Dear Partisans, How Do You Pick Between Trump and Musk?

by Mr. Twisted

Dear Partisans, how do you pick between Trump and Musk?

The last 24 hours should offer a great lesson in how to think critically about political philosophy and ideological movements. 

It won’t, but it should.

For example, to the Progressives out there, I have a question: large numbers of you have spent the last couple of years labeling Elon Musk a fascist or a Nazi. This was almost entirely ridiculous, but please allow me to ask, now that he has split with Trump (who you also really, really hate), do you,

1. Claim that he’s still a fascist, just not as much of one;
2. State that he’s still a fascist, but just not on this whole government spending issue;
3. Consider that you were possibly wrong about him being a fascist.
4. Double down and just say all of it is fascism.

Because here’s the irony: if you side with Musk and say yes, he is correct – that government spending is out of control, and Trump isn’t doing anything to stop it (and in fact is furthering it) – you have to adopt sound economic principles, which you’ve not done since Woodrow Wilson charged us into war.

That said, many Republicans have their own demons to contend with here.

For example, many of you have endorsed Trump’s efforts, saying that he may not be perfect, but he’s cleaning out the swamp (or some variation of this concept). Now that he’s pushing to increase the debt limit, do you,

1. Say that this is acceptable, which betrays the entire concept of fiscal responsibility
2. Say that it’s not that big of a deal, which ignores what conservatism actually is
3. Say that conservatism is of no concern, only that we move in a certain direction
4. Double down and just say this is how it works now so get used to it.

Because the irony on this side is that if you side with Trump over Musk, you are saying that fiscal conservatism doesn’t matter, which goes against why many claimed they were voting for Trump. But, if you side with Musk over Trump, then it means you’re admitting that you voted for a guy who is no better than the rest of the swamp.

There is, of course, a way out of this, which is that you should be driven by philosophical inquiry rather than partisan my-team-versus-your-team political pandering. 

None of this is either surprising or difficult for anyone who genuinely seeks wisdom rather than facts-as-ammunition. Don’t let yourself get caught up in this, as it will warp your mind worse than sitting a foot from the Looney-Tunes-TV that mom always scolded me for.

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