Because it is summer vacation and I lack a job I had the pleasure of coordinating my day with the events on CNN, most notably Al Franken's appearance on Crossfire at 4:30 and then his interview with Paula Zahn at around 8:30. After watching these two shows and then examining what I could remember regarding conservatives and conservative thought, I decided that I would come to a conclusion. While most conservatives themselves are not evil or despicable by any stretch of the imagination, the very subconscious ideals behind conservatism--that is, ignore dissenting viewpoints, disregard inherent truths, blindly support your nation no matter its actions--these ideals are a sickness, a plague unto conservatives of today and to conservatives of yesterday. I've reached this conclusion after watching the shouting matches on TV, on "that Bill Maher show whose name escapes me" on HBO, on Crossfire, on CNN, FNC, etcetera. They aren't limited to conservatives of course, there are plenty of ignorant liberals and ignorant liberal statesmen who are also bigoted, and whose opinions cannot be easily swayed. But this problem seems to be common among conservatives that I have seen on TV and interacted with in real life. I created several profiles over the course of a few months at Free Conservatives, and the last time I did so I had created a thread in which I was perfectly polite and merely seeking debate. What did they do? They banned me, because my opinion differed from theirs. And not a single member there stood up for me, not a single conservative there said "wait a second, this person didn't do anything wrong, let's let him back in." Although most of the members there are certifiable lunatics, I still craved some bastion of humanity within that website, some remnant of common sense. But, no cigar. I did present an idea I have come up with, which I will also propose here. My chief argument against conservatism, against adherence to traditional ideals, is simple: As long as people are suffering in the world, whatever we, the people at the top are doing, it isn't enough, and we have to do more. We have to invent more. We have to keep an open mind and desire to learn about why these people are suffering, and then figure out a means to alleviate that suffering. Clearly, then, a change in government would have to be instituted for anything to take effect. When everyone on Earth is happy, conservatism will have its place. Until then, liberalism, and the need for greater change, shall inherently reign supreme. Although most of the guys in at the top are evil, and although they wield incredible power, they are fighting a battle they will ultimately lose, and have been losing. Look at the Civil Rights Movement, at the Labor Movement, at the Women's Rights Movement, at democracy and how it is spreading or has spread across the globe, replacing totalitarianism. Things are getting better, slowly. Things are changing, and liberals, not conservatives, are changing them. So thanks for reading my rant. Take care.
thats the irony of democracy where elites govern the society not the masses. and they agree on the basic rules of the game in order to preserve the social system and their privileges. CNN, FOX etc. is the main device that elites instruct masses about politics. what can you do? i am not as optimistic as you are about the changes since US liberarals are not much different then conservatives. uncle sam is watching, what can they do?
For someone who supports liberalism this is exactly what liberalism is. Liberals demand pluralism then once they are in power censor all opposition through any means. George Bush is not a conservative. He is a liberal. All Christians and Jews are liberals who invert the United States Constitution to their own goals and pretend they are doing the just thing. Make me president. Open the gas chambers.
Somehow, I doubt Conservatives have such a stilted, operational definition of themselves. So much for honesty in liberal thought. But then, the competition isn't about honesty, is it? It's about winning. Both of your camps are equally bent.
So Mr G, whats your camp? Anyhow, Pollux, you might be interested in this: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=43&ItemID=4070 "Numerous empirical studies link conservatism and fundamentalism to an authoritarian personality style, and in turn, to many other unfavorable characteristics. "
Whoever those people are, they aren't liberals. It doesn't matter what they call themselves. I beg to differ. His tax cuts benefit the wealthy. He starts wars for reasons that are false (I would have supported him more if he had just said "Saddam is evil" instead of "the French gave Saddam weapons and we have to disarm him"). He supports religion and the church. These ideals are not liberal ones, or, at the very least, they are not my ideals. Blatant generalization. Whatever credibility you may have had, you've now completely destroyed it. I guess your cup is half emptyPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I would disagree, however I don't know the answer to the question of "who or what controls culture/society"--but this has been a big question on my mind recently. I really have no idea, but I'm confident that it's a huge variety of sources working independently of each other. This is a whole other thread... Ahh, perhaps you just haven't met enough liberals. Or maybe I haven't met enough. I've written about this before on sciforums--that every conservative that I've met, with possible rare exceptions that I do not remember, has been ignorant and stupid, while many liberals that I have met have been overtly aggressive, hypocritical, and without sound basis for their arguments. There are inherent problems to both sides of the spectrum, however one side is easily better than the other. And of course that's the side I support. DuhPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Perhaps you'd like to venture a better definition, then? Interesting article, guthriePlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
The American system of liberalism, and conservatism is a joke. PPL in other countries truly have choices in the US it's all a matter of keeping the equalibrium. I watch Al as well, he is a great guy. But in reality Liberals I must admit bitch and whine but don't give solutions. Thankfully I am not a liberal I am a socialist Canadian you americans would die if we ever became popular. let's hope the Green become a real force. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
america is the only country in the world that liberals sounds like conservatives. i did not hear their voices at parliament aganist Iraqi occupation, nobody said ''bush is lying '' when 30,000 million were trying to stop this war. elites are governing america and in order to be elite you have to listen Uncle Sam. there is no other way that you can be a politician. pluarism, in america, funny..
