Thread by @EthicalRenewal

Let’s talk about populism.
Populists pretend complex problems have simple answers.
They like things so simple they become stupid.
They adore binary choices.
They demand you ‘take sides’.
1/10
#populism #populists #propaganda #Johnson #woke #antiwoke

Populists like division.
They like an enemy.
If no enemy’s handy, they’ll make one.
They like to act the victim, no matter how rich, powerful or privileged they are.
But, by creating ‘an enemy’, victims are precisely what they tend to produce.
2/10
#populism #populist #division

Populism appeals to our worse instincts.
It appeals to emotions of hatred, resentment, a tribal ‘us’ and ‘them’.
In today's world we need our better instincts:
•Caring
•Cooperation
•Empathy
•Compassion
Populism doesn’t care about caring. Compassion isn’t on its agenda.
3/10

Populism ignores facts. So, predictably, populists dislike experts.
Experts know stuff.
People who know stuff are a nuisance if you want to manipulate others instead of inform.
Populists exaggerate, hype up, overblow.
To them, it’s all useful. It makes the news.
4/10
#Populism

“Forget facts!” populists say. “Just enjoy the show.”
Soon we’re mesmerised. We can’t see their hands on our voting cards or their fingers scrabbling away at the grey matter in our skulls.
While we’re distracted populists get on with achieving what they want to achieve.
5/10

Populists like to smear, slander, denigrate, accuse.
They love to lie. They’ll say anything to make themselves popular.
And the tribalism they encourage forgives lies.
Being part of the tribe becomes more important than integrity.
The tribalised forget their own morality.
6/10

For populists the lie’s not the thing.
They don’t care about lying – in fact, they like it.
The lie's not the thing. The objective’s the thing:
- Ambition
- Greed
- Pretending to serve others while serving only themselves.
Why let truth interfere with objectives like these?
7/10

And yet.... would you be happy if your brother, sister, father or mother were a liar?
Is lying the example we want to set our children or our friends?
So you have to ask, “Is it acceptable–if you think about it for just a moment–for a Prime Minister to be a liar?”
8/10
#populism

Populism is immoral.
Populists are serially dishonest, serially unreliable, serially self-serving, serially in it for number one.
They deny equality, kindness, our shared humanity, our compassionate human nature.
They create dissension, division, hatred, bloodshed, even war.
9/10

How do we resist populism?
Through morality.
Morality is hard to attack.
How do you condemn someone for being moral?

And morality’s message is simple:
Morality 1st
Integrity 1st
Honesty 1st
And
Make Humanity Great Again

10/10

#populism #populist #dishonesty #morality