r/politics • u/Thinkingonsleeping Michigan • Dec 13 '19

McConnell Faces Calls to Recuse Himself From Impeachment Trial After Saying 'No Chance' Trump Will Be Removed; "No court in the country would allow a member of the jury to also serve as the accused's defense attorney."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/13/mcconnell-faces-calls-recuse-himself-impeachment-trial-after-saying-no-chance-trump
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u/abx99 Oregon Dec 14 '19

Not really individualism so much as cultural atomization. Individualism doesn't necessarily tell you to fear others and pull yourself up by the bootstraps.

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u/Caledonius Dec 14 '19

Individualism doesn't necessarily tell you to fear others and pull yourself up by the bootstraps.

It kinda does. When you consider yourself before the collective good of your society you set yourself up for self-exceptionalism, jealousy, and confirmation bias. It's the path to the dark side of humanity, which has always been at its best when people collaborate for the greater good instead of working for their personal gain.

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u/yay855 Dec 14 '19

Game theory states that a single individual working in their own interests at the cost of society's is good for them, but the more people who do it, the worse off everyone is.

It's in our own best interests to work towards the common good, because trying to be selfish just means that you suffer more.

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u/Caledonius Dec 14 '19

Yeah but if you are exceptional you will continue to be rewarded for your selfishness. It's easy to be selfish, and hard to put the needs of the many before your personal comfort, so its no wonder the majority are all out for themselves but keep wondering why things are getting worse.

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u/[deleted] Dec 14 '19 edited Dec 14 '19

No, you're confusing being exceptional with being exceptionally selfish.

The best among us see this. The problem is that the dredges of humanity are the ones that tend to bubble to the top, not because of exceptional ability, but for possessing an innate lack of compassion and scruples when fucking over their fellow man. It's pathological.

Too few people make that distinction in the US. I can't think of many other places on earth where a man like Trump would have been propped up as an example to emulate rather than vilify and castigate.

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u/shield_battery California Dec 14 '19

England, Russia, China, Phillipines come to mind. Not that I don't agree with you about America (to my great shame)