Observations on the Conservative Mind

Motivation

In Colorado Springs, I listened to college boys talking politics over late night fast food. Political arguments, it can be said, are one of the pointless things people get heated up over. Most people stick to the views they came in with, and spend their time vocalizing their position just to defend it.

But I couldn't understand exactly how the informed observations made by one student failed to make any affect on his conservative counter-part. And how some people can form their understanding of the world without using facts or logic. I was genuinely confused.

As I travel through conservative parts of the country on bicycle and talked with people, I'd say I've gotten to know the conservative mind a little better. Here are my observations.


Truth

Conservative and traditionalist thinking has a different concept of truth than rational objectivity. To them, the highest truth is familiarity.

They feel that something which is true ought to be recognizable to them. If it is true, how come I have never heard of it before? I can see the sun rises, I can count the number of toes on my feet. You can't fool me on what I'm familiar with.

Truth ought to be oft repeated and widespread. The more people convinced, the more evident the truth. And that's exactly why the Colorado student could not be moved to think differently with evidence! The way to convince a conservative is through his neighbors, his family, everyone he trusts telling him the same idea.

What's more, in order to be familiar, truth ought to be easily understandable. The highest truth must be simple. Something that requires a lot of explanation, is novel, and individual-to-the-matter thinking, they stop listening and categorize it as an invention - i.e. a lie.

These are all fallacies! Truth can be unpopular, it can be difficult to untangle. But if holds up to testing, and is repeatable we ought to accept its validity - no matter how uncomfortable it makes us feel.

The first principles of primary education are to teach this lesson to children. But despite going through school, it unsettles me to discover, many people have not learned how to evaluate information based on its own merit.

These cognitive flaw allows for the success of propaganda. To make something true, then, all you need to do is control media and people will believe what you have made pervasive and familiar.


Knowing

Religious people have a different concept of knowledge. To *know* something to them means to have a strong emotional attachment or response to it. To know is to *feel*. They dismiss searching for knowledge with facts as futile, without the impassioned opening the heart to God.

People who say, I know God exists because... and then give some personal account of how they went through difficulty and were saved... that is 100% undiluted emotional *knowing*.

But emotions are rarely ever rational. Their whole purpose is so that you don't have to reason through every encounter or decision you face. A sudden shape leaps in front of you and fear takes hold. You don't have time to scrutinize the texture of the shape, the identity of the outline... if it is a predator, you'll be eaten! You run away!

You also don't want to be suspicious of a loved one every time you see them. Alzheimer's sufferers who see their family as strangers have a frightening time letting unfamiliar faces come close and be so personal.

Knowledge is not a subjective nor emotional. It is verifiable from all observers, independent of their personal feelings. This here is a hungry bear. Better leave it alone. This here is your biological father. Let him pat your head.

As an aside, to 'know' a woman in old times meant to fornicate her. Which could arguably possibly be the most volatile, irrational, and strongest hard-wired impulses a man has. She's only 16 and I could go to jail, but a man is only human. Knowing something in that sense, is not thinking with your brain but your dick.


In summary

These tenets are the foundations of conservative behavior. Familiarity and emotional rapture.


Case in point

I was talking to an old man who *knew* I was in need of being saved. He said sometimes God comes into his bedroom and ... 'Woo-wee!' His face lit up and he was smiling and clenching his fists together in excitement.

I would've taken him more seriously if he had said God dismounted an elephant and they did the mambo together, because that would actually be verifiable. Whereas feeling, that has no credibility or measurement.

I'm not saying I'm a robot with no grasp of feeling. Simply believing in what he wanted can be enough to rupture joy out of his heart over his entire being. And so can drugs. Neither are "real" in the responsible sense.

You could argue that anything the brain experiences is real, which would support the people who hear voices, and see hallucinations as spirit walkers between worlds. But then you would have to re-make your entire model of reality based on these people, who are relatively few and who have relevant brain damage, instead of grounding your reality with the people who see and hear what is physically present.

My point is, you can feel and *know* anything you want to - it isn't evidence. That method of validation can be used on *anything* so it is invalid.


An example of invalid validation:

Case A: I *know* god doesn't exist, because nobody ever helped me on nothing.
Verdict: Proof.

Case B: I *know* my parents were aliens from Venus because one night I looked into the sky and I felt them and they wrapped me in such love and joy that I raised my hands and I shouted, I believe, and they took me and showed me their home and saved me.
Verdict: Not proof, even though the line of reasoning is exactly the same?

Deliberation: Well, no that was God, you were mistaken. No, they told me they were aliens, not God. Well, it was still God somehow. Nope, aliens. Nope, God. Nope, Aliens. Nope, the Devil is deceiving you. Everything that's not God is conveniently the Devil.

You're both wrong, I had a visitation from my grandma and she says she went up to Heaven and there was no God there, just some folding chairs and old magazines. Isn't your grandma living at the old folks home? No, she's escaped and they're still trying to find her.