Are We The Baddies?

SPOILER: YES

The more attentive among you may have noticed a small kerfuffle in the Middle East for the last few months. I’m not going to share my opinions on the kerfuffle itself. Not because I don’t have any. But my opinions are neither original nor deep. Sharing them on a public platform will not in any way make the kerfuffle less bad. If you’re interested in explorations of the kerfuffle that are interesting then I have been, well, enjoying isn’t exactly the right word, because there is so little to enjoy about all this, but I have been educated by the conversations that Ezra Klein has been hosting on his podcast. I’m sure there are other valuable educational resources out there.

Rather, I want to briefly talk about about the online (and offline) conversations being had about the kerfuffle. Which seem like an extreme version of many discussions that we have. The side we support are the Goodies. There are an opposing group who are the Baddies. Anyone who agrees with us are also the Goodies. Anyone who disagrees with us are also the Baddies. Anyone who doesn’t agree with us to the extent that we would like are also the Baddies. Anyone who doesn’t say exactly what we want them to say are the Baddies.

And in doing all this Schmittian* work around the friend/enemy distinction, we can get an immense emotional pay-off of self-righteous moral victory. Why would we trade the moral high ground for swamp of ambivalence?

But the moral high ground is about as stable and safe as an Indonesian volcano. It can subside beneath us, tumbling us into a crevasse. It can burn us with boiling lava. And the noxious gases it emits sting our nostril with the farts of hypocrisy.

So perhaps a good question to ask ourselves is: Are we the baddies?

What we need is something like r/AmItheAsshole - A catharsis for the frustrated moral philosopher in all of us, and a place to finally find out if you were wrong in an argument that's been bothering you. Tell us about any non-violent conflict you have experienced; give us both sides of the story, and find out if you're right, or you're the asshole.

I am conscious that I absolutely have been the asshole on occasions. I am trying to be the asshole less often but it is hard work and I appreciate all your support in that process. Although very occasionally I have not been the asshole that people have accused me of being.

Perhaps this is something that AI could assist with. As I type something obnoxious, the AI could say: “Hey Matt - Have you thought about whether expressing this opinion in this manner makes you the asshole? Our data says that 76% of the time, saying this does indeed make you the asshole”. We’re not short of training data (i.e. the whole internet) to make this happen.

What we are perhaps short of is the self-awareness to listen to advice when we most need it.

*Yes, Carl, you are absolutely one of the baddies. A shame you did not ask that question yourself.