I love reading about politics. I’ve been reading about politics since I was a child. I don’t want to continue on about reading about politics to express my disdain for a word that has permeated throughout Daily Kos over the past couple of months.
That word is ego.
Yes, the word made famous by Sigmund Freud and was expanded by the man pictured above philosopher Alan Watts (1915-1973) when he also defined the word. When I saw this meme it has truly defined the many diaries I have read, particularly those who declared why they are voting for either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.
To be honest, those diaries are all about ego.
“Look everyone! I am a (fill in the blank) who is voting for (fill in Clinton or Sanders) because (fill in the blank)!”
My response to your diary?
So?
No, let me change that: Good for you, and I’m off to the next diary.
These type of diaries are both freedom of speech and freedom for attention. In the long run, it doesn’t matter. People will vote for whomever they want. Will it change votes? Probably not.
Even worse, Kos himself wrote a diary saying that anti-Hillary diaries will be banned because of an aspect of unity. This is his website and he can do what he pleases.
But it is also about ego.
And then there are those who have decided to leave DK because they feel their free speech rights are being violated. This may be true, but this is about ego as well.
Yes, I am glad to see a vibrant democracy here at Daily Kos. And yes, I will vote in November. For who, it’ll be between myself and the voting booth (note: I like what Sanders has to say, but the corporate Democrats will not allow this and it’ll probably would not matter come my state’s primary). But, does it truly matter to those who have already made up their minds or have moved on? To me, this is a case of what Watts said, “The ego is nothing other than the focus of conscious attention”.
Political discourse is about ego: who has the bigger … well, you know.