Thought Experiment
Here's a mildly nasty thought experiment: What would happen if you exchanged Global Warming with Zionism?
The idea of the experiment is to take two issues which are dear to the same group of people, while switching the positioning of Good and Bad. It's an experiment, mind you, not a real comparison! For the purpose of following thought patterns. I'm not making a statement about global warming one way or the other. Not.
The rules of the game are that there's an accepted truth which any reasonable person can see and understand and accept and even defend were the need to arise. Global warming, say, or the right of the Jews to have a state in which to live their national lives. Each of these truths, however, does imply some practical positions: don't heat your home with the windows open, for example, or don't travel in airplanes; don't support Hamas, for example, or don't boycott computers. You get the idea.
Now, imagine there's a group of Bad People who've decided to disagree with the accepted wisdom. They'll go to any length to chip away at your beloved beliefs: they dig up old documents to prove your leaders have been conniving bastards all along. They cherry pick weaknesses in your generally impregnable defenses and use them to undermine the entire edifice. They're demagogues, populists, conniving sneaks, propagandists and generally Awful People. Oy oy oy oy.
Again, I'm not saying the comparison is in any way valid for anything - but do try to read any of the endless items at the Guardian, and especially the comments, using these experimental rules: Global Warming is like the Zionists; global warming skeptics are the enemies of Zionism. You may find it's fun. Here, start with this one, then go to this one for comments.
The idea of the experiment is to take two issues which are dear to the same group of people, while switching the positioning of Good and Bad. It's an experiment, mind you, not a real comparison! For the purpose of following thought patterns. I'm not making a statement about global warming one way or the other. Not.
The rules of the game are that there's an accepted truth which any reasonable person can see and understand and accept and even defend were the need to arise. Global warming, say, or the right of the Jews to have a state in which to live their national lives. Each of these truths, however, does imply some practical positions: don't heat your home with the windows open, for example, or don't travel in airplanes; don't support Hamas, for example, or don't boycott computers. You get the idea.
Now, imagine there's a group of Bad People who've decided to disagree with the accepted wisdom. They'll go to any length to chip away at your beloved beliefs: they dig up old documents to prove your leaders have been conniving bastards all along. They cherry pick weaknesses in your generally impregnable defenses and use them to undermine the entire edifice. They're demagogues, populists, conniving sneaks, propagandists and generally Awful People. Oy oy oy oy.
Again, I'm not saying the comparison is in any way valid for anything - but do try to read any of the endless items at the Guardian, and especially the comments, using these experimental rules: Global Warming is like the Zionists; global warming skeptics are the enemies of Zionism. You may find it's fun. Here, start with this one, then go to this one for comments.
Originally posted by Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations
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