Why do conservatives seem so willing to abandon their morals in support of an obvious con man? Perhaps it is partly because for many conservatives, those moral principles are inherited from others with no true understanding of where they came from, 1/6 https://twitter.com/Nick_Carmody/status/1239863489570766854

… why they might be integral to a system of thought or how they apply to real-world circumstances. When morals are grafted onto one’s belief structure rather than developed through study, like logic, mathematics or any other area of advanced learning, 2/6

… one lacks the means to logically defend them against criticism or skeptical inquiry. If your only answer to the question “why is murder wrong” is “because the bible says so,” you don’t actually understand why it is wrong. Belief and understanding are not equivalent. 3/6

Understanding is resistant to attack because it is logically consistent and can be supported by rational argument. Belief, by definition, is not supported by proof and can only be defended by rote dismissals, deflection and refusal to closely examine underlying assumptions. 4/6

Moral principles must be developed, refined and employed by means of a focused, sustained effort of logical thought and ruthless self-honesty or they are merely ornamental and subject to the whim of social pressure and the current zeitgeist. 5/6

Today’s American conservatives are at the mercy of the changing whims of their leaders and each other because their borrowed principles are not anchored to reality and their adherents cannot use reason to support or justify them, even to themselves. 6/6