Bernie: the Ego Continues. Sad for Him. Sad for Us.

[Koinos]

17. I need to quit, but here's a little bit more. I hope it is of some use.

In a democracy, people have the right to be wrong. Consistent with this right is their obligation to keep an open mind and to rethink their views in the light of new evidence. It is also their duty to listen to what others have to say and to take them and their points of view seriously. In a spirit of respect for all individuals as equally important, people endeavor to educate themselves and others through the give and take of friendly dialogue, including appeal to facts and use of logic. People may not agree or have the same ideas in common; but, in a democracy, regard for others transcends being “right” or “wrong.” Democracy, as an attitude and way of life, thrives on co-humanity or social cooperation. We are not lists of positions or sets of ideas or ideologies. We are people working together in a common search for better ways of thinking and acting. We acknowledge in all humility our individual helplessness and limited knowledge, and we embrace the absolute necessity and genuine joy of working together to achieve common goals and wisdom.

The authoritarian mindset does not like sharing, cooperation, or dialogue. Even if it claims to “value” these ideals, it contradicts itself in practice by commanding others to accept these “values,” without evidence or argument, but simply because those who know better have enshrined them. Authoritarians use “arguments from authority” to justify everything and anything. It is true because “so and so” has said it. The one in charge is always right. Facts are reconfigured to justify this “truth.” Logic and fallacies are used together in creative ways. Ad hominem arguments are used both to end discussion and to discredit those who might respectfully disagree. The point is that even “humanistic” or “progressive” values can be forced on others by individuals who are not themselves humane, cooperative, or social by temperament or habit. Authoritarians are essentially anti-social, because they simply do not accept the principle that the best way to know more and to know better is to engage in the normal give and take of friendly dialogue, where disagreement plays as great a role as agreement. They are intolerant of dissent by others, despite the fact that their own statements may contradict themselves from one day to another. They disagree internally with themselves, but they cannot accept disagreement from others, even if those others happen to be allies or friends.