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Great essay! I think the internet and the culture wars have driven a lot of this contempt as it has turned politics into a consumer choice, a readymade identity, a personal fashion expression. We're not taught to think, but how to react.

The most important question you can ask yourself is: "Why do I think what I think?" Most people don't know the basis of their political beliefs, because social media encourages us to hold them socially and not fundamentally. This can build a distorted sense of self-assuredness that leads to myopia, if not willful ignorance. Nowadays, if I find myself in political discussions, I just ask people pointed questions instead of trying to debate them.

I've touched on similar themes in a series about internet politics if it's of any interest:

https://thatguyfromtheinternet.substack.com/p/everything-is-political-now-but-nothing

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Thanks for sharing these observations (and sorry it took me so long to reply!). You offer some very useful insights here: politics having become "a personal fashion statement"; "we're not taught to think, but how to react"; we're conditioned to hold political beliefs "socially and not fundamentally" leading to false self-assurance and "myopia, if not willful ignorance." Sounds like you've developed a useful response in asking pointed questions rather than debating. Thank you for the link; I'll be interested to see how you've developed your perspective.

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Dec 15, 2022Liked by Leah Rose

Wow… this was just great!! I’ve so often felt myself aware of feeling contempt during a conversation with someone whose view I adamantly oppose…quite discomfiting. Sometimes, I’m able to push back the feeling, but not always. I am, however, in a constant personal struggle with wondering how I can disagree with people I do love and admire. I find myself in such a hard place these years in our country as I so wish for us to be a nation of respect and love. I look forward to seeing more of your work!

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Thanks, Ellen. I am totally with you in that struggle—it's very real! And I'm gratified to know you enjoyed the essay. Fair warning, though—I publish very sporadically, as I find time to write (which is, itself, a very slow and painstaking process for me). I do have an archive of essays on my Substack, though, most of which were written since this piece. So feel free to browse.

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You express yourself beautifully. Well done.

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Thank you. And thanks for reading.

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