Mother-Forking Season 2
The Ernests shift from theory to practice, as they dissect Bruce's recent impassioned Facebook post
Bruce penned his article out of outrage at sexism and Trump's moves towards autocracy. The title was chosen to affirm female sexuality for pleasure and connection, rather than just procreation. It also captured his anger at people who believe in a deity, which he considers equivalent to "fake science" and complicit in the subjugation of women and the election of Trump.
To avoid loaded terms like "science" and "religion", Prabhakar suggested the terms "good faith" and "bad faith" -- or "adaptive" vs "maladaptive" beliefs -- to reflect the core virtue of adapting our beliefs to address the data, rather than rejecting data that contradicts our beliefs.
He also pushed Bruce to clarify how much of his anger against Trump was due to his quest for power, versus the values that Trump used that power for. In particular, was he similarly disgusted by prior expansions of presidential power, or did he consider them justified because of the noble ends?
Bruce countered that what really angered him was that Trump didn't really believe any of the things he stood far. After, he hardly seems to do or believe any of the things that Christians are supposed to. Prabhakar pointed out that:
To avoid loaded terms like "science" and "religion", Prabhakar suggested the terms "good faith" and "bad faith" -- or "adaptive" vs "maladaptive" beliefs -- to reflect the core virtue of adapting our beliefs to address the data, rather than rejecting data that contradicts our beliefs.
He also pushed Bruce to clarify how much of his anger against Trump was due to his quest for power, versus the values that Trump used that power for. In particular, was he similarly disgusted by prior expansions of presidential power, or did he consider them justified because of the noble ends?
Bruce countered that what really angered him was that Trump didn't really believe any of the things he stood far. After, he hardly seems to do or believe any of the things that Christians are supposed to. Prabhakar pointed out that:
- Nobody knows what Trump really believes (probably not even him)
- Since the moral majority, conservative Christians have found social engagement, identity, and even a kind of unity (e.g. with Catholics) by focusing on a small set of political issues
- Trump has shown surprising devotion to those core issues, even when contrary to rational political calculation
We both agreed that there is nothing we despise more than people who talk loudly about certain principles, yet act in ways completely contrary to them.
Then Prabhakar asked Bruce why, despite his long-standing principled disdain for Facebook and its business model, he initially posted his article solely on Facebook. Bruce explained that he just needed to get his message out as widely as possible, and Facebook was the only place to do that.
Then Prabhakar asked Bruce why he needed to that, and Bruce had no answer.
Which led to a discussion of grace. How all of us at times fall short of our principles for reasons we can' t explain. And this is a core part of the human experience we have to figure out, both as individuals and society, in order to succeed in truly making things better.
Welcome to Season 2 of Too Earnest: Two Ernests Forking Humanity.
Then Prabhakar asked Bruce why, despite his long-standing principled disdain for Facebook and its business model, he initially posted his article solely on Facebook. Bruce explained that he just needed to get his message out as widely as possible, and Facebook was the only place to do that.
Then Prabhakar asked Bruce why he needed to that, and Bruce had no answer.
Which led to a discussion of grace. How all of us at times fall short of our principles for reasons we can' t explain. And this is a core part of the human experience we have to figure out, both as individuals and society, in order to succeed in truly making things better.
Welcome to Season 2 of Too Earnest: Two Ernests Forking Humanity.
References
- Automated Transcript
- M*th*r*f*ck*r (Ernest Bruce on Medium)
- M*th*r*f*ck*r definition (Urban Dictionary)
- Sexist rules for women on Arctic expedition (E&E News)
- Trump goes full dictator, vows to stay in office regardless of election results (Vanity Fair)
- Pseudo-science (Wikipedia)
- Drawing the line between science and pseudo-science (Scientific American)
- Adaptive behavior (Wikipedia)
- Power and the Presidency, From Kennedy to Obama (Smithsonian)
- Moral Majority (Wikipedia)
- Anti-Catholicism in the United States (Wikipedia)