Reply #1: Plato down from the clouds [View All]

[PATRICK]

Now that you mention this guy, it is good to take a look of his admirable decision to try out his ideas in real life. Taking the political leadership he tried out his model of good fascist government, modeled on Sparta. The good citizens made life very difficult for him and his improvements. The great man stomped back to his ivory tower.

All good people make bad decisions either as exceptions or the rule of their pride and idea base and emotions they don't often credit enough in themselves to see those of others. That is why sharing, compassion, humility and strength based on these in reality(real reality, not forced changes) within a democracy make for the best government if not a flawless one. Once a majority is on the move with this force and not fear, a lie, or a hero on a sand pedestal the overall result with overall be for the best.
Then the only thing overall that is dangerous is relaxation and underestimating anti-democratic forces and putting the status quo on a pedestal that cannot be sustained.

As for what people in error know- they know it all on compartmentalized levels and emotional warehouses. They feel the truth before they acknowledge it, and shift the feelings to what they want to acknowledge. The strength of anger is spurred by the denial of self knowledge that they consider an invasion by a reality they become willing to claim is a lie. They turn reality and necessary knowledge, inescapable feelings around upon themselves in a choice for actual madness. A lifelong sociopath like Bush has easy personal sailing through reality no matter the damage and failure in his wake until reality bites personally hard. A good person troubled by alienation from their chosen, somewhat selfless, path and good adversaries can by degrees get on that exact same course until they have more in common with evil adversaries who are less challenging to their mind and will.

People know instinctively, added powerlessly to the swamp of lies and misinformation, how bad Bush is and how bad things are. When you meet this headon sometimes there is not a single question about what to do about that knowledge except to shrug, hunker down and watch out and just get meek or mad. No matter how extreme the crisis. No matter how free we supposedly are. Our parameters for accepting and dealing with knowledge and our emotions usually narrow.