Quote (IceMage @ Dec 3 2022 06:11pm)
Well, to start, I think it's weird that Greenwald is somehow a laudable figure for you, as you were not one of the people back in the day opposing the "security state", which I think is a silly euphemism on it's face. I think such a radical change in your views merits an explanation, because Bogie was always more establishment neo-con than I ever was.
But also, no serious observer of American governance can claim that only Democrats were the "offenders" against Greenwald's ideology. It's simply absurd to claim Trump was the anti-war, civil libertarian hero. But Greenwald didn't feel the need to criticize him, because as I hinted at, he hates Democrats, the MSM, and the "establishment" far more than he cares about enforcing some ideological viewpoint.
That's what I mean when I say that polarization is toxic. I don't think of Greenwald in really positive terms. I disagree with him on most things. But he has been a consistent voice for individual liberty in the face of government interference, even where I disagree. I was going to say "not in the same way as Gabbard", but then I bothered to reach Tulsi's wikipedia page and it looks like she has always been deviant on foreign policy (critical of US narratives overseas) and social issues (anti-gay marriage) in a way that does make her an outcast in the present Democratic party. Parties change, and sometimes individuals remain the same. The same is probably true for you. Not everyone is a lifelong partisan like Biden who adapts to the middle of whatever political climate the Democratic party finds itself in.
As for myself, when I was younger, I thought government bureaucracy was up for the task. I thought they could handle themselves in a non-partisan way, even as political parties fell prey to the dysfunction of the day. I don't think the evidence supports that anymore. I was always a bit of an outcast from the old Republican party because I thought government could be part of the solution. I am an outcast now from the present Republican party because I don't hate experience. But the current system is clearly not working, and trusting the "experts" who led us through the last 20+ years of dysfunction is the definition of insanity, i.e. doing the same thing and expecting different results. We need to try something new.