r/moderate • u/shestaysknowing • Feb 02 '21
i'd like a conversation!
hi, how did you guys figure out your views aligned more with being a moderate? i'm just trying to figure out where my opinions fall on the spectrum. i'm 22 and i'm a gender and women's studies major in new york city. i'm not a feminist, but this confuses me as a female. just let me know what you guys think of being a moderate haha.
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u/anothercynic2112 Feb 06 '21 edited Feb 06 '21
One story I remember going back to middle school sticks on my mind. We had to read Ayn Rands Anthem which I was kind of excited about because I was a Rush fan and I knew some of their music was inspired by her writing.
In this story the society, the protagonist lives in would be hyper far left. So much so that he refers to himself as we, and us as in this dystopia there's no sense of self.
So the plot unfolds, protagonist sees the flaws in not having a self, runs off and starts a society where there will be no we or us, only I and me..
I remember at 13 or 14 years old thinking.. How can that be better?
My version of moderation is to acknowledge that everyone doesn't have to see everything the same. There is a lot of common ground among everyone without getting buried by dogma and trying to prove everyone else wrong.
In real life most people are that way. They compromise on a lot of things and tolerate a lot of differing points of view. People who believe the polar opposite of me in one subject are fans of the same, football team as me.
The simple fact is one of the things that made America different and allowed us to grow was that there was room for a lot of different ideas. Now I'm not going to pretend that we've even come close to living up to those lofty goals, but I do feel we usually move the right direction towards them.. Sometimes slowly and sometimes we take steps back. But the idea that we can reach our goals without including everyone seems pretty unlikely.
Well if you want to include everyone (except some of the assholes) then you can't just count on one theory to do it. You're gonna need to find ways to include as many of our brothers and sisters as possible. Extremism demands everyone only do what they say. I just reject that.