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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 10, 2022

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"Principles are what let us be predictable agents, able to work with others who aren't part of our tribe and don't share all our values."

There used to be a phenomenon where one would say, I completely disagree with person x, but he really has integrity and sticks to his principles and I respect him for that. That seems rare these days.

However, I have often seen critics of person x claim that person x is a hypocrite who abandoned their principles when a closer inspection reveals that the critic doesn't understand the original principle. (One example, many conservatives canceled their Paypal because it leaked they wanted to steal $2500 per misinformation. In a certain corner of social media I heard critics call conservatives hypocrites for subscribing to "cancel culture." But it merely shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what conservatives dislike about "cancel culture." (Paypal is a corporation not an individual. Also boycotts are much older.))

Yeah, I think you're identifying two bedrock principles there. One is that our political views are separate from our personal integrity. And the other is that accusations of hypocrisy are serious and worth careful examination, not to be casually tossed around or accepted at face value.