You are a proud member of a group. Your group believes in living a virtuous life and spreading those beliefs onto the non-believers. The leaders of your group constantly announce viewpoints that you should live by. They recently told everyone that whenever you want to toast bread your toaster should be set to the highest level, and you will always be assured that your toast will come out perfect. Not under done nor burnt. You enthusiastically follow this new directive. Every day you have a piece of toast for breakfast. You are confused because now every day your toast comes out burnt. You go to the group leaders looking for help. You are told that the directive is correct but maybe the ambient temperature in your kitchen is causing the issue. Or maybe you are just using the wrong type of bread. Regardless of the refinements that you make the result is always the same – burnt toast. This latest failed directive reminds you of other directives from the leaders that have yielded outcomes that are not what was guaranteed. At this point you need to decide whether you want to flee the group and live in reality or take a leap of faith and continue following the group directives. Many will remain as group members because it gives meaning to their lives. In just a short time they will convince themselves that the toast is actually not burnt and live the rest of their lives happily eating burnt toast convincing themselves that it just perfect.

We spend too much time with allegiance to political parties and individual politicians. It is always about policies and the provable outcomes of those policies.

  • eskimofry
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    11 months ago

    Why would someone try to support to prolong delusion and not attempt to rescue them?

    • Mickey7@lemmy.worldOP
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      11 months ago

      Take defunding police as an example. Everywhere this has been done crime has significantly increased. Yet that basic correlation of less police equals more crime is denied. Other non relevant factors are given as to why we have a spike in crime. If you desire to remain part of a group because you believe it gives your life meaning is strong enough you will reject the undeniable facts and believe the delusion. And it is ironic that some of the comments posted here seem to be from people who don’t even realize that the original premise is about them and anyone who simply toes the line of the group rather than evaluating if a policy that they endorse actually works.

      • Godwins_Law@lemmy.ca
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        11 months ago

        I’m interested in the data behind police budgets and crime in recent years if you’ve got a good source.

        • cre0@kbin.social
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          11 months ago

          Source: he’s pretty sure he read it in a magazine or on website somewhere a while back.

          See also: his butt

        • Mickey7@lemmy.worldOP
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          11 months ago

          though I’m sure it exists I do not have a link to specific data. but I did see something just the other day about Austin, Texas. It showed basically a cut of one third in funding and approximately a doubling in crime. But the specific percentages are not critical because this is a common sense issue. Less cops more crime. Then add to it that in cities that do defund the remaining police force realizes that the city administration does not “have their back” while they are doing their job. So police there are less inclined to do their job because they fear the possible illogical retribution for simply doing their job.