Josh Duggar is the latest example of a big problem with conservative thinking.
There is an old saying that conservatives like people and hate humanity, while liberals love humanity and hate people.
Translated, that means that the right gets along with people on an individual basis, but is very distrustful of anyone they don't know and haven't vetted personally.
The left likes people in the abstract, believes in universal human rights, etc, but doesn't like people in close contact very much.
From my experience this is true.
To express it another way, conservatives are very clannish.
Some friends of mine have been circulating a joke on FB about a friend being someone who would help you hide the body. Not particularly funny as a joke, and IMO, horrifying as a real life practice.
But many people DO look at the world that way.
If someone you care for gets in trouble, you 'stand behind' them all the way. You consider their needs and feelings, those of anyone else, anyone you don't know NOT AT ALL.
In their view, you can only count on your family and friends and you must stick by them NO MATTER WHAT.
Problem is, a civilization cannot work that way.
In a civilization, sooner or later you have to trust someone you don't know.
And you have to trust the law.
You can stand beside your friend by turning them in and then helping with their case and sticking with them if they are convicted. To help them break the law or get away with it later is to step outside of civilization and return to tribal times.
This is what the Duggars did. They ignored the rest of the world and handled it themselves.
Do they consider this a valid way to deal with the problem? Would they accept any other family doing things the same way? Or do they have an idea of how we should draw a line - this is a 'good' family, so they can do what they want and this is a 'bad' family, so they have to go through the justice system?
Perhaps the justice system doesn't handle these situations the best. Then we have to change that.
But allowing the 'good people' to have a separate set of rules isn't the answer.
