And Now the Hard Part

How to Reverse the Global Drift Toward Authoritarianism

https://foreignpolicy.com/podcasts/and-now-the-hard-part/

CONNECT:  How are the ideas and information presented connected to what you know and understand?

 It connected to the idea that everyone needs an enemy.  I had always thought of authoritarianism, facism, nazism, and nationalism needing enemies, but here it was interesting how the way that the left sometimes refuses the idea of an "enemy" per se, which can allow the rise of opposition.  I saw it in last week, and I saw it in this week.  It also connects to something someone sent me which is that the difference between the far left and far right is with the far left, they'll hate you and maybe be violent toward you until you change your views, or stop attending right-wing rallies.  If the far right hates you, however, one can't stop being black, or gay, or muslim.

 EXTEND:  What new ideas extended or pushed your thinking in new directions?

 I find that, historically speaking, there is a general trend toward polarisation when a nation (or indeed any entity) is under pressure.  Generally children with strict parents become very rebelious or very obedient. Economic pressure leads to hate crimes.  Colonisation leads to rebelion. I feel that in this case, polarisation is the reaction to rising threat of war, of the nuclear threat, of the globalisation preoblem, a threat to identity.  Immigrants "threaten", because they alledgedly (and sometimes truly) remove identity and jobs.  Loosing one's voice threatens, and so the only reaction is to choosesomeone who will at least do something, even if they are far right, perhaps a little racist, and might aggreviate tensions.  As can be seen in my last week's podcast, the lack of a promise of some sort of extremism is often seen as weakness.  I disagree.  In my life, human authorities that deal in absolutes are (almost) always dealing with a situation badly.  The inability to find a compromise is weakness, not strength.  Unquestionable conviction doesn't lead to a stiff spine, but empty promises, and damaged lives.

CHALLENGE:  What is still challenging for you? What questions, wonderings, or puzzles do you have?

What challenged me were the last 5(ish) minutes.  As the general described how leadership would determine the path of the world, and how the foudning documents would preotect those who needed democracy, of the tension (as opposed to far left or right, the balance) would keep extremism at bay, left or right.  Every decision would be a fight and a struggle, because once no one fights back, liberty will die with thunderous applause.  It challenged me, because i am in charge of organising the SLT sub-comitee that is currently constructing a charter to guide future student leadership and change.  It challenged me to give a voice to every extreme, a system that encourages diversity of opinion, a group that argues, because they value both sides.  Leadership that makes compromises.  To write tension.