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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 6, 2023

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The present situation is intolerable, and the outcome is inevitable based on the current trajectory. This is because too many people on both sides want revenge are going to keep pushing until they get it. They ought not to do this, and they should be told as much when possible, despite the obvious fact that they're going to do it anyway; doing so maximizes the slim probability that some out-of-context event defuses the situation before society throws a rod.

I'm actively trying to chill out, yes. Most days I do pretty good at it. Attempting to facilitate the breakdown of our existing society, through word or deed, remains a profoundly seductive idea, but I couldn't find a convincing argument for why doing so isn't evil. More to the point here, the seductive power of revenge fantasies is largely derived from one's blindness to how that revenge actually plays out. No revolutionary thinks The Glorious Victory is going to result in everyone they know and love dying, or in a century of poverty and ruin, or in widespread plague and cannibalism, even though those are likely outcomes, historically speaking. I don't actually think such outcomes are necessarily deal-breakers for revolution; sometimes the fight really is worth the following decades of misery. But when you reach for that sword, you should have a clear view of what you're actually signing us all up for.

You can’t extrapolate certain worrying developments to infinity. Still, good to hear. Let’s keep this rickety society from plunging into the abyss for a while longer. Default state of the civilized man, I reckon.