Benjamin;

I found your article, as usual, enjoyable and thought-provoking and came away with some thoughts…

I learned a very long time ago that there is no arguing with religious thought. It does not respond to logic, because it is based only on fear, regardless of how many excuses religious people are sure to come up with for their "truths." Fear is at the base of the sense of self that has been psychologically conditioned to protect itself and see the world in a fragmented way. Fear has created the idea of "the other." For billions, religion provides the promise of a safe haven from a cruel and confusing world, despite that some of us see that there really is no security to be had by hiding in dogma, ritual, and beliefs. Nesting oneself in the insanity of religious and right wing political ideas is preferable to facing a cold, confusing, unpredictable, cruel world.

In the 8th credo Elliot mentions love, but the love she is talking about is a love that’s conditional. So when the right wing speaks of love it is not compassion, but rather a personal way of seeing (some) people and (some) groups that serve their needs. This is evident in the way religion works: It preaches love and charity and yet creates and perpetuates “the other.” It is divisive in myriad ways, and unconditional love is the opposite of divisive, because it must be all-inclusive to qualify for the love and compassion taught by Jesus, Buddha, or whomever.

In the 10th credo there is discussion of a truth that you can know. I would argue against this and say that the only thing that can really be called truth (unbiased, unconditional, always consistent, etc.) is that which is unalterable and fundamental. Otherwise it is an idea, and ideas are here today and gone tomorrow. Knowledge has nothing to do with the truth I’ve mentioned. Knowledge is collected information — mostly consisting of secondhand information — and information is changeable, expandable, contractible, and contingent. Fundamental truth is evident always by way of observation and not knowledge, beliefs, practices, scriptures, etc. To uncover truth requires removing everything that is impermanent, because to qualify as truth means that truth must be permanent. So, what is fundamentally true must be true for everyone, not just those who create an idea of truth based on knowledge, such as religious knowledge, scientific knowledge, atheistic knowledge, etc. Something true must be true in all circumstances and forever. It's a high bar that the right wing cannot even see because its image is lost in the blinding light of the sun.

I like your observation here: “Will’s libertarianism boils down to the same tradition of making excuses for the brutal dominance hierarchies that prevailed in the Old World kingdoms and empires — except in libertarianism’s case, the oligarchies are capitalistic rather than theocratic.” It seems the right wing depends upon its following's ignorance to get away with absurd statements and ideas. And, it seems to me that the capitalism practiced today is based on a sociopathic principle that the right wing knows all too well — indifference, lack of compassion, lack of remorse, lying, cheating, and so on.

There is much more that I can say about this, but you’ve covered a lot of the bases. Much appreciated!

An honest philosophy is very, very complex, and the so-called conservatives always take a short-cut because they lack the depth necessary to seriously present solutions that are as compassionate and unconditionally loving as the message of their hero, Jesus Christ. Although it may be bold to do so, I would suggest that the conservative philosophy is borne of immature, uninformed, narrow-minded, superficial ideas that, by the way, are used to sway the masses who are similarly superficial in their thinking processes. It's a perfect match to the demise of everyone else.

The conservative philosophy, including the one you cited, is a thinly veiled (or hardly veiled) excuse for abuse and suffering. This sort of twisted, unfair, religion-based, immature, sad thinking has been causing untold death, violence, civil unrest, genocides, etc. since the beginning of civilization. The philosophy is borne of fear, no doubt, and relies on the ignorance and fear of followers who cannot recognize a sociopathic president/candidate when they hear one. The fundamental conflict within people never changes and it is reflected in the philosophies and teachings of their religion, politics, actions, statements, and promises.