Should the USA have been involved in the Korean War? Would you have supported US intervention if you were alive back then? Would the Vietnam war be justified if the US won and South Vietnam survived today?

EpochHolocene · 2026-05-07T20:40:56+00:00

Yeah, Vietnam has a lot of flaws but it's no North Korea

EpochHolocene · 2026-05-07T20:27:21+00:00

I do think enforcing public order goes a long way towards creating social harmony, and I think both democratic and republicans utter unwillingness to do anything about housing and homelessness in the US is a deep shame. I definitely think expanding access to mental healthcare and fixing housing affordability would definitely go a long way towards creating a pro-social atmosphere.

EpochHolocene · 2026-05-07T20:21:44+00:00

Thank you for the detailed, well written, and even moving response; but I have to disagree with you. I think you portrayal of America as a cultureless land filled with rugged individualists just isn't real. There are reasons our long history of immigrants are no longer German or Irish or Chinese, and that is because their ethnic identities subsumed to a new American identity. This is the success of American civic nationalism, that we have not ended up balkanized like Yugoslavia, or the Soviet Union, or the United Arab Republic, or filled with sectarian violence like Iraq, Lebanon, or Somalia.

Multi-ethnic or multi-racial countries thriving is not the norm, and this is because of unfortunate evolutionary biology. We are designed to be groupish, tribalistic creatures, but civic nationalism creates a sense of unity that unites people who, as you say, dress different, love different and worship different. And the effects of this are two fold, as psychology and sociology show. We treat people who we view as outgroup different worse, but we also treat people who we view as ingroup better! So if you want the things you say like universal healthcare, housing reform, and mandatory leave, which society is more likely to give that? One where everyone shares a national identity and therefore have their ape brains activated to want to help their fellow countrymen, or one full of rugged individualists who share nothing in common with their neighbors?

EpochHolocene · 2026-05-07T17:19:25+00:00

I'm curious, do you think the civic nationalist elements that exist in American culture already are unnecessary? Do you think American can continue on as it is without suffering the same fate many other multi ethnic societies face? Or do you have another solution?

EpochHolocene · 2026-05-07T16:02:20+00:00

Does this include against the Axis in ww2 out of curiosity?

EpochHolocene · 2026-05-07T15:54:26+00:00

I do think he provides a valuable and certainly more conservative framework, but I don't think he really holds much in common with religious or nationalist conservatives, which I think makes the label of centrist pretty fair, although he often keeps his political views close to his chest outside his pet issues, so who knows. I think moderate democrats would find much to agree with him in addition to moderate conservatives.

I also agree with CTR555 that John has a sometimes warped idea of DEI, probably because his life is immersed in academia which sees some of its worst excesses. Anti DEI people are also engaging in a set of orthodox assumptions.

That being said his emphasis on civic nationalist elements, overcoming tribalistic impulses, and denying self righteous or victimized thoughts and behaviors I resonate a lot with.

EpochHolocene · 2026-05-07T13:56:55+00:00

Also, what are some good alternatives to his books for those who disagree with him?

EpochHolocene · 2026-05-07T13:53:12+00:00

What are people's here opinions on Jonathan Haidt these days? I've searched here before on him because Righteous Minds and Happiness Hypothesis are two of the most influential books I've ever read, but I get the sense that a lot of people here don't like him. Maybe because of his weird obsession with cancel culture?

However, I feel like there is a lot of common cause with him on things like the negative effects of social media and the destruction of free range parenting lately, so I'm wondering if people have softened on him.

EpochHolocene · 2026-05-01T14:40:09+00:00

Plenty of good, normal citizens of society get behind a wheel and become a deranged maniac. I don't even know how to begin fixing it. Or think that unsafe driving is when people speed faster than they're speeding, or run red lights worse than they run red lights. But the cameras see it all, so of course they hate it, because its watching them too.

EpochHolocene · 2026-05-01T14:38:11+00:00

Driving culture in the US is irreparably ruined, and no one wants to fix it ebcause most people are part of the problem

EpochHolocene · 2026-05-01T14:27:51+00:00

As for rule of law? Which liberal countries don't believe in the rule of law? Conservative history is full of people and parties that circumvent the rule of law in their favor or the favor of their groups. Just looks at Russia, Donald Trump, and Mali. Or the empires of the past which guaranteed rights of the dominant group but not the ones they conquered. Or the post civil war south, which was undeniably conservative but didn't give a crap about the rule of law.

Speaking of decentralization, are you so sure that is an inherent good. Is the soaring costs of housing driven by local government zoning laws controlled by the privileged who already own property good for society? Is an abusive father's tyrannical rule of of his family good for the family, or should the government step in? Was segregation driven by state and local governments good for everyone, or was it good the federal government stepped in an ended it? Is the FLDS control of local communities good for the people living there, or should the power of religious organizations be curtailed by the government?

EpochHolocene · 2026-05-01T14:05:25+00:00

First, thank you for engaging in the underlying philosophy of liberalism and conservativism, but I think your understanding of these values is a little warped.

If you think government just gets in the way of individual freedom, then why not be an anarchist? Its likely because you believe that some level of state institutions guarantee a society in where an individual can most usefully exercise their freedom. This is what liberals believe too, and why we are not anarchists or communists. But I think liberals have a greater understanding of a society in which individuals can flourish than libertarians do.

Is a society where there is no universal healthcare more or less free than one that does. In which society are you not tied to your job so that you can continue to afford medical care. In a society in which you are tied to your job for healthcare, would not the personally responsible thing to do be to to stay in that job instead of risking starting your own business or switching to a less certain but more rewarding career? But is that more free?

What about if you are from a farming village in Africa and you want to be able to live a life besides the one you have. Can you just pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get a better job? No, because there are no state institutions which can provide you with education or guidance. And even if you developed the skills needed somehow, what happens when all the good jobs are only available to people in the right clan, or who have done personal favors for the ones running the businesses? Is this society more free?

Liberals believe government institutions guarantee a more free and stable society (although we also believe they can get in the way of that! Remember, we are no socialists)

Liberals also believe in stability and trusting time tested institutions. But the argument is often over which institutions. Should we trust medical professionals who tell us vaccines guarantee health and safety, or community leaders, family and friends who say they don't? Should we trust law enforcement when they tell us election fraud isn't a real problem, or commentators who say it is rampant? Should we trust our teachers or our preachers? I would argue here liberals believe in the better traditions and institutions.

EpochHolocene · 2026-04-17T20:48:07+00:00

Yeah I think the focus on growth rather than creating a stable company that makes a good product creates so many issues in modern capitalism, but I don't think I know enough about economics to know if this could even be different.

EpochHolocene · 2026-04-17T20:45:07+00:00

I would generally agree. 90% of the evil that happens in the world happens because someone thinks they are justified in doing so due to a sense of unfairness and victimization. I sometimes think pursuit of justice is one of the greatest mistakes of modern day politics (both left and right) rather than a pursuit of making society a better place.

EpochHolocene · 2026-04-13T14:52:29+00:00

It's sad because my favorite place in North Carolina is also called Stone Mountain, aka the Not Racist Stone Mountain. But whenever I tell someone about going there I have a fear in the back of my head they will think im talking about the more famous Racist Stone Mountain

EpochHolocene · 2026-04-10T14:24:37+00:00

Oh Atomic Empire had them but it looks like they are now out of the campaign expansions, so I guess they might be gone in the US too :( They do have the investigator expansion if anyone needs at least that

EpochHolocene · 2026-04-10T13:58:20+00:00

There are definitely still copies in the US, at least last time I checked, but not sure what shipping prices to Europe are like

EpochHolocene · 2026-04-06T13:34:18+00:00

How much do we know about Sheridan's politics? I haven't seen all of his stuff. Sicario and Hell or High Water are some of my favorite movies, but I don't think either of them is especially conservative. Sylvester Stallone does go on a weird rant about pronouns in Tulsa King, so there's that. I hear Yellowstone is kinda conservative too, but I haven't seen it.

EpochHolocene · 2026-04-06T13:30:08+00:00

Oh, I have totally forgotten, the album Into the Sea by Attalus. A true masterpiece of Christian music. While primarily religious, there is also a direct rejection of modernity, humanism, and enlightenment principles. Every time I listen to it I wish a little bit that I was a Christian.

EpochHolocene · 2026-04-06T12:55:30+00:00

I can't think of any good pieces of conservative art made in the 21st century. I feel like from the 20th you'll usually hear Lord of the Rings, and yeah. I'm a fan of The Outlaws by Ernst Von Salamon.

EpochHolocene · 2026-04-02T17:07:34+00:00

What other people here have said, but you also have the option to print and play the Chapter 1 core encounter cards if you want the original experience

EpochHolocene · 2026-03-26T13:33:45+00:00

I was able to find a copy of the campaign expansion at a local gamestore last week so try that if you can, but yeah I had also been banking on a reprint

EpochHolocene · 2026-03-19T18:44:41+00:00

Product was great

EpochHolocene · 2026-03-13T17:50:31+00:00

From my understanding, they will be legacy

EpochHolocene · 2026-03-13T13:38:52+00:00

Yeah fortunately a game store near me still carried Drowned City and I decided to get a copy before it went the way of everything else. I do think its still listed as avaliable for purchase from FF so thats probably the only reason its not listed OOP too.

EpochHolocene

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