fucking worldview

Sitting on the chair and reading a book, the children rushed over, wondering what book I was reading.

"This book is about the worldview." Actually, I didn't know how to describe the book in my hand to a primary school student, so I had to pick up a random word to deal with it.

"What is a worldview?"

"Well, it's your perception of the world, what you want the world to be like, and so on."

"Does that teach you how to save the earth?" The child's eyes lit up.

"It's not like it, it needs a good worldview to make the world better, but you can't necessarily change the world if you have a good worldview."

After the child heard it, he ran away with a dull expression on his face. After writing this, I found out that I have said something nonsense to the child. I don't even remember how many years I haven't encountered old school words like "worldview". Let me introduce, the book I'm reading is called "The Birth of Extreme Politics". If I had to categorize it, it would be a boring but useful book on my list. This book is a study of how Americans are politically polarized under the influence of different worldviews, and how this opposition is exploited by politicians. For those familiar with American politics, this book should not be particularly novel and unique. For an idiot like me, it should have been boring to read, but some of the research data that supports the author's argument in the book is surprisingly delicious. These data come from some daily polls, a series of psychological or crowd experiments, and various elections. The most interesting part of polls is the questions designed by the survey and the conclusions drawn from the data. In addition, the author uses data to prove that people with different world views will not only have different political inclinations, but also have different choices in daily life. Therefore, from the car you buy, the place to live, the concert you watch, even if it is as simple as drinking a cup of coffee You can also see your political leanings.

The following is not a book review, just a bit of nonsense after reading the book.

Classification of worldviews

There are three worldviews in the book. One is the fixed faction, the so-called conservative, who likes stability, follows tradition, and is cautious about social changes. People with this type of worldview usually feel that the world is dangerous, and hope that strong people to rule the country. The second is the mobilization, also known as the liberal, people with this worldview love new things that are different from traditions and customs, and have an accommodating attitude towards all kinds of people and viewpoints, they are generally not so easy feel danger or threat. The third category is the mixed faction, which, as the name suggests, is a mix of the first two factions.

According to the book, I am completely a person with a fluid worldview. Frankly speaking, after being a mother for so many years, I am still taking a serious look at my worldview for the first time with the curiosity of a child. But if I'm a mobile type, I also feel a bit fixed because I sometimes feel that the world is dangerous. In the early millennium, when I was working in Shenzhen, there were a lot of Xinjiang people in the streets and alleys. Maybe because they all had pointed noses and deep eye sockets, I always felt that their expressions were a bit gloomy, and there were many thieves in Xinjiang at that time. When the company went to the building next door to eat lunch, it had to hold its handbag tightly. The company is located in the most prosperous road in Shenzhen, and through the floor-to-ceiling windows, you can often see Xinjiang children sneaking behind the lady to steal property on the Shennan Road. After a vigorous "strike" (the ghost knows what the Shenzhen government did in those days), I don't remember which year, the Xinjiang people in the market seem to have suddenly disappeared. One day in 2018, when I took the Shenzhen subway to Luohu Port, there were several Xinjiang people wearing hats and robes in the carriage. I felt my heart beating faster. After thinking about it, I went to other carriages. In fact, they just sat quietly in the carriage, and when they reached the terminal, they went to different exits separately, but nothing happened.

After 9/11, Americans' views on Muslims have changed a lot. In particular, the fixed believers believe that Muslims are dangerous and support Trump's ban on issuing entry permits to people from several Muslim countries. From my own example, it does not seem difficult to understand that some Americans may view Muslims as a threat. In 2018, when I was on the Shenzhen subway, I actually knew clearly that I was wrong, but some inherent impressions in the past still made me put protecting myself first. Although I have been paying attention and sympathy to the situation in Xinjiang over the years, I feel extremely ashamed when I think of my actions on the subway. Worldview is not only our view of the world, but it also secretly affects our daily behavior. I would love to see myself having what I think is the right worldview, and I would like to be more inclusive.

Opposition of political positions

The book "The Birth of Extreme Politics" is of course not just a simple analysis of the world view for readers. The author's focus is to explain that because of the difference in world view, there are differences in political positions, and the sharp contrast between different political positions in the United States is unprecedented in the past. . A person who is not very intelligent like me can also deduce that the fixed party must be the base of the Republican Party, while the liberal party is the supporter of the Democratic Party. People with different political stances feel that the opposing party is not a normal person who can communicate with each other, and is a threat to the advancement of the country. Therefore, both parties with negative emotions are reluctant to take a step in communication, and everyone will only stay in their own political stratosphere, when "red blood cells and blue cells no longer communicate with each other, and the health of the political system deteriorates rapidly." For the mixed faction, the team will be chosen according to different issues. The book provides quite a lot of data to illustrate that when feeling threatened or feared, the choice of the mixed faction will be closer to the fixed faction. President doesn't need prior permission to wiretap suspects or support terrorists who torture confessions

Although I consider myself fluid, I am not a supporter of the Democratic Party and have no established stance on political parties in the United States. But I do think of the situation in Hong Kong from this. In the early years of the "yellow" and "blue" confrontation, I always felt that the other side was low-level, and felt disdain for communicating with the other side. This kind of sharp confrontation is unprecedented in the history of Hong Kong. The spectrum of my friends is quite broad, ranging from blue to yellow, in shades of light. As long as there is no personal attack involved and a rational narrative is maintained, I am willing to maintain friendship with my friends. The two extremes are naturally not pleasing to the eye, but what made me feel special back then was the friends of the middle faction. They did not object to the expressions of the people of the yellow spectrum, but at a certain point, they were all inclined to the establishment. . This moment is the moment when the people of Deep Yellow Spectrum started to wreak havoc in the market because they could not get a response from the government. I still remember a friend from the mixed school who said to me very angry, "How can you smash the bank, it's too much, and it's going to kill Hong Kong. I can't accept it!" At that moment, the mixed school The panic that people have a peaceful life that has been broken and the sense of security they depend on has disappeared will inevitably lead to political orientation towards the establishment that condemns "thugs". And some of my centrist friends are actually mostly middle-class people with a carefree life. Their closeness has become the political capital of the blue camp, and they will naturally be reviled by the yellow camp. In an instant, it seems that all people are forced to choose sides, either yellow or blue, there is no middle option, which makes the society even more confrontational.

Now that Hong Kong is governed by national security and law, there is absolutely no political confrontation on the market, and the voice of opposition is zero. It is impossible for the party in power to compromise with the "loser"; and the party that is brutally suppressed is even more disdainful of surrendering. The gap buried deep in everyone's heart has never been reconciled. In the future, I am afraid that only the winner will be the king and the loser will be the bandit. This is the only way.

political invasion of life

"Everything is about politics" is my mantra, and "The Birth of Extreme Politics" is also trying to prove to readers that decisions in every aspect of your life are influenced by your worldview and therefore reflect your political stance. Fixed people prefer safety and stability, so they buy bulky domestic cars, live in the suburbs, like to have big, obedient dogs, drink old-fashioned beer, eat traditional food, go to shops with simple options for coffee... However, liberals prefer to live in cities because of their tolerance and open attitude, prefer foreign brands and environmentally friendly cars, prefer to keep cats, like craft beer, are willing to try exotic food, and will patronize a variety of choices. Starbucks... . Including the books you read, the TV programs you watch, and the music you listen to, there are differences in political stance. Don't think that these different life choices are random guesses by the author, all of which are backed up by data in the book. The tastes are different, and there is almost no common language in daily life, and it is even more impossible to communicate with each other. As the author said, "Clues of political opposition can be found in daily life, showing that the people on both sides of the political gap are very different."

"Going to school and getting an education is one of the life choices most closely related to worldview," and many Republican voters "seem to be increasingly wary of elite schools, especially the so-called Ivy League schools," who believe that those schools are freed The faction dominated, and even felt that if he entered an elite university, he would likely be politically discriminated against. Universities will also express their ideological inclinations in their admissions handbooks for students and parents to refer to. When choosing a school, everyone will naturally prefer a school that is consistent with their worldview.

Seeing all the scenes in the book where life is closely related to politics, I am not at all surprised, because when I was in Hong Kong in the past, I chose to live according to my own worldview. I try my best to go to the "yellow shop" for consumption, appreciate the singing and acting of people of the same spectrum, and read books written by people in the political stratosphere. The only difference from Americans is that I don't patronize Starbucks, because Starbucks in Hong Kong is run by Maxim's Group, which is owned by Deep Blue people.

When it comes to choosing a school, of course, primary schools in Hong Kong will not talk about their political inclinations when recruiting students, but parents who care about this have a clear classification guide for admission. For example myself, schools controlled by the establishment would be crossed out first. I cannot accept the political stance of the establishment, and naturally I will not send my children to schools controlled by the establishment. In the autumn of 2019, I had a dinner party with a relative in the Mainland. During the dinner, I talked about his child who is about to take the university entrance examination. He asked me which university to choose, and I replied casually: "With such good grades, why not go to a university in Hong Kong! When my relative heard the words, his face changed greatly and he said, "No, Hong Kong universities will only teach bad students, and they will just come out to demonstrate and destroy." I could only reply with a polite smile. Looking back now, it's really my fault, I forgot that this relative's political stance is extremely conservative, and he is a holder of a fixed worldview who absolutely does not allow any unsettling elements in his life.

Mom's worldview is passed on to the next generation

The book mentions four questions on parenting that were included in the 1992 election research survey, "these four simple questions not only reveal people's preferences for compliance and free thinking" and "people give answers that reveal their worldview." , the four questions are this:

1. Independence vs Respect for the Elderly

2. Obedience vs Self-reliance

3. Curious exploration vs polite respect

4. Thoughtful vs. Steady Behaviour

I grabbed the passing children and asked, and the children answered without hesitation. All the answers I chose showed that 100% of the children in our family had a mobile worldview. Does it mean that I have passed on my worldview to the next generation, and for the future? The extreme political opposition contributed to a candidate? !

 Postscript: According to the classification in the book, Brother Drunk Horse should be a mobile faction, and Sister Gentle is a fixed faction. Although the author of this book did not explicitly state his faction, it is certain that they are not a fixed faction and do not support Trump. Because the book uses a large number of paragraphs to explain in a critical tone how Trump exploits the fears and anxiety of Americans, and appears as a strongman, vowing to protect the security of the United States and make the United States strong, and won a large number of fixed and mixed votes support. The author mentioned in the later part of the book that, fortunately, the United States has a mature political system, which prevented a series of attacks on the democratic system after Trump was elected. Sister Gentle should sneer at this.