Hi, all.

As should be news to no one, polarization and animosity between conservatives and liberals is at one of its all-time highs in America right now. There’s even talk of a second civil war looming. Obviously, there are strong passions and convictions on both sides, and people on both sides have claimed that the other is a grave threat to the integrity of the nation itself. I’m familiar with the views and concerns of my own side: we view Donald Trump’s (and his allies’ and supporters’) statements and actions as being an attack on the democratic process that defines our nation, and are worried that the strategies and tactics he and they are employing will make future elections farcical, paving the way for an authoritarian state (a dictatorship). I am less familiar with why conservatives feel Democrats and liberals are a threat to the nation and its integrity in similar fashion. My best guess is that conservatives buy Trump’s assertions that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, and thus might have similar fears as liberals do, but I also get the sense conservatives have deeper, older concerns than this, and that Trump was/is viewed as a solution to them.

Can you please try to articulate here what those fears are? And, to any liberals reading this, please refrain from answering in conservatives’ stead. I’m interested in their opinions, not your opinions of their opinions.

  • 10A@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Forget Trump for the purpose of this question, because he’s divisive, and many conservatives don’t fully support him.

    The general answer to your question is that Progressivism is designed to destroy the USA by gradually eroding traditional values, and then progressively moving on to erode more. That’s the entire point of Progressivism.

    I’ll spare you the book-length answer that unpacks that idea into a long list of examples.

    • Tedesche@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      The general answer to your question is that Progressivism is designed to destroy the USA by gradually eroding traditional values, and then progressively moving on to erode more. That’s the entire point of Progressivism.

      When this country was founded, many people held the values that Black people should be slaves and women shouldn’t be allowed to vote. Assuming you don’t hold those values, doesn’t that go against the idea that all traditional values are good and shouldn’t be changed? Furthermore, the Founding Fathers intentionally created ways for laws and even the constitution to be changed, so isn’t it fair to say they intended for progressivism to have an avenue to change things? Your answer seems overly generalized. I asked my question operating on the assumption that there were specific fears conservatives have today about how liberals are trying to do things they feel will destroy the country. Do you think you could give me those specifics?

      • Strangle@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I don’t think the founding fathers would support changing the country to a communist shithole.

        That’s not why they allowed amendments

      • 10A@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        My answer was generalized because I do not care to get into the specifics. I’m sorry, I know that seems dismissive. But I wasn’t kidding when I said “book-length”. You’re proposing an extremely long and detailed discussion. Maybe someone else will bite, but it won’t be me. Not today. I stand behind my generalization fwiw, and I’ll leave it at that.

        • Tedesche@lemmy.worldOP
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          1 year ago

          Fair enough. Thanks for responding at least. (BTW, it wasn’t me who downvoted your comment.)

          • 10A@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            Downvotes don’t federate, so I don’t see it. At least they don’t yet. But even if they did, I’m used to downvotes. My reputation here on kbin is -2178, which is over 800 closer to 0 than it used to be. Whee! That’s just for expressing Christian conservative perspectives. Not exactly popular in the Fediverse, or at least not on kbin.

            Anyway, thank you for understanding.

            • MossBear@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              St. Basil and St. Isaac expressed Christian perspectives. This is just regurgitated right-wing talking points.

            • Tedesche@lemmy.worldOP
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              1 year ago

              No problem. I joined Lemmy.world when Reddit pulled 3rd party apps and I’ve noticed that this place seems a haven for far-left types, communists/anarchists, etc. I’m a liberal, but a lot more moderate than those types, so I get a fair bit of digital hate for disagreeing as well. Such is the nature of upvote/downvote systems.