Presidential election, 2016

[Bob Butler 54]

(12-20-2016, 09:30 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(12-20-2016, 08:01 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(12-20-2016, 05:51 AM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote:

(12-20-2016, 12:48 AM)Classic-Xer Wrote: You are correct. I have an authoritarian's attitude like most American adults my age

Perhaps Red Americans.  In the America I'm living in, I do not consider authoritarian attitudes common.

You don't possess the authority to make your own decisions and determine your own courses. Are you saying the absence of individual authority is now common where you're living or are you saying the people where you live don't really need government bosses/parents telling them what to do and how to think and what to believe in and so forth?

In my work as a software engineer, I convinced my boss that the job of the boss was not to dictate, but to provide the tools and the environment to get the job done.  The technical decisions were made as a group consensus.  I had my say, everyone had their say, everyone had their turn at the white board.  It wasn't a matter of the the winner of the ego contest forcing their will.  It was a question of incorporating as many good ideas as possible.  The boss had been at it longer than the rest of us.  She was more aware of things that had gone wrong in the past.  She would typically have more influence than the rest of us.  Still, she generally wasn't arguing from authority, but from technical knowledge.

There are too many people in a town, a state or a country to work that way.  The egos involved are often bigger.  There is a perception on both the red and the blue side of one culture forcing itself on the other.

I am not as happy with using words like 'dictator', 'authoritarian' or 'demagogue' as other forum contributors.  I would freely use such words to describe people like Hitler or Stalin.  I would not use them to describe Obama or Trump.  At least, I'm not using such words now.  Talk to me about Trump in another year or three.  His personality makes me nervous.

But mostly, here in Massachusetts, retired, with my finances in pretty good shape, I'm just not feeling dictated upon.  I can do pretty much anything I care to do.  Nobody in government has really tried to clip my wings.  This doesn't mean I like borrow and spend trickle down economics, or that I approve of cops that feel free to shoot unarmed people of color.  The culture is anything but perfect.  There is need for improvement.

But the issues we discuss here aren't aimed directly at me.  The government is not forcing me to do anything I'm not content with, barring that no one is particularly eager to pay taxes.

Sure, there are people with strong values trying to tell me what to think.  You are one of them.  Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing.  Continue telling me what to think if you'd like.  But your sharing your opinions doesn't in the least twist my arms.  It is not a form of coercion.  If I do not recognize that you have any authority over my thoughts, how can I think you are an authoritarian?  You are just a guy with an opinion.  So is Trump.