The Conciet of the Middle

The fallacy of the middle.

I've been searching for that elusive truth that hides in the middle. At times, I thought I had found it only to have it slip from my mental grasp like smoke in a net. I am more than ever convinced that it is simply a myth, as real as magical unicorns.

The conciet of the middle is an intellectual and philosophical delusion of laziness. It is the arrogance of those who rationalize themselves as more reasonable than the zealots of the conservative right or the liberal left.

I now appreciate the Biblical passage where God says that because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I shall spit you out of my mouth. The truth is that you just cant find The Truth between a half-truth and a lie.

My quest led me to an integral culture that promised us all that we could grow and evolve into enlightenment. I more recently sought wisdom from Johnathan Haidt. I will use these example to demonstrate my point.

It is widely accepted that conservatives are more authoritarian and liberals are less so. I remember a talk between Don Beck and Ken Wilber in which they agreed that liberal had problems with authority. In Johnathan Haidt's Ted Talk he asserts that liberal tend to dismiss the moral value of authority. I gotta call bunk on these guys.

Liberals don't have problems with authority, just false or abusive authority figures. College professors are reputed to be among the most liberal, but they are authority figures and have gained their positions by studying the authorities in their respected fields. They had to comply to all acedemic authorities and to the system to gain their positions.

Members of the Democratic Party are by definition, liberal. At least compared to Republicans. They don't have problems with authority. They rise through the ranks of the party and conform to standards. Democratic Presidents have never been anti-authoritatian, nor are Senators and very few Representatives.

The Republican Party is quite different. The Republicans have rebelled audaciously against Democratic Presidents. Just review modern history and Congressional voting records and it will be clear that democrats are less opposed to republican efforts than democrats opposing republican efforts. What is really going on here? Reflect on the people you know and have know in the backlight of authority and make your own assesment as to which mindset honors authority more or less. 

My conclusion is that liberals have the ability to question authority where conservatives are more blinded by the doctrines of their percieved ingroup. Which leads us to....

Ingroup/Outgroup. Haidt gives us another moral root to examine, Ingroup/Outgroup. This insight seems to have a bit more merit than authority which is simply hogwash. Conservatives are more restrictive and liberals are more inclusive. We can all agree on that.