals 5 – 10%

Importantly, we are each born predisposed to develop and exhibit these characteristics, and no amount of getting after someone, can materially change them. If Keirsey is right, all Pygmalion projects are doomed to failure at the outset.

You may recall that when our merry little group of libertarian thinkers and skeptics took the online test, all but one of us came out as Rational NT's. Larry was a Guardian SJ; but had he answered a single question the other way, he too would have registered as a Rational.

When one notices that only 5 – 10% of the population have minds predisposed to value the way ours functions, this was a stunning revelation. It also goes a long way toward explaining why they cannot appreciate what we are trying to tell them. The piles of data we find so compelling, not only does not comport with their worldview, they regard it as unimportant to their life's agenda.

Obama famously lamented that conservatives thwart 'progress,' by clinging to their God and their guns; but look at all the demonstrably bankrupt ideas he and his ilk cling to. Marxism has failed everywhere it has been tried; but that deters them not a whit. Their good intentions toward 'social justice' wealth redistribution schemes define reality for them, and failure is always the fault of someone else with nefarious selfish motives.

I always had a cynical view of the way the Left so often trots out the charge of racism, against their ideological opponents. I assumed it was merely a deplorable political tactic to stifle unwanted debate. However, Ted, a recent commenter to my Sovereign Rights essay, has finally convinced me that they are so imbued with white guilt themselves, they actually believe their rhetoric. I took some pains to try to explain otherwise; but obviously to little avail.

Ted is utterly convinced that he knows better than us, what actually motivates our dissent from the Politically Correct agenda of the blessed Obamessiah. How Leftists manage to miss our equal, if not greater, disdain for White Progressives like Hillary, Pelosi, Reid, et al, is beyond me. Go figure…

Logic, reason, and to a large extent even empirical evidence, seem hopelessly outgunned by clinging dogma of one sort or another, in 9 out of 10 of our countrymen. To expect otherwise, is to wish for what has never been, and can never be. They really have little choice, but to march to the beat of their own drummer, and likely are oblivious to ours. â—„Daveâ–º

 

6 Responses to “Please Understand Me”

  • Larry Andrew says:

    Dave….interesting that you recall the previous exercise of our RR group regarding the Kiersey test we all took. I had forgotten all about that which is no surprise given the current state of my memory. Anyway, interestingly, I think, my status in his categories has changed, I am sure, because I have considerable disdain for authority compared to where I was in those days. I own more guns, live behind barbed wire, am ensconced in a very isolated area of the mountains of AZ when we not travelling. I even converted some assets to gold per our discussions from the old days.

    I guess that means our old group discussions influenced me more than I had realized until I started considering where I was, intellectually, at that time.

    This current forum should help me solidify my views as I read Thoughts Aloud from my former compatriots in RR. I can then more safely enter the world of political forums dominated by commie pinko liberal elitists who are aghast at many of my views on current events.

    • Although one of the premises of Keirsey’s theory is that basic temperament is innate, Larry, I too have noticed a change in my own attitude toward authoritarianism over my lifetime. As a young man, I accepted the premise that there were rules in society for a good reason, and that if everyone would just follow the rules, the world would be a better place.

      Needless to say, I am pretty much in the opposite camp now. In fact, the more I study and ponder the anarchist wing of libertarianism, the more I am inclined to agree with them. Government is coercion, and it would be feckless without it. If a sovereign individual has no right to initiate force, how does a group of them labeled ‘society’ acquire such a right?

      Our interaction on the old RR forum was so thorough and intense, that I am sure we all were well cross-pollinated by our deliberations. I am happy to hear of your gold purchases. Just keep in mind that it is insurance, not an investment, and ignore the current price fluctuations, as the central banks try to manipulate the speculative market. It won’t last. â—„Daveâ–º

  • Troy says:

    Dave, I figure about 1//2 of the progressives really believe their own nonsense and the other 1/2 are simply con artists looking to expand their control of others.

    As to most folks not understanding my (our?) point of view, that is for sure. I rarely miss an opportunity to spread my obvious wisdom and I find that quite a few of those I try so hard to help react as though I were trying to tell them flying saucers were landing in the back yard. More that that though are those who simply do not want to be bothered thinking about it — or about anything more serious than sex and sports.

    So, if we are on Mission Impossible, what do you suggest? I simply refuse to be ruled by progressives!

    Troy

    • The flying saucer analogy is a good one, Troy. We would do well to keep it in mind while trying to awaken sheeple, and work out a spiel that gently eases into the task.

      For myself, I refuse to be governed by anyone, much less ruled. I am the sovereign in my world. I would suggest the first thing we do is reread Harry Browne’s “How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World,” just to get grounded again in the mindset of the free individual. I find it fairly easy to arrange one’s affairs to avoid most all contact with the Federal government.

      Next, determine whether one’s County Sheriff ascribes to Sheriff Ricard Mack’s philosophy regarding his job. If so, good; if not, work like hell to elect someone who does. Forget Federal politics; most all personal campaigning efforts should be focused on one’s local Sheriff’s race, to maintain a Constitutionalist in that office.

      If one is not currently so blessed, it is worth considering moving to a county which is. If that is impractical, I would suggest scoping out a nearby county that is, and identify ahead of time a place where one could hunker down TDY, during a martial law episode, which I reckon is inevitable in the not so distant future. Keep the rig well-stocked and ready to roll on a moment’s notice.

      As for our efforts to save our country for posterity, I think we need a positive project to focus them on. Do you like kids? They are the future, as the Progressives in academia have so clearly demonstrated. I had an epiphany this morning that has given me an interesting idea to kick around. Standby for a new post about it. â—„Daveâ–º

  • Historian says:

    As previously noted, we are engaged in a war of ideas, a war of memes. FreeFor must do a better job of inculcating our ideals; my thought is to restart the old pre-Prussian education system and begin to supercede the state-run state funded public schooling system with local tutoring academies, which teach civics, history, mathematics and basic engineering.

    ONLY by spreading our ideas will we win.

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