Advantages of extremism

The transcript below was from a comment at the video, and left out the examples Cleese gave of the targets of each side of the political spectrum. Since this explanation of extremism applies to all kinds, not just political, I won't bother trying to listen repeatedly to the video and add them to this transcript. At least it applies to those kinds of extremism that identifies those who don't feel the same way as being bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLNhPMQnWu4



Seriously though, we've heard a lot about extremism recently, a nastier harsher atmosphere everywhere, more abuse and bovver boy behaviour, less friendliness and tolerance and respect for opponents.

Al right, but what we never hear about extremism is it's advantages!

Well. The biggest advantage of extremism is that it makes you feel GOOD because it provides you with enemies. Let me explain. The great thing about having enemies is that you can pretend that all the badness in the whole world is in your enemies, and all the goodness in the whole world is in YOU. Attractive, isn't it?

So, if you have a lot of anger and resentment in you anyway and you therefore enjoy abusing people, then you can pretend that you're only doing it because these enemies of yours are such very bad persons!

And if it wasn't for them, you'd actually be good natured, and courteous, and rational all the time. So, if you want to FEEL GOOD, become an extremist. You can strut around, abusing people, and telling them you could eat them for breakfast and still think of yourself as a champion of the truth. A fighter for the greater good. And not the rather sad paranoid schizoid that you really are.