Hostis and Inimicus

Since arriving in San Francisco, I've been on a few dates with some of the locals. This hasn't been easy because my health hasn't been so good but as an unfortunate possessor of the Kavorka, it is my cross to bear. I'm a social guy when I want to be and I've been on a ton of dates so I know I'm a pretty charming dinner companion despite my inability to be a good boyfriend. Interestingly enough, of the half a dozen women I've entertained since arriving in August, all of them have ended things because I've been too conservative. This is not a guess. They've all come out and said it. In fact, two of them said how they could not face their friends with me in tow.

Now, I've never thought of myself as particularly conservative. I suppose I do believe in smaller government as a rule but I don't think that this is what the ladies have found to intolerable. I'm not against gay marriage. I'm pro choice. Okay, I'm not for a nationalized health care system but only because I've never seen it work effectively in any country. Whatever "conservative" views that I have are well thought out and the result of much effort. I never take a policy position because it feels right. In fact, I'm always very suspicious of my own motives when I'm too comfortable with an idea.

Now I suppose they could be using my political views as an excuse. Maybe they find me repellant and are just trying to be nice. I assure you that this is not the case. All of them have made it quite clear that it was my political views alone that disqualified me from further dating.

But the truth of the matter is that their discomfort with associating with me had nothing to do with my political views writ large. I'm sure most of them wouldn't know Hobbes if he pounced on them. It comes down to one thing or person rather. President Bush. They hate him so much that the mere fact that I don't is enough to disqualify me. That's amazing. How can one man generate so much raw frothing hate?

While I do not agree with all of President Bush's policy decisions-- most notably the creation of Homeland Security-- I don't think he's a bad guy. And I think it's terribly childish to think that folks who disagree with you are bad merely because they disagree.

None of the modern Western languages have a different word for public enemy and private enemy. This presents a problem in our cognition because it is only through language that we form our higher thoughts. Take, for example, the Latin words "hostis" and "inimicus." "Hostis" refers to a public enemy-- like the Japanese during WWII-- while "inimicus" refers to a private enemy such as a political adversary. Whatever you make of this distinction, it is enough to draw it. The Roman citizen of his day would never think of elevating someone he personally loathes to "hostis" status simply because he hated him. It would make no sense.

But people do that here in San Francisco. They have elevated hatred of President Bush to the point where it affects their personal lives. What kind of insanity is that?

Something else I've realized is that this town in overwhelmingly close-minded. Don't believe me? Try to engage anyone in a conversation about the merits of gay marriage. It will quickly devolve into ad hominem attacks.

The liberals and socialist here all uniformly hate religion on which they blame all of society's ills. But what the citizens of San Francisco don't see is that their zeal makes them the Faithful of a different sort. They take things on faith as much as religious people do. Hiding behind science or statistics when you don't really understand them isn't intellectually honest. Unless you've done the work yourself, you're always taking somebody's word for it.

Man likes certainty and will pray to all sorts of "Gods" to get it. Me? I'm comfortable with ambiguity and I don't believe science has all the answers, at least to the questions I find interesting.