This is the second time you’ve said this, and I’m going to have to take issue with it. The conflict between conservative/liberal ideology is not one of compassionate liberals fighting off callous and mean conservatives, it’s simpler than that. Conservative and liberal ideology, as they exist today in America, often boils down to responsibility and consequences. Conservatives want every individual to accept responsibility for the actions and results, liberals try as hard as they can to shield people from the consequences of their poor decisions. You mentioned Katrina, it’s a good example. Someone fails to evacuate Nawlins, and is now sitting neck deep in polluted water in their living room. The conservative will say “What did you expect, he was told the storm was coming, he was told to evacuate, he did neither. He got want was coming to him.” This isn’t a callous attitude, saying that he deserved to be flooded out, but one based in simple recognition of the fact that the man is where he is because of the decisions he made. The liberal, on the other hand, will offer excuses “He couldn’t evacuate, he hasn’t a car/he’s black and Bush hates black people/we’ve got to help that poor man!”. The conservative looks at the liberal and sees an idiot trying to excuse the man’s poor decisions, and the liberal looks at the conservative and sees a cold hearted bastard looking to blame the victim. Neither side’s perception of the other is accurate.
The screamingly ironic thing rarely admitted by either side is that both of them will have the same reaction: Well, we better send help. Their motivations each has for sending help are about as far apart as possible, however, which is why each side rarely recognizes them in the other. The liberal wants to send help because the man needs help, regardless of why he’s in that position. The conservative sends help because he has the ability to do so, in spite of the reason the man needs that help. It’s the difference between entitlement and compassion. The liberal claims “He’s entitled to our help” while the conservative says “Bullshit, we don’t owe him shit, but we have the ability to help, so we should”. Once again each side sees the other as heartless or hopelessly soft, neither is the case, just two different motivations.
Based on the tortuous mental gymnastics in the remainder of the paragraph, “simpler” is definitely not the word you needed in that sentence. :rolleyes:
The point is that positing a dichotomy between conservatives and liberals over “responsibility and consequences” is not by any means simpler than a dichotomy WRT “compassionate liberals fighting off callous and mean conservatives.”
As a general stereotype, I agree mostly with this, with the caveat to Diogenes and crew that once again, this administration is not truly conservative.
For my part, I have no idea whether I’m a liberal or conservative. It seems somewhat situational, and offen in oposition to whatever the prevailing view is - here on this Board I tend to lean conservative; in other places, I’m liberal.
Look, can’t we just agree that both liberals AND conservatives can be dicks at time? Dave, Dio, I’m looking in YOUR directions. Neither side has got a monopoly on assholery.
And then get back to the OP, which has nothing to do with political leanings, and everything to do with being a fucked up sociopath?
I recall reading in a bio of Clarence Darrow: He would be invited to address a labor union conference or a Socialist Party do, and he would speak in praise of free-market capitalism; then a couple of hours later he would be on the other side of town to speak to a high-society event or industrialists’ conclave, and his topic would be “Down with the rich!”
At this point in time, I feel unrepresented by either side because of bullshit fingerpointing from both sides; nationally as well as here on this board. Not sure if you’re feeling the same way as I do, but there it is.
But my over all view in this thread is why the hell are we squabbling in this thread over American political ideologies when it should be about the ultimate betrayal of an over-trusting Italian woman in the hands an alleged long-time criminal in the country of Turkey?