Rightist and leftist brains react exactly the same on a basic level

Debunking that our brains perceive the world elementary differently

It would be sensational if the way we see the world is preprogrammed into our brains. The only question left is then if we see the world differently because we are programmed differently, or if we’re programmed differently because we see the world differently. But it’s all nonsense.

If you’re leftwing, you understand that a ‘strong economy’ means the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and you feel alarmed.

But if you’re rightwing, you understand that a ‘strong economy’ means you rich get richer and you feel happy.

So, the same news evokes different feelings on different sides of the aisle.

If a right-winger would understand the disaster of a ‘strong economy,’ they’d be alarmed too. It’s not political affiliation that makes our brains work differently. Everyone’s brain functions the same when alarmed.

That’s all there is to it. Nothing sensational.

Never trust popular-scientific reporting unless you understand it. Sometimes, scientists send out an over-the-top message because they made an honest mistake and are startled by it. Sometimes, they cynically exaggerate to get publicity for their ego or lab (more money). Sometimes, the reporter gets excited but doesn’t really understand the matter. And sometimes, a publication generates sensation to get more readers (money). But as long as it stays vague to you, take no one’s word for it.

***

Is ‘f–k Israel’ antisemitism or freedom of speech?

There is a very simple way to find out. Replace Israel with women or Blacks. Is it hate speech? You betcha.

It doesn’t get any harder.

We must use our brains and trust our thinking and no one else’s new spin and manipulation that often prevail over truth and information.

***

There’s so much criticism of Israel. It can’t be there’s nothing wrong.

When a chronic criticaster of Israel says that, is he right?

Well, again, replace Israelis with women. ‘So many say that women are weaker. Can they all be wrong?’ Yes, they can! It’s called sexism. When you raise girls leaving their self-confidence intact, you don’t tell them women are weaker, give them the same tasks as boys, and don’t let them hear men or women trashing women, they’ll be as strong as men, on average. They tried it in China and it worked.

But what if he says: If Israel is not nicer to the Palestinians, how can there be peace?

He doesn’t mean the Palestinian People. We are the sweetest People regarding Palestinians. They are so lucky to have us here and not one of the many chauvinist Peoples in the world. He means the Palestinian leadership, a bunch of terrorists. It’s like: Jews will never live in peace if they’re not nicer to Hitler. Sounds crazy, but Gandhi said that peaceful resistance of the Jews against the Nazis would be the most successful because with force Jews won’t succeed anyway, just make things worse. And he was not an Antisemite. Boy, was he wrong.

Think of parents who find out a son is on heroin, stealing everything they have. Being nicer won’t help. Change the locks, and call the cops. Maybe they can get him clean so one could reason with him. Jews can’t reason with a People poisoned by Antisemitism. That first needs to change.

***

Is it OK when foreign leaders lecture Israeli leaders on Zionism?

Think of men lecturing women on feminism, or Whites lecturing Blacks on racism.

But if they all do it, maybe in these cases it’s OK?

Well, that doesn’t add up, does it? Frankly, their chutzpa embarrassing.

***

Lots of things in life are not that complicated on the condition you have the basic information (without all the details) and give it a little thought.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1