re: #436 HappyWarrior

I am a liberal in large part because I empathize with those who aren’t me.

Same here. I think it’s that empathy that drives me. I’m not gay, but I have friends and family who are. I want them to have the same rights as me. I’m not black, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about police abuses. I’m not a parent, but I want kids to have a good education free of RWNJ ignorance, and think kids should have access to healthy foods in school.

Recently, a friend of mine from high school thought he had pneumonia, so he went to the doctor. It turned out to be Stage IV glandular cancer. And he doesn’t have insurance because his last employer fucked him over. He’s had to move from Cali back to Texas and is now struggling to pay for his treatment out of pocket. A conservative would just blame Obamacare and move on. A liberal would try to find a way to help him.

re: #437 HappyWarrior

The empathy is why I don’t think much of libertarianism either as an ideology. That’s another ideology that just thinks and ironic given their claims thinks it knows what’s best for everyone.

Libertarianism — and Ayn Rand’s books in particular — tells you that empathy is bad. You’re not supposed to care about others unless it’s in your own self-interest to do so. Empathy for the sake of empathy is a weakness. You’re allowing the collective interest to poison the well and get in the way of the free market. *gag*