What would be the one thing that you think liberals fundamentally misunderstand about conservatives that you really wish you could get them to understand correctly?
That their free market principles are not the result of failing to care about the less fortunate, but are an earnest belief that they do more to help more people in the long run.
@Chris: don't worry, I think at least some liberals (myself included) believe that some conservatives believe that, but just disagree over that belief. It's a healthy disagreement.
Of course, there are some who we just don't think are that magnanimous (Rush Limbaugh comes to mind).
That many who call themselves conservatives (the previously mentioned Rush Limbaugh comes to mind, as do many others of his ilk) bear the same relationship to serious, principled conservatism that roadside freakshows (the kind that display two headed babies in bottles of formaldehyde) do to the Smithsonian Institution.
Thought about this question during Rory McIlroy's interview after his record-setting US Open win today. McIlroy was gracious about his epic collapse at Augusta, he sent along well-wishes to Tiger, and generally exhibited class you don't see at any age, much less McIlroy's 22.
The GOP should be the party of noblesse oblige. It should be a party of Rory McIlroy's, people not afraid to fail spectacularly (the Masters 2011), then pick themselves up by their own devices and redeem themselves spectacularly (US Open 2011) and display graciousness in the aftermath.
That liberals like JazzBumpa on the other thread don't see that in conservatives is an indication that the right has lost its mooring. It pretty much has. In the era of Roger Ailes/Sarah Palin, the right has been overwhelmed by pettiness and grievance politics.
Petty culture + low tax/capitalist economics = recipe for disaster. Sooner or later the Rory McIlroy types on the right will return to their rightful (!) position of leadership. The current Republican cultural model is simply unsustainable. Sort of a toxic stew of the movie Heathers (culture) and The Lord of the Flies (economics).
That their free market principles are not the result of failing to care about the less fortunate, but are an earnest belief that they do more to help more people in the long run.
ReplyDelete@Chris: don't worry, I think at least some liberals (myself included) believe that some conservatives believe that, but just disagree over that belief. It's a healthy disagreement.
ReplyDeleteOf course, there are some who we just don't think are that magnanimous (Rush Limbaugh comes to mind).
That many who call themselves conservatives (the previously mentioned Rush Limbaugh comes to mind, as do many others of his ilk) bear the same relationship to serious, principled conservatism that roadside freakshows (the kind that display two headed babies in bottles of formaldehyde) do to the Smithsonian Institution.
ReplyDeleteTouché, Matt Jarvis (liberal thread):
ReplyDeleteThat conservatives would agree “that market failures are real and quite problematic,” but recognize that the cure is often worse than the disease.
Chris and Couves, those are excellent. As a liberal, I also wish more liberals would engage conservatives intelligently on these principles.
ReplyDeleteThought about this question during Rory McIlroy's interview after his record-setting US Open win today. McIlroy was gracious about his epic collapse at Augusta, he sent along well-wishes to Tiger, and generally exhibited class you don't see at any age, much less McIlroy's 22.
ReplyDeleteThe GOP should be the party of noblesse oblige. It should be a party of Rory McIlroy's, people not afraid to fail spectacularly (the Masters 2011), then pick themselves up by their own devices and redeem themselves spectacularly (US Open 2011) and display graciousness in the aftermath.
That liberals like JazzBumpa on the other thread don't see that in conservatives is an indication that the right has lost its mooring. It pretty much has. In the era of Roger Ailes/Sarah Palin, the right has been overwhelmed by pettiness and grievance politics.
Petty culture + low tax/capitalist economics = recipe for disaster. Sooner or later the Rory McIlroy types on the right will return to their rightful (!) position of leadership. The current Republican cultural model is simply unsustainable. Sort of a toxic stew of the movie Heathers (culture) and The Lord of the Flies (economics).
It can't last.