No, it’s because of post-9/11 perceptions. There’s a great series of articles in the latest issue of The American Prospect under the heading “How Republicans Hijack Language” that talks about all of this. Haven’t read all the way through it yet but what I’ve read so far has been fascinating.
You might want to go back and actually read your thread, here. This thread was immediately spun off course by partisans from the Right before any Lefties actually had a chance to post.
(This is why all the whining by a few Right-wingers that the SDMB is a “Liberal” board always sets me chuckling. I think there is a pretty good mix of Right, Left, Middle Course, Libertarian, and Not-Easily-Classified viewpoints expressed with many thoughtful posters (and a few who type by jerking their knees) representing all of those perspectives, yet anything that happens to a Right-leaning thread–even when it is bombed by those on the Right–is immediately presented as evidence that the Left wing won’t play nice.)
What was the margin of error?
Was the survey conducted nationwide or in a fairly liberal area such as New York or California?
Was it of people in general or registered voters?
The answers to any or all of these questions affect the relevance of the poll. The election is too far away to call now…but I will go out on a limb and predict Bush’s reelection.
Given the title of the article I’m sure it’s completely objective. Both parties hijack the language. It’s up to us to educate ourselves on the issues and select who is full of the least amount of shit.
With one exception, the silence in regard to these questions is quite impressive.
Of course, since the people who have actually attacked the U.S. all came from countries that have been declared exempt from such inspections because they are our “friends,” racial profiling would seem to be an accurate description (and the policy is clearly a bad joke).
I would certainly agree that the extreme Right is currently in ascendance in the U.S. Of course, they had another moment of glory a number of years ago amid the Red Scare–leading to the abuses by the CIA and other agencies that, in turn, led to the reining in of those groups’ powers. Political winds blow fickle and if the people begin to perceive that the administration is manipulating the situation for private gain while endangering the freedoms of the citizens, the winds will shift again, leading to a new curbing of the current powers. It has far more to do with perception than reality, because that is how power is gained and lost in a more or less democratic state.
It is mostly a matter of the pendulum swinging back and forth with little in the way of actual knowledge or wisdom being gained or expressed by either the leaders or the electorate.
You and I are in agreement about a large portion of your post, Tom. Since the majority of people in the country are not willing to make the effort to understand the issues, perception is more important than reality. I also believe in the pendulum theory to a degree. 40’s and 50’s-conservative, 60’s and 70’s-liberal, 80’s-conservative. The 90’s? A mixture of both, I think, but slighty conservative. So logically following the pattern, the “O’s” (my nomination to call the decade we are in now) should be more liberal. But the 9/11 attacks were so culturally shocking that the relevance of many of the hallmarks of societal conservatism was increased. And just as the idea that the group was more important than the individual began during WWII and continued through the 50’s, I think the same scenario is present today. Until the majority of Americans feel safe about the world, they will not value the individual over the group. And I think that idea is essential to much of the liberal philosophy.
I’m bumping this thread from September of 2003 because interest in the topic has apparently come up again.
It was a stupid OP from the get-go, and the passage of time hasn’t made it (nor you) and less stupid.
How’s that for a response? 
In character for you, rjung. I did this in response to developments within this thread.
Thanks for the assist in proving Airman’s point.
Braiiiiins…BRAAAAIIINNS!.. Evil One has a point in some respects - I think leftists and Democrats are readjusting their outlooks in ways that the right didn’t have to, and in some cases it’s lead to really confused reversals of opinion - but that’s been discussed elsewhere (without the gloating in the OP) and I don’t see why we’re resurrecting a two and a half year-old thread to discuss it. I think that show a lack of BRAAAAINNS…
And I am closing it because, (as with most zombie threads) there are submissions by posters who are no longer here to defend their positions or themselves.
Feel free to open a new thread with a link to this one.
[ /Moderating ]