Compassion, Weakness, and the 2016 Election 

vlogbrothers just want to say that you two have changed my life, love you guys, best wishes xx

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vlogbrothers also, is it just me or is the podcast late?

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I agree, we're more willing to let men be uncompassionate as we see compassion in them as a sign of weakness, as we normally expect it from women. Since the large majority of politicians, world leaders, CEOs, etc. are men then, we can understand why a lack of compassion dominates the most powerful institutions of our society, because a) we discourage men from being compassionate and b) we allow them to be uncompassionate. Obviouslt the issue is more complex than generalisations about gender but it's an interesting point to think about.

tetsubo57 this is such an interesting concept that now that I think about it, makes so much sense! It's only logical to conclude that the wide spread condemnation of compassionate or 'soft' policy is because we subconsciously conflate compassion with weakness because of inherent gender bias. Mind=blown!

That's depressingly true. It's especially unfortunate, and I hope you don't mind if I talk about religion, that so many Evangelical pastors and theologians seem to think this way as well. I wonder if they really care about what Jesus said, or if they just want to use the Bible as a club to bludgeon the world into submission. It's very discouraging to think that people like that allegedly worship the same God.

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I think rather that weakness is seen as a feminine trait, and that compassion is also seen as weakness. Then they become linked. That way I can imagine the men in my life to be just as full of compassion as the women, just told they are weak to express it, i.e. feminine. Then I can hope that that compassion isn't lost forever in gender. Also that true strength is universal.

Earthbjorn Nahkaimurrao, I don't know about strength, but it definitely takes more intelligence!

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Patrick Brown Yup, same *+*

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asliuf #yeezyforpresident

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Not to the toxic femininity that runs our current cultures. They extrapolate from WW1 and deduce that nationalism is ALWAYS bad. Much of the Western World operates off this toxic paradigm. The rest of the world, from the Middle-East to China to Russia, does not. There is a reason those last two are ascendant hegemonies.

Compassion with intentional defined limits does not really feel like compassion to me.

FortuitusVideo If they want to destroy Nationalism, let them start with Palestinian Nationalism. So what if the Israelis are bulding settlements on your land? They are human beings like you and me. The earth is one, lets not be divisive

If a nationalism isn't born of a love for ALL your countrymen, it has no place in civilized society. Once you vilify even your own countrymen by holding them to arbitrary standards, you have no right to say you love your nation. You only love the idyllic and imaginary version that exists only in your mind.

Nope, that's Patriotism. Nationalism is what festered in Germany before WWII.

Can you even define Fascism? The ideological roots of it? The history of it? Can you list the regimes that practiced it? The thinkers who guided it's development? Fascism is not just a pejorative.

Nationalist. Corporatist. Vilification of groups as other. A belief that might makes right. Has a "strong man" leader/daddy figure. Beyond that, fascism is ideologically inconsistent and will take contradictory positions to further immediate goals. I think this a perfect summation of the Trump campaign.

Literally everything he layed out in the video are things Obama (who I voted for) ran on, so I guess you think he's a fascist too then? i think you logic is frail

Yeah, Check out The Weekly Sift. He does a really good job breaking it down in "The Political F Word" weeklysift.com/2015/11/30/the-political-f-word/

FortuitusVideo I'm not using it as a pejorative. I mean what I said, no hyperbole intended. Fascism is an incredibly flexible ideology best characterized by the emotions it feeds off of and the things it attacks, because its doctrine is so flexible. Mussolini sums up Italian Fascist doctrine quite well in an answer to the question of what his party's program to run Italy will be: "Our program is simple: we wish to govern Italy.". Because that is the core of Fascism. Fascism is not an end, it is a *means*. Comparing Fascism to systems like capitalism, socialism, communism, etc is actually quite misleading because those systems are methods of governance. And Fascism is not a method of governance, it is a method by which to acquire and maintain governance. Fascism works by selling a notion of weakness, of external threat and internal decay. It sells a notion of complacence against imagined enemies and imagined threats that only it can defend against. It plays up recently occurring social problems and promises to solve them by returning to an old system, and magnifies the apparent scope of those problems so they drown out longer-standing social problems that they can't claim to solve with a policy reversion. It of course works best when the status quo of a system is not sustainable in the long run, corrupt or ineffective or both, when people are hungry for anything different, no matter how radical. Fascism also bypasses the need to present to the people a viable solution to their problems by invoking a Return To Greatness, appealing to people's nostalgic notions of a better past and saying that they will return to that better past. Because after all, things worked back then, right? No need to present a new plan, just use a prior available template. Of course the past is rarely actually better and past solutions often do not work for modern problems, but appeal to nostalgia can easily get people to not think of such concerns. Fascism also works by finding an 'other' to blame. If other countries, ethnic groups, religious groups, social groups, etc, can be blamed for internal problems then one can propose to solve all problems simply by terminating all contact with the relevant groups (either by protectivism or by eviction, depending on if the group is external or internal). (And any notion that Fascism is somehow antithetical to socialism is laughable. Mussolini himself implemented a swath of socialist reforms, because those were the quickest path with which to gain people's approval, even after he'd campaigned so virulently against the 'weakness' of the socialists). So yes, Fascism is *absolutely* the right term to describe the tactics Trump is using. Fascism is the means by which Trump has accrued political power so far.

+Robertlavigne1 Is it too late for 2016?

Green/Green Twenty Sixteen. I can dig it.

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Can you imagine the campaigns they'd run against him though? Humpy hank would be on every screen across the world

Green/Green 2020: a standard vision for the future. (riff in distance)

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Well at least your honest that your opinion on the matter is purely emotional on a selfish level and not necessarily rational.

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Authoritarianism is a form of government characterized by strong central power and limited political freedoms. Trump is, nominally, a Republican who advocate state's rights and the decentralization of power. Brexit, was about leaving an extra-national centralized bureaucracy. You are trying to shove a round peg into a square hole. Please stop abusing the English language for your perverse fantasies.

Authoritarianism is not necessarily a nationalitic ideal, and it has nothing to do with "assuming that some hostile other is an immediate threat to the nation," it is simply a style of governance characterised by strong central power, and limited freedoms for citizens. Furthermore, I can't think of anything authoritarianism has to do with Brexit, and I'd like you to quote Trump on what he has specifically said that you think is so authoritarian.

Sean Murphy Of course we used the first definition that popped up on google. That's a reasonable guess at the actual standard English definition of the word. More than that, Authoritarianism is rapidly devolving into a pejorative on the level of Fascist. According to one pollster in the UK, "Nearly half (49%) of leave voters said the biggest single reason for wanting to leave the EU was “the principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK”. One third (33%) said the main reason was that leaving “offered the best chance for the UK to regain control over immigration and its own borders.” Just over one in eight (13%) said remaining would mean having no choice “about how the EU expanded its membership or its powers in the years ahead.” Only just over one in twenty (6%) said their main reason was that “when it comes to trade and the economy, the UK would benefit more from being outside the EU than from being part of it.”" Not to put to fine a point on it but, Remain probably made more financial, diplomatic, political sense to a Londoner, than it did someone living outside the M25. For example, the English and Welsh who voted for Leave.

Tyler Graham + (I'm so very terrified how both of these candidates will affect our relations with other countries)

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Tyler Graham if you see what Obama is doing and what she has done as secretary of state I think you can do the math to what her policy is...

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^^^THIS. Compassion requires courage. Courage requires strength. "Compassion is the ultimate manifestation of strength."

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It sounds like a better version of the Jedi code xD

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Well to be fair I despise Donald Trump and still think the American Dream is dead, and would question if it was ever alive to begin with. Don't want to get into it, but if you want to engage with that opinion I'd suggest reading The Great Gatsby, or reading about it.

the point isn't "is the american dream dead?" The question is "how do we revive it?" By working together. Helping each other. Showing compassion. Love. Trust. Trust in the good that exists in everybody.

Dennis Miller Ratio I read that as dread, but to be fair that would work as well considering the current mindset of America

Perhaps we are all mere players in a Great American Novel. It would explain the absurdity of 2016.

Atom Eve Idk what he feels about the video but he did say who he was voting for shortly after Casey's video (it's Hilary btw).

I dunno. I don't think creators should stay quiet on this one out of fear of losing audience. But, of course, no one should be required or even compelled to discuss their politics.

Atom Eve I don't think so personally, it's up to each person to say what they think. Mass shaming has never worked

I think its a lot easier for Neistat to say something that would lose audience when he's sitting on 5m...

+vlogbrothers Then can we know what's your reason not to share who you will vote?

I'd be more comfortable putting Hank in that position than either of the current candidates.

Why not? Like, genuinely, why not? What makes you think Hank would be a particularly bad president?

Laura Amelia Rodríguez Reyes He does not really have any applicable experience, and his background knowledge might be a little bit small in comparison to what one should have prior to taking on the presidency. Nonetheless, I greatly doubt he could do a worse job than some previous presidents

Kronimiciad That makes sense. I agree. I meant it more for ***** though, who, ironically, just commented "No."

Laura Amelia Rodríguez Reyes Yes, an amusing contrast.

Is it? you know what fascism is? as fear of the other and the new,is many from conservative groups,and fascism is not conservative,or are you thinking of the nazis?

Yeah, I know what Fascism is. Fascism is about as far right as you can get. The privatization of everything, a nation itself, into the hands of a few. The belief that one group of people are inherently superior to the rest, and so the rest must be cut out like a cancer. The result is an ever shrinking circle of people who are deemed loyal, patriotic, hard working, law abiding citizens. Worthy of the privileges (not rights) bestowed on them. Some will go along because they're true believers, others because they fear losing their place in society. But the very real danger is that the smaller that circle gets, the more palatable anything suggested to them becomes. It's a recipe for the worst atrocities we are capable of inflicting on one another. Conservatism is fascism with training wheels.

Cycling in Edmonton from the Eyes of a Teen Agreed. The only way we're "dying off" is with the inevitable mixing from other races. Oh no. We're losing our pureblood status. /sarcasm

Hollow Cifer The "white race" doesn't need saving. The small differences that exist within our species are natures attempt to ensure that no one thing can kill us all. Being human, of course, we've found a way around that. You might want to save your concern for the species as a whole. Considering the challenges we are facing, extinction is a very real possibility. Then again, if the majority share your mindset, extinction is probably no more than we deserve.

Physical differences? You mean skin color? There is a certain range of skin color, brought about by environment. Too dark, and you don't get enough UV for amino acids to process vitamin D. Too light, and you end up with skin cancer. For most of the time humanity has existed, most people spent their whole lives within a few miles of where they were born. So they tended to look similar. Skin color represents around .00001% of the human genome. Not really different. I choose to spend my life not being terrified of most of the rest of humanity. I've traveled the world. No matter where you go, people always do the same things for the same reasons. Aside from that, there is no such thing as a risk free existence, nor should there be if you think about it. Risk can be managed to a point, but immediately thereafter you lose essential, hard-won freedoms. If you want to spend your life in a prison of your own making, have at it. Be afraid. Just don't get mad because everyone else won't be afraid with you.

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Noah King you do realize. commenting plus in each one overall has no effect haha

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It shows the hateful and dangerous mentality of statists and socialists that you think you're more loving, compassionate, intelligent people than conservatives/classical liberals. Your political group give far less to charity. Your divorce rates are much higher. Rates of children under 16 using class A and B drugs are much much higher in left wing homes. That doesn't give the impression of a good environment. I don't know how you people don't see the paradox of praising your loving and compassionate values at the same time as demonising anyone who doesn't agree with your social worldview.

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***** 1. i would encourage sourcing your claims they make your arguments stronger, especially when claiming statistics out of thin air. 2. mirage rates are not important. 3. drug rates need to be argued as bad themselves prior to using them to support something else as bad 4. looking at the comments we certainly made the implication that the opposing side lacks compassion entirely and that was wrong of us. i fully concede that point. 5. we did not actually say those things only imply them, running any further than that [pretending they were statements] is a weak point of argument, as you are arguing with points that dont exist.

kenrick encinas 1. They're well known statistics. You can look them up yourself. 2. I consider marriage rates important. If left wingers want to paint themselves as more loving and compassionate, and use that to support their collectivist social philosophy, they ought to be able to make collectivism work between two people before they attempt it with a town or country don't you think? 3. I consider kids using hard narcotics and psychedelics to generally be a bad thing. 4,5. I'm commenting on the progressive hateful mentality towards conservatives/classical liberals in general, not just in this comment section. Also I just read your first comment. Do you think that libertarians/conservatives are apposed to social cooperation under the division of labor? Because when you talk about the benefits of society that's what you're talking about. We're in favor of VOLUNTARY exchange and association. That's what differentiates us from statists and socialists. Do you think political association is a better foundation for love and friendship than our free associations on the market?

Thank you weedman

Tell me again how many Syrian refugees have taken up arms against Canada. My home town took in enough refugees to increase the population by 1%. They have been nothing but wonderful citizens and are just looking to live in peace. Some want to stay, some want to go back when the war is over, but they all want to help the country that helped them.

You know the guy in your profile pic? Genghis Khan? He'll disagree. He very much won if he killed everyone else.

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One day I hope John runs against Hank and every debate is a passionate and rationale discussion of policy

MrDJCoulton So the opposite of this election. Instead of two bad choices, we get two good ones.

Workers CCCP +. That's true and it's completely true as well that a lot of people complicate strength. To mean something it's not a lot of people define strength is something or someone holds a weapon over another Not the ability to admit that you were wrong and have done wrong in the past and will fight to change it that is true strength.

The world is changing and some won't admit it Like you Everyone has flaws and to fix them and admit We move on and learn from the mistake made by it

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If the difference in wealth wasn't so massive we could probably be giving and compassionate to the people who need it "but" as long as there is a global cult in love with state-debt I cannot agree that the "best is a strong compassionate nation that gives to all". Of course I'm totally on board with a strong compassionate nation that gives to all without shooting itself and its people in the foot for it.

Workers CCCP weak*

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The phrase 'a voice of reason' is usually used for someone who has exhibited great rational reasoning. This video is pure emotion, it's a little more along the lines of 'a voice of muh fee fees' which if your feelings align, then by all means praise it, but don't lie about its rationality.

Aeolian Theory in what way was this video irrational?

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Connor Dallmann Yeah, that's his opinion on this political ideology. There is a difference between thinking negatively of something or not agreeing to that and not tolerating it. He tries to understand it and then argues against it because he thinks it is not the way to go. If someone doesn't agree with my position and thinks I'm wrong and that my view on the world is wrong and argues against it, it's okay. I don't automatically think that he is not tolerating me, so why do you?

LiamPhill You say he doesn't agree with it, and he tries to argue against it and understand, but what we saw here indicates otherwise. In his own words, he can't really see the opposition as anything other than sad. Did he try to understand why people are afraid? Did he look into whether or not those fears might be valid? Did he even consider that his conclusions based on the situation are highly subjective? No. He just said that fearful people, and those who don't want to risk themselves to help others are sad and wrong. I may not agree with them, but I'm not going to write them off as being wrong without even trying to address *why* they think what they do.

Connor Dallmann He says in the beginning that it is going to be emotional political talk aka. subjective. He tries to stay objective with arguing in favor of America being a strong country but I agree with you that does need a longer video and more time to make more points and be more objective. He may have read info on those things and statistics as we all do but he should have shown more of them here, 4 minutes are too short for that. And i think and of course it's just my interpretation but he doesn't argue against the people who fall for it but those who build this ideology of fear.

It is pretty clear at the end that it is about the people who use other people's fear and purposefully play with the fear and try to raise the fear, those are the sad people. Not the ones being afraid.

LiamPhill The two are usually the same.

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how so?

Elise Rambles Could you elaborate on your reasons?

because you have one guy saying that america sucks every 5 minutes and that we need to make america great again, hate, hate and more hate

How? explain

Oh course! Starving? Need housing? Friends and family need help? There's an easy tool to make these trades possible.

Christy Sandhoff This seems like an oversimplification

democrats are controlled by super PAC donors, republicans are controled by ALEC which is composed of the same companies that donate to democratic super PACs. its all controlled by corperations. vote jill stein

The Peoples Person Jill Stein endorsed Trump though?

+ace lombawski did donald trump tell you that. jill stein never endorsed anyone

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Which candidate are you supporting as an anarchist? As an anarcho-capitalist, it seems Trump is the only option unless you want to get into the really obscure choices like Darrell Castle.

I'm an anarcho-communist personally, though my philosophy is definitely more in line with Max Stirner even if my economics goes to Peter Kropotkin (I think people usually like to call that "post-left" anarchism, but I don't identify with that personally). I'm simply writing in "Anarchy". It doesn't have power in terms of choosing A or B, but I view it as more communicative than not voting. Also, I'm undecided on how to vote on Local candidates l, might be the same might be different. There is a party represented locally which supports Prison Abolition, Police Reform, Worker's Rights, and many other positions I view as important, so I'm considering joining and at least seeing the work they do (forget the name, but it definitely has "Workers'" in the title.

Jordan Kelley Can you please explain anarcho-communism to me, I've never understood how that works. For example, core to communism is the belief that everyone should share wealth, from those who can work to those in need, but how can that be enforced without the government (which anarchy proposes)? Human nature dictates us to be selfish, people will not willingly share goods in that way.

Jordan Kelley Before I start reading much into anarcho-communism, I would need to resolve the problem I have with it's viability. I understand how your society would work if humans agreed to that, but humans have a natural desire to hoard resources. If I found a vein of gold in the ground, what would entice me to share it amongst the community, why would I not keep it for myself? If another person wanted it, I would then trade it for some other good, thus making capitalism. General communistic theory is described in Marx's quote: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs," and regardless of if you agree with Marx on everything or not, this is the basis of communism in that wealth is shared. If that is the case and we can somehow enforce a willingness to work for the common good rather than out of selfishness then why would someone not just work less since they will still receive goods? This is the problem that Jamestown had until John Smith turned it into a meritocracy. There is also the problem of wealth creation and innovation. Wealth is generally not created in communist or socialist countries which is why they all collapse economically. The argument could be made that the anarchist element solves this and I'd be interested to know the specifics of how. The same goes for innovation in that every notable scientific invention ever has been created for the goal of selling it and making a profit which is why they were created under capitalist governments.

Can I ask what your reasons are for supporting trump?

Tengoken I've wanted someone harsh on immigration forever, and I've always been a diehard conservative and a warhawk, and have been profoundly anti establishment since the Snowden Leaks.

Viceregent of/du Canada at least you have it thought out. I understand your outrage at the Snowden leaks. Still... I can't abide by trump's lack of policy and vitreolic rhetoric. Maybe there will be a more qualified canidate in the future that this will build toward. Thanks for being forthright!

***** No we certainly aren't realistic. If you listen to internet, and especially America, if their presidential candidate isn't elected, the end of the world is nigh ! I'd say most people are dramatic.

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sorry for the long comment.

You know that's in the rest of the Bible too. The Israelites did exactly the same.

Awkward Squirtle okay, I'm just sadly more used to the book of Mormon though I should know them both better and it was the first thing i thought of.

kiki Henrie Fair enough. You just described basically most of the Old Testament.

I believe he was talking more about a specific candidate than the parties in general.

Each candidate sells their own brand of fear and hope. If you think there is a "good" and "bad" candidate, you're failing to understand the fear coming from your own candidate and the hope from the other. Better? :P

Jarrod Backman-Gallivan Yeah, the original comment was accurate as well, but that is more relevant.

You won't regret it. Hank and John are geniuses, at least compared to most people who talk about politics on the internet. You should check out some of their other videos.

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I hate the way he speaks.

Why do you hate it? Do not just say you "hate". Put reason behind your statement, and hold a discussion. Otherwise, you're no better than the oompa-loompa currently running for president.

AStandsForFrench He talks fast and obnoxiously. He cuts his videos so that he is just bombarding you constantly with his nonsense. You want to see a good way to make a video? Check out Vsauce.

Jenny Lucinder it's hank.

Jenny Lucinder that's Hank. And welcome to our family!

Mary Bach thanks!! :D

(i know this is 2 years late, but the one they mention at the end of the video... they're the other one, haha)

I think so.

Lewis Grace what do you mean?

The vlogbrothers have been pretty political throughout this entire election cycle, even if they haven't directly endorsed a candidate. Although if you check Hank's tumblr, he's talked about supporting Clinton over Bernie, so there's that.

Hank just outright tweeted 'I'm voting for Hillary Clinton' after Casey's video. Casey was asking RU-vidrs who hadn't already declared their intentions or discussed their reasoning to do so; The Vlogbrothers have been pretty transparent all along.

not particularly...

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I'll take a third party any day over these two.

The final paragraph of this speech, LOVE!!!!!

To the people who buff themselves up and beat their chest and yell about strength while pouring salt into the wounds of insecurity and fear. I can never see your rhetoric as anything other than sad hurtful weakness. Weakness that is getting in the way our ability to get on doing the good work humanity need to do. And I have no doubt in the fullness of time, we will move past this and we will do that good work.

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what is pc culture?

Political Correctness. He said something about how we are now considering the language we are using and the damage it can do when he listed advancements in modern culture. This took me by surprise in an otherwise great video that can be relevant to all sides of the political spectrum.

Yeah, that is what the PC culture was supposed be. What it is however is jst people getting offended and "triggered" for no reason.

but is it often "no reason"? people can get triggered about traumatic experiences and such, that's pretty real

most often than not it is about nothing and not about any traumatic experiences or PTSD. The whole safe zones thing is not really helpful to anyone, it is rather to the contrary.

Yup, moderation is usually the right choice. He's arguing that we're seeing too nationalism

SidV101 Yes, I suppose so. After all, we all saw what too much Nationalism caused...

No way, then it would have clashed with the Motown funk I was listening to while watching it ^_^ Seriously, though, music does play a large role in propaganda designed to manipulate you emotionally. (To be clear, I don't at all believe that applies to this video. Even when I think Hank is being naive or wrong, I always believe he's sincere.) I can both appreciate a masterfully crafted piece of propaganda that I entirely disagree with, as well as resent the attempt from something I agree with. Rhetoric is powerful, and the right presentation and music just amplify it. It doesn't need to have a single concise or true statement.

What does DFTBA mean?

Ther are multiple examples in history of wealth inequality leading to civil unrest, termoil, war and ocasionally the collapse of the civilisation. RElatively equal societies, do sometimes stagnate, but stagnating civilisations tend to trundle on indefinitly unless swept up in the death throws of their neighbors, or are kicked into a different state by natural disaster or imported technical inovation. Which is the bigger problem depends on wether you are more oposed to bordom or death.

money is power, and you can't expect equality to come from a system in which 1% holds 30% of the wealth. People can run their mouths about hard work and the will to succeed, but the fact is that with that much money being hoarded by so few people, there just isn't enough for everyone else. That kind of system guarantees a declining middle class and poverty.

There's only one type of compassion, accept and love people who are different than you.

And if two people are drowning and I can only save one, how do I rank my "compassion"? Having compassion for all people or all living things all the time isn't practical and that's why people philosophically divide the world into "deserving" and "undeserving" groups. Like if I was in a building that was on fire, I would save my cousin first. It might be noble or altruistic, or more logical, to save a random stranger, but that's not how our brains are wired.