Today, I want to talk about being disappointed in individuals. Recently, I was very disappointed in President Biden's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which has objectively led to a lot of unnecessary suffering. The worse part of all was that, he didn't even seem to care that much. I mean, I get that people make mistakes, but it's the not caring enough that really hurt. While Biden wasn't my favorite during 2019-2020, I always thought that he at least had a heart. Maybe I was wrong. What's even worse is that, too many of his supporters in mainstream media keep making excuses for him, probably just because they support him. The fact remains that, Biden had almost a year to get the withdrawal right, and he simply did not. You know, normally I don't even comment on non-Western politics, but the Afghanistan withdrawal is arguably part of Western politics, because the whole intervention was always an American-led thing.
Anyway, I think this is also a timely reminder that individuals often let us down in the end. Ideas are forever, but an individual whom you might agree with today could seriously let you down tomorrow. One must not blindly support an individual, like the people who are making excuses for Biden right now. And it's not just Biden. Several of his other 2019-2020 competitors have also let me down in various ways since they were on that debate stage not so long ago. It's also not just Democrats, or even just politicians. I won't name names here, but over the past 2-3 years, several thinkers and personalities across the political spectrum, whom I used to admire to some degree, have seriously let me down in the end. I guess in intense times like these, it's bound to happen even more often than usual.
Which is why, from now on, I feel like I must stress that this show, and all my other work, is about the ideas, and not the personalities. I have always said that, my support for a certain individual's ideas on something doesn't extend to wholesale support for their other ideas and stances. But right now, I feel as though I need to put even more emphasis on this point. My work is about discussing brilliant and interesting ideas from people across the political spectrum. It is certainly not my intention to encourage cults of personality, which could lead to an inability to criticize certain people. Because that would be truly regressive.
That's all for today. I'll be back next time to discuss another big idea. Remember, on this show, the personalities don't matter, it's the ideas that matter. My being interested in an individual's ideas does not necessarily mean wholesale support for all their ideas. Until next time, remember to resist conformity and stay positive. Our future depends on it.
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