Having the courage of one’s convictions in tumultuous times

In My Humble Opinion
1

This is yet another thread inspired by the libertarian acquaintance who is upending his life and moving across the country because he fears civil war over the election no matter who wins, but I’ve been thinking about this for a while now.

Nobody can say this guy doesn’t have the courage of his convictions. He is spending a lot of money, giving up a lot, and taking concrete and relatively drastic action based on these beliefs. (And yes, depending on what those beliefs are, this could be a bad thing, but that’s outside the scope of what I want to discuss.)

This gets me thinking about other circumstances. Suppose someone thinks that American democracy is at stake with this election, or could potentially be. Certainly, if they don’t vote, they definitely lack the courage of their convictions. But if the stakes are that high, why not take it further? If such a person doesn’t, say, quit their job and pour all their savings into the election, is that lacking the courage of their convictions? After all, what will their job or American money matter in a fascist hellhole? Why shy away from violence as a tool, if the stakes are that high?

Someone expresses the opinion that America is doomed. If they’re doing anything less than making immediate direct actions towards leaving the country, despite any financial obstacle, does that mean they don’t really believe what they’re saying? What about if they aren’t giving up on their life and future entirely? Wouldn’t that be an extremely reasonable reaction if they truly believed this?

This applies to other issues too. Must an environmentalist who thinks climate change is inevitable be seriously advocating that the young loved ones in their lives not have children? Not go to college because it’s a waste of time, and their time would be better spent preparing for the coming civil strife and suffering? This is the survival of human civilization we could be talking about, after all. With that looming, how could someone who believes in it possibly live a quiet and normal life?

I realize this is sometimes used as a rhetorical weapon against those who want to challenge the status quo, but there is a certain sense to this line of thinking, and I wanted to examine it further, perhaps for future rebuttal. Thanks in advance.

2

I agree…the sum of the matter, really, is that the personal cost of making all these sacrifices is immense, whereas the actual amount of change it means to the world is utterly miniscule. That ultimately is why 99% of people don’t “live up to their convictions” as you put it. It just represents massive sacrifice for no perceptible impact.

There must be a psychological term for this phenomenon: “If I do this by myself, it makes no difference, but if millions do it with me, it makes a big difference. Unfortunately since they won’t, I won’t” - and so nobody does. Kind of like how Westerners often ask why North Koreans don’t just rise up as one and revolt.

3

It occurred to me that this thread is partly connected to my other one about what you’d expect a fascist/authoritarian America to look like. I’m sure that at least partly informs your opinion here.

I’ve also heard anti-capitalists that keeping people too tired and desperate to think about these things is one of the system’s purposes. But I’m asking beyond the “legit” excuses.

It also seems to touch a bit on the “silence is violence” and “I don’t let politics get in the way of my relationships” arguments. I chatted with an old friend recently on the latter, and my preexisting relationship with him, and the sympathy I have towards the argument that it’s privileged to be able to “ignore politics,” are clashing deeply.

4

You’re making a lot of assumptions. Mostly that any of that which you think we should do is within our means and actually would help. I don’t believe that is true for most people in any of the situations you put forth.

I don’t have enough money to survive and put any significant amount of money into the election, and I’ve never believed that money wins elections anyways. I do not have enough funds to leave the country, going to some other place that could actually support me, and would give me a visa and later citizenship. The climate crisis is a huge problem, but no one individual can stop it, and no one knows what the actual aftermath would look like–though I’ll admit some people do actually do the things you describe.

The point is, even if people are completely convinced of these things, it doesn’t follow that they would be able to react like you say, or that doing so would actually do any good.

And note that I’m not saying any of those are the thing I’m most concerned about.

5

Well, like I (think I) said in my OP, it’s not just about trying to change the outcome, it’s about living by what you say you think will come to pass. Like the old “I’m going to move to Canada if GWB is re-elected.” If you SAY that dire things are coming, if you aren’t taking active steps in your life with that assumption in place, do you really mean it?