Alec Bladwin has been in the news recently, and not for good reasons. However, whenever I see his name, it makes me think of my favorite line from the excellent film The Hunt for Red October:
Captain Ramius : [spoken "You parle ruski"] You speak Russian?
Jack Ryan : [in Russian] A little. It is wise to study the ways of one's adversary. Don't you think?
Captain Ramius : [in English] It is.
This statement is true in almost any field of human endeavor, whether it's submarines, sports or politics. If you wish to defeat your opponent, you will improve your chances of doing so by understanding how your opponent operates.
This means that, if you wish to be an effective activist for Democratic and progressive causes, you need to understand how Republicans operate. Do to this, you should dedicate at least a little of your time every day, perhaps five minutes, to reading right-wing news and social media, and/or Republican campaign communications.
Fair warning: for Democrats and progressives, consuming right-wing content is not fun. However, a lot of things in life that are useful and helpful are not fun. It is easy for us all to fall into a kind of "comfort food" habit in our approach to politics, where we consume only feel-good content that reinforces our beliefs rather than bringing any new knowledge. This can often lead to people wonder something along the lines of "how could anyone in the world possibly support those guys?" Or, it can lead some folks simply to conclude that anyone who would support "those guys" is a dupe or a bad person.
However, as I detail below the fold, with only a few minutes of reading right-wing media a day, you can pretty quickly understand what is happening over on the other side. It might not be what you think—and it’s important. Also, there are ways you can do it that make the process less painful.
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