Me: > Why will anybody -- especially the left -- accept what exists as immutable?
Jim: > Some things that exist are immutable (perhaps such > as the ultimate limit set by the scarcity of natural > resources) and other things aren't. There are degrees > of immutability; it's not a matter of either/or. Natural resources. Scarcity. I guess we were not talking about elections. > I didn't say that the election results were > "predetermined" or immutable. But you did say it. You said the result (not winning by voting) is a fact to be accepted. It is a given -- predetermined, immutable. You see, herein lies 1% of the communication problem. I admit it -- the other 99% is all my fault. But, let's stay for now with this 1%. Here's an illustration of how it works: 1. You make a statement about how a political process has a predetermined or immutable outcome, a fact that the left should just accept: "The left can't win in an electoral process by voting." And from that "fact," you draw a practical conclusion that -- by clear implication -- precludes taking part, at least by voting. Your practical conclusion is that, since it makes no sense for the left to bang its head against such an immovable wall, it would do well to instead do propaganda. 2. When your reasoning (premise, logic, and conclusion) is challenged, you act surprised and bewildered. Among other diversions, you say this: "I didn't say that the election results were 'predetermined' or immutable. There was a clear chance, for example, that McCain-Palin could have won." Excuse me, but no. What you were talking about at first was not the outcome of this particular election. You were talking about something more general, the outcome of a political process that includes elections, but it's not limited to them. Clearly, you were talking about whether the left can advance in elections by voting or not. And you asserted that it cannot. It can only advance in the political process by propaganda. You say that is a fact that the left should accept. That is what any straightforward interpretation of what you wrote leads to. I'll work on my 99%, but please do something about that tiny 1%. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
