Thread by @jvfriedman

About every six weeks or so, something happens that makes me yell FUCKING CALVINISM.

I sincerely believe that Calvinism and the Protestant Work Ethic are the twin poisons that ruined the American Experiment from the jump.

Before I get into why I'm yelling it now, read this piece from 2018. It really gets to the bottom of well, all of this:

politicalorphans.com/the-article-re…

TL;DR: Calvinism was used to excuse racism and/or racist opinions were used to justify Calvinism. Either way? It became an ouroborous of society-ruining poison.

Anyway, why I'm yelling lately.

Put baldly, Calvinism is why we're struggling to deal with covid-19. "You're sick because you deserve to be sick" is woven into the fabric of our society, along with "If you were a better person, you'd have a job that let you work from home."

I don't think anyone is actually saying these things aloud, at least I fucking hope not! But the framework is there. Waiting. Like RNA. You know, like a virus.

All the people yelling about not wearing masks, wanting haircuts, insisting staying home is an affront to freedom are really saying "I'm better than the people who are worried about this. They're bad and their number will come up, but I'm GOOD. So nothing will happen to ME."

The basic science of mask wearing isn't to protect the wearer of the mask, it's to protect everyone around them. When everyone wears a mask, transmission probabilities drop considerably. But asking people to consider the collective impact of everyone's actions feels futile.

The basic concept of "act in a way that will benefit everyone, not just yourself" feels less and less sustainable in a society where statements like "Stay home if you choose, no one is forcing you to go out" are considered reasonable.

It's so bereft of empathy. "I don't know how to explain to you that you should care about other people" has been taken to an even deadlier conclusion.

huffpost.com/entry/i-dont-k…

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