We live in extremely polarized times and it can be difficult to avoid being radicalized. In this episode I go over common factors involved in (de)radicalization and how you can avoid it.
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Matthew says
Great podcast!
I have some ideas I will share with you.
One is that if a person sees all of the other side as extremist they themselves are extremist. If they can’t admit that the other side can have nuance and moderate opinions they are extremist. We have to all watch ourselves for that of course.
The second is that any ideology taken to the extreme becomes something else. Sometimes the opposite of what it is meant to be. It’s like a metal bar that can be warped. I, for example, am a Christian, but I have seen Christianity taken to extremes. I went to a High School run by extreme Fundamentalists and they basically become the opposite of what Christ actually taught. Ironically, they were a lot like the Pharisees that crucified Christ. They would do things that were explicitly contrary to Biblical teachings and not do things that they were explicitly commanded to do. One of the most extreme told us we did not have to obey the command of “He who is without sin throw the first stone.” He did say why. There was no place in the Bible that gave an exemption to that rule. They also made up new rules based on nothing. It was real evil in their minds to listen to rock music. I never got a clear reason for that. So the original teachings had gotten lost somewhere along the way.
Now the majority of Christian, and I include myself, did not behave that way, but that was what happened when taken it was taken to an extreme.
Wim says
“The second is that any ideology taken to the extreme becomes something else. ”
Indeed. And they often become the very thing they claim to be against. See Nietzsche’s quote about fighting monsters.