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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   2955 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 21, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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At what point can one reasonably conclude that coexistence between the Red and Blue tribes isn't possible, and there's nothing left to do but wage the culture war as hard as necessary, until one side or the other fully triumphs? And what does one do after reaching that conclusion (besides leaving this site, of course, since that runs counter to the basic ethos of the Motte)?

If you're on the left, you can join a non-profit and fight for whatever issue you want to champion. Pay is dreadful until you're an executive. You can get a Masters in Public Admin and go to work at the city/county/state level and push your pet issue (in a blue area) or do your best to frustrate the elected officials (the latter is a common occurrence in red areas--every person with an MPA seems to be on the left and working against whatever the elected officials want to implement). You can try to go to work for an elected official directly, but that's a tough route unless you're the right age and have appropriate connections.

If you're on the right, non-profits are much rarer, although some like Pacific Legal do exist. Organizations like Kirk's TPUSA are mostly looking for volunteers unless you have specific litigation/organizational experience they need. If you're in a red area, you could try the MPA-to-government route--they might be shocked and pleased to have an applicant that isn't a leftist.

If you're on the right

I'm probably too far to the right for the "normie" right-wing organizations.

If you're in a red area, you could try the MPA-to-government route

MPA? What does that stand for?

Masters in Public Administration.

Ah, thanks for explaining.

Looking at UAA's requirements, I don't meet them (my bachelor's is in physics, which means I fail the "Have completed a minimum of 6 credits in baccalaureate level Political Science (3 credits) and Descriptive/Inferential Statistics (3 credits) with a minimum grade of B" requirement).

Besides, I couldn't afford the tuition to go back to school (I can barely afford to keep myself housed and fed).

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A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


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