Here's a post I agree with.
I've been saying it forever--one of the primary differences between the left and right in America is that the left sees people only as members of groups, whereas the right sees people as individuals with inherent rights of their own. The linked post above identifies even more differences between left and right.
Update, 3/18/06: Here's another one :-)
While I do agree with a lot of what RightWingNation says - it's not a very good essay.
ReplyDeleteI agree with it because I am ultra conservative and I hate liberals. The problem with an essay like this is that if a liberal reads it... it sounds like bashing - in which it is - justified or not. Bashing is bashing, and you don't get people to see your point of view via bashing the enemy.
I think if this essay tried to refrain from all the negative assumptions, it might succeed in getting others that are not ultra conservatives to read it and be "enlightened." As it stands, only people who already agree with it are gonna read this essay.
ns, I agree with you, but I don't expect liberals to be persuaded anyway. I mean, facts don't seem to bother them or cause them to change their mind, why should an intelligent essay?
ReplyDeleteAs much as many of these claims could be held true to some far left liberals (some San Franciscans or Wisconsin senators), they do not by any means apply to all liberals (Joe Lieberman anyone). This critique is much the same as me saying all conservatives are like the group who claims American soldiers are dying because we harbor gays and express there views at servicemen’s funerals. The fact of the matter is that would be completely untrue. More so, you make this case on a post when you claim that conservative (such as right wing nation) see people as individuals. It seems like he’s grouping people in this post. The fact is, as much as I have grown to agree with you this year (On some issues) I have to disagree with you on this one. The reason why this case is even possible to be made is because the media only writes stories on fringe groups (they are the most interesting) you do not hear about people with center of the aisle views simply because they are not newsworthy.
ReplyDeleteEvan
P.S. I do agree that much of the far left's activities have gotten a bit crazy (and by a bit crazy i mean completely crazy)
Guys -- look at your choice of words -- "hate", "them". Isn't this type of talk perpetuating the divide that is ripping this country apart? Over the years I have learn the truth does not lurk on the extreme ends but rather in the middle.
ReplyDeleteThank you --
Elizabeth
Evan: people naturally group, it's human nature. It's how we make sense of the world. Kingdom phylum class order family genus species, and all that.
ReplyDeleteMy comment about liberals is that libs see people as members of groups, and hence believe in elevating groups of people, protecting the rights of (certain special) groups of people--let's not forget the groupthink of the left that says everyone has to think the same way (must be environmentalist, pro-gay-marriage, pro-abortion, anti-corporation, anti-rich, etc.)
Conservatives see rights, privileges, and responsibilities of individuals, not groups of people.
Elizabeth, I don't see how to reach across this great divide you mention--tired of getting the hand slapped away by the lefties of this country. I don't know what to do about it. I don't think there's a middle ground between socialism, the darling of the left, and individualism of the Founding Fathers and the Reagan Republicans. Only way I see to fix this problem is for one side to win, and I make no bones about wanting it to be my side.
And if I have to call a few spades spades to make it happen, so be it. They're wrong, and deserve to be called on it.
Rightwingprof,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like I lost your most recent comment. I'm sure I posted it but it's not showing up (at least, not before I've typed this).
I apologize and hope you have the time or inclination to repost it.
Okay (and see my post on blogger on my blog).
ReplyDeleteFirst, the commenter who criticizes me for my audience. My audience has nothing to do with the quality of writing. Why would I write for leftists, considering that I spend all day working with Ward Churchill clones who do nothing but spew their moral equivalency, multicultural, unprincipled drivel? Moonbats will not find a comfort on my blog. And there is no discussion with leftists. They eschew reality in favor of their own groupthink talking points. There's no point in even trying.
As for "healing" or "reaching across the aisle," this always means drop the platform for which you were elected and adopt a liberal one. Always. Only 2% of likely voters in the most recent Battleground Poll identified as moderates. The "moderate majority" is a myth. And "healing" is a wussified, unprincipled, gutless concept, as is "understanding" our enemies.
It's very simple. Ours is a nation founded upon ideas. You can't love the nation if you don't love the ideas. Hard work. Taking responsibility for your own life and actions. Making your own life. The antithesis of socialism, or to be more up to date, progressivism.
Rightwingprof, thank you for reposting your comment.
ReplyDeletePlease feel free to read Truth Doesn't Matter To Lefties, an "essay" that one of my leftie colleagues asked me to post here. I did post it, as a public service to those who don't quite believe that these people exist.
And I agree with you completely about reaching out, compromising, etc., and said as much in my first comment on this thread (above).