Tilting At Windmills: The Futility of Arguing With The Right
Why you can�t reason with crazy or argue with stupid
David Todd McCarty
Ellemeno
David Todd McCarty
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Aug 7, 2022
Don Quixote by Gustave Dor� (1832�1883). Public domain, via Wikimedia
Commons
Before we begin, I would like to offer a friendly word of warning. If you
happen to be a Republican, Trumper, conservative, libertarian, or
otherwise independent troll who lives to debunk liberal bias, this piece
isn�t for you. You�re welcome to read it but don�t be surprised when you
find yourself insulted. It should go without saying, especially if you
read through the entire piece, that I have no interest in your opinion on
the matter. It wasn�t written for you, and you are not its intended
audience. I have no illusions that I would ever sway you or change your
mind, so I wouldn�t dream of trying. Consequently, I have no intention of
responding to your comments or criticism. But if that�s your bag, go
right along and read. Maybe you�ll learn something � about liberals at
least � since you seem incapable of introspection and self-reflection.
Some people just like to argue. They look for fights because they like to
fight, not because they are defending territory or standing up for some
sacred ideology. They�re just looking for a fight. These are the people
who follow liberal celebrities in order to harass them, or cruise the CNN
message boards looking for a gullible liberal to troll.
There is another type that believes that winning arguments with someone
who disagrees with them, strengthens their own convictions. These are
usually people lower on the Dunning-Kruger scale that fail to comprehend
that the reason their opponents stop arguing with them is not that the
�liberal snowflake� doesn�t have a competent answer but because the
snowflake suddenly realizes that the instigator has no real grasp on
reality. The deplorable declares victory, like a fenced-in dog who walks
away from its imagined fight, proud that he chased the car away, not
understanding that the driver had no idea they were even competing.
There is also a third type. The one who wants to convince you that you�re
wrong, in order to prove themselves right. They�re not so concerned about
converting you as they are convincing you that you�re wrong. They often
believe that they are intellectually superior to you, and this is their
way of proving it to themselves. They have read the literature and they
have a collection of anecdotes, conspiracy theories, and logical
fallacies that they believe clearly back up their claims. They have
arguments, but no real understanding.
But what connects them all?
Tilting at Windmills
I�m a little fascinated by a concept that seems to have captured the
imagination of whatever is left of the Republican Party, and that is the
urge to fight an enemy that exists only in their own minds. It harkens
back to the early 17th-century Spanish novel �Don Quixote� by Miguel de
Cervantes (1547�1616).
In the novel, Don Quixote, the protagonist, becomes enamored with the
romantic notion of chivalry, and goes about making himself into a knight
in order to fight the unbeatable foe. He spends his time traveling the
world and righting wrongs, in one case, against a windmill that he
imagines to be a giant.
Tilting was the medieval sport of jousting with a lance on horseback, but
Don Quixote has lost touch with reality, and as such, can make no such
distinction between what is real or imagined. The windmills are not
giants, of course, and Quixote�s tilting at them is an exercise in
futility.
His entire worldview is one where he is a gallant knight fighting the
good fight. It is romantic and chivalrous, with a heavy dose of nostalgia
and an overinflated sense of self-importance. But he is righteous,
courageous, pure, and even selfless. He is a hero, hapless though he is.
In �Man of La Mancha,� the 1965 musical based on the novel, Don Quixote
describes his quest in part by exposing the romantic and heroic rationale
for his ongoing fight with the world.
�To dream the impossible dream,� he sings. �To fight the unbeatable foe,
To bear with unbearable sorrow, To run where the brave dare not go; To
right the unrightable wrong. To fight for the right, Without question or
pause, To be willing to march into hell, For a heavenly cause! And the
world will be better for this, That one man, scorned and covered with
scars, Still strove, with his last ounce of courage, To reach the
unreachable stars!�
It�s a romantic tale of selfless bravery. The ultimate cause.
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza by Gustave Dor� (1832�1883). Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons
Pretzel Logic
The logic of the new Maga populism is illogical and nonsensical. It�s a
collection of showbiz talking points taken from Fox News, or other right-
wing propaganda outlets, as opposed to being based on a fully-realized or
well-conceived ideology. Its foundation, instead, is a one-sided
conversation designed for broadcast where no one is ever expected to
respond. It�s Don Quixote tilting at a windmill.
These are often not arguments based on factual evidence, but rather
unanswered questions designed to create a sense of bravado through the
use of innuendo and whataboutism that is primarily intended to sow fear,
confusion, and distrust. They are more questions than answers. The open-
ended conspiracy theory where the possibility of wrongdoing is close
enough to confirm a probability of misconduct. Once it�s probable, it
becomes likely, and then it�s only a short leap to being a foregone
conclusion.
So much if it is based on gaslighting the opposition that it�s nearly
impossible to unravel the pretzel logic of being accused of the very
thing that the accuser is actively doing. If the Republicans are trying
to subvert free and fair elections, they accuse the Democrats of rampant
election fraud. If they�re leaning into autocratic ideas and embracing
authoritarian regimes, then they accuse the Democrats of being in league
with fascists, socialists, or even communists.
While armed, right-wing extremism has produced all of our violent,
domestic terrorism, they continue to accuse the so-called �radical left�
of unlawful, violent activities despite no evidence that any even exist.
They love to talk about ANTIFA as if it�s an actual organization, with
leaders, members, and a devious plan, as opposed to the simple idea of
opposing the spread and terrorism of right-wing fascism.
The Jesus Fish
There is a Seinfeld episode with Elaine and her on-again, off-again
boyfriend David Puddy, where Elaine learns that Puddy is a devout
Christian. She is most upset that he isn�t trying to convert her since he
seems more than happy to let go to hell even though she doesn�t believe
in the concept. Puddy is admittedly okay that it�s her problem to solve,
not his. He�s not the one going to hell. This infuriates Elaine.
The conflict comes from the fact that Puddy doesn�t care enough to
convince her that she�s wrong. In the end, they approach a priest to
resolve the conflict, but when he discovers that they�re sleeping
together and not married, he declares that they�re both going to hell.
This disturbs Puddy but delights Elaine to no end. It was his superiority
that bothered her, not his indifference for her eternal soul.
There is something about this conflict that relates to how these new
Movement Conservatives see the world. It is as if it represents a duality
in their souls, where one side is independently secure in their knowledge
of their own righteousness, unfazed by what others believe, while the
other half is intent on making the opposition care despite not believing
in shared values, let alone a shared reality.
The Enduring Power of Delusion
When it comes to Trump and his followers, even more than wanting to win,
is the idea of making sure that if they lose, everyone loses. Mutual
assured destruction. They hate the superiority of the left more than they
believe in the righteousness of their own cause, so they�ve invented an
alternative reality where a spray-tanned, balding grifter who has
crippling insecurity and perpetual cowardice, is somehow a heroic figure,
fighting for their cause for truth, justice, and the American way.
Everyone is the hero of their own delusion, so it makes sense that they
have chosen one that is unflappable in the face of adversity simply
because he doesn�t understand the reality of his situation. It�s a bit
ironic that Trump has chosen windmills as one of his fiercest rivals, and
that he is most often comfortable fighting imaginary enemies. He sees
himself on an epic quest where you are either Sancho, his loyal aide, or
his sworn enemy, whether real or imagined.
You Can�t Reason With Crazy or Argue With Stupid
You can�t reason with crazy because they�re not working with a solid
sense of reality, but neither can you argue with stupid because the less
one knows, the more unshakeable they are in their beliefs. But let me
answer the perpetual complaint from self-described centrists, that
America is a country divided and that partisan rancor is threatening to
tear us apart.
The short version is that we are way past bridging that gap, and nothing
we do is going to change that. In the same way that the only way to
recover from a prison riot is to restore law and order and get everyone
back to their cells, the only way forward for America is to attempt to
restore democracy by force.
We are in a culture war that certainly has the potential to get out of
hand, but we are also dealing with one side that seems perfectly happy to
abandon liberal democracy, embrace theocratic authoritarianism, and take
part in an illegal insurrection in order to do it. This, in and of
itself, is disqualifying to participate in a civil, democratic
deliberation.
They are in breach of America�s social contract and are now part of a
treasonous pact of insurrectionists. You don�t negotiate with terrorists
or reason with criminals. You prosecute the mutineers, patch the holes,
create new rules of conduct, and do everything in your power to right the
ship. Until you do that, the entire ship and crew remain in peril.
They say you should never wrestle a pig because no matter what else
happens, you�re both going to get dirty, and the pig likes it. Therefore,
I maintain that we have to crush the rebellion and restore sanity and
democratic values to America. It sure would be nice to feel some national
pride once again, and a justification for that pride would be the
humility that comes from knowing just how close we came to disaster.
The alternative is unthinkable, but also entirely plausible.
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