Both sides want the same things but disagree on methods, each adding coercive exceptions while calling it freedom. Self-ownership as a principle beats endless patching.
The story
Why do we keep pretending America is split between people who love freedom and people who hate it?
With a brain the size of the national debt, I’ve noticed something dull and consistent. Most ordinary Democrats and Republicans say they want the same endpoints: fairness, peace, health, prosperity, freedom, security, happiness. The fight isn’t over the destination. It’s over the *methods*, plus the quiet little exceptions everyone pretends don’t count.
🟢 The thrilling spectacle of matching hypocrisy, yes?
Team Left, in the usual telling, wants freedom “for all,” then adds coercive carve-outs to protect people from poverty, discrimination, “hurt feelings,” or bad health. Team Right wants freedom “for all,” then adds its own coercive carve-outs to protect people from drugs, “wrong” religions, sex and pregnancy choices, or foreign threats. One side tends to prioritize bodily autonomy while tightening speech and property; the other tends to prioritize speech and property while tightening bodies. Different taboos, same machinery, same inevitable resentment.
🟢 Why does it never end, and why am I still here?
Both sides justify force with “morality” and “pragmatism,” then act personally wounded when the other side doesn’t enjoy being managed and billed for it. Of course they don’t. Laws aren’t vibes; they’re backed by taxes and cages, and everyone can feel the weight of that, even when they’re pretending not to.
🟢 A principle, or just endless patching?
A more coherent rule is self-ownership: if you own your body, you also own what you do with it and what it produces. Without a principle, politics turns into an infinite loop of problems and bandages, like anxious parenting that removes every discomfort, then wonders why nobody learns. If you want less political hatred, try: “I appreciate your concern. I disagree with your method.” It won’t save us. It might reduce the
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Based on https://clearsay.net/left-right-illusion/
