If you are like me, you often wonder why liberals think the way they do. How can they possibly believe what they believe without either being stupid or evil? Since in any human population, we all fit into well defined and proven areas of a bell shaped curve (see 'The Bell Curve' by Herrnstein & Murray), the notion that all liberals are either stupid or evil just isn't possible. Herrnstein & Murray document that most of us fall within 1 standard deviation from the mean, and that would include a majority of us normal, law abiding, regular Joes and Janes out there. The more removed from the norm, like criminals, thugs, retarded folks, dummies, CBS reporters, etc., the fewer there are of them. There's just too many liberals out there (way too many, if you ask me), and that would blow the bell curve all to smithereens. And saying that with liberals the bell curve is not bell shaped is like saying that the earth is flat. The bell curve is a fact. Live with it, or join the Flat Earth Society, I hear the meetings are real interesting, in a doofus sort of way.
So there has to be another explanation as to why liberals think as they do. From this point, after ruling out stupidity and evil, we are left with two possibilities: 1) that their way of thinking is right. Yes, we have to consider the possibility that conservatives are the ones who are messing up our country, beggaring our future as conservative ideas allow the feds to spend our kids' and grand kids' money on government programs, etc. Lots of historical evidence, economic data and pure common sense as well as anecdotal evidence would rule this out. That leaves the other explanation: 2) that these liberal folks are not stupid, evil, or even right: they think their philosophy will make our country into a paradise on earth, or more accurately a Utopia if we would just let their elected liberal politicians get it done. In other words, they are good hearted but misguided.
Now, I am not talking about all liberals, mind you. Obviously there are stupid liberals (Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi), evil liberals (Ted Kennedy) and even right liberals (Harry Truman, kind of). And of course you could say the same thing about conservatives, namely that we have stupid conservatives (Olympia Snowe), evil conservatives (Jack Abramov) and wrong conservatives (Olympia Snowe gets a two-fer here).
I recently read a comment on one of Silverfiddle's posts (Western Hero, "Deficit-of-Knowledge") where some liberal bleeding heart wrote "Social Security should at least be means tested," and ''the idea that we help the elderly from early death, starvation, and end of life poverty, is a good one." Of course, reading drivel like this sent me into a rant about how wrong this pinko is to mandate that we all let the government take our money and give it to those less fortunate, and I lectured him on his view that he suggested we alter the moral of the story of 'The Grasshopper and the Ant' fable. I usually try and not get goaded into useless arguments such as this one, since I will never change any liberal's way of thinking, but this poor sap was just spewing the liberal line so thickly, I coudn't help myself.
Liberals think like this because they believe that we can all live without pain, suffering and violence if we just try. In their Utopian world, trying to make sure that nobody lives in poverty is an admirable goal, since nobody likes to see anyone suffer. Accordingly, they truly believe if they elect liberal politicians that tell them that if elected they will fight to achieve Utopia, then they have done their part to better us all.
That's a great way to go through life, thinking that if we all could just sit down with each other and sing 'Kumbaya,' nobody will ever suffer again.
Children think this way. Children have been read fairy tales by their moms and dads at bedtime, and dream of the happy ending for all of us. Most importantly here, children are never asked exactly who pays for these happy endings, because we as parents don't want to spoil the youthful innocent moment. Then, alas, these children finally grow up and find that the human condition is such that this Nirvana, Utopia, or Never-Never Land is just not possible on this Earth. Such children become conservatives.
I truly believe that liberals are just children at heart, have never grown up, and don't care to think about who ends up paying all the bills to achieve Utopia, but these immature liberals unfortunately have the ability to vote.
Not much of a happy ending, huh?
27 comments:
LOL!! Great post! I agree. They just haven't yet realized that their theory and plans attempt to defy human nature and can't work to save humanity from itself. I guess that's what the pot and acid are for, though. If you accidentally have a moment of clarity in which you see the disconnect, get high and you'll forget all about that nasty rational thought.
Olympia Snowe is not a Conservative.
Liberals want what we want. World Peace, two cars in every garage, and a chicken in every pot.
We just disagree on how to accomplish that task.
Conservatives believe we have responsibility to work out solutions ourselves. Liberals think anyone other than themselves have to solve the problems.
TKZ: there's LOTS of things that liberals haven't realized yet, as they are the BIG idea folks. The devil is in the details, and those are left up to others to make things work out.
Which they never do.
Mark: Olympia Snowe - yes, I was taking liberal license, since she technically has an (R) behind her name. I gave her two strikes, doesn't that count?
Great Post Fredd! However I think you proved yourself wrong. If liberals think we can build utopia, that it will work, and that no one will ultimately have to pay the bills, then we are back to "thats just stupid" aren't we? :-)
Citizen: As Homer Simpson would say, 'Doh!!' You got me there.
As I reformed liberal (hey I was still in my teens) I agree that hard-core liberals have either never grown up and/or lived in the real world.
They have a naive view of the world and think that they know better than everyone else.
Chris W: liberals indeed think they know everything, when the truth is that the only person who knows everything is my wife; just ask her.
(rim shot inserted here).
Case in point: Obama thought he knew everything, and told everyone he knew that this was so, he was the one we were waiting for.
Now that the hard business of governing is kicking his ass, he is starting to figure out that he didn't know everything. But he simply won't admit it. Gitmo is still open, when he swore to close it. Reality sucks sometimes, O.
Bunni: if you think I am going to put much (if any) effort into defending the intellectual capacity of the average liberal, well, you would be wrong.
You are right: I am indeed giving them the benefit of the doubt; a huge one. I think the stupid theory will be hard to prove, though, as there are just so damn many of them, the statistics of any population don't support it.
But it sure seems that way, doesn't it?
I agree 100% with your post. Barack Obama is a PRIME example of liberal childishness and immaturity. This is also why liberalism has infested American academia and why a large chunk of those young libs turn conservative when they get out in the real world and get a job.
Hack:
It is funny how those fun carefree liberal days seem to fade once you are responsible for paying your bills and taxes and start fighting tooth and nail to get ahead in the rat race.
Winston Churchill is reported to have said, "If a man isn't a liberal when he's young he has no heart, and if he isn't a conservative when he's older he has no brain!"
So, Fredd, apparently Winston Churchill agrees with your theory.
Mark:
Yeah, me and Churchie, two peas in a pod.
Fredd, Great post. I tend to agree with both you and Amusing Bunni.
The "stupid' part with Bunni as it goes straight to the core of the "dumbing-down" due to the willful act of destroying education in this country.
As to the child theory maybe in that when they were children they were anarchists with no responsibilities. Now grown-up, they have said responsibilities they are socialists as they do not want to own-up to them.
Christopher: If what you say has merit, then both liberals and I have one thing in common: neither of us likes to own up to responsibility, but I differ from them in that I step up to the plate and take responsibility whether I like it or not. They pretend it is on the shoulders of others (meaning you and me).
Not very responsible. Nobody relishes taking their lumps when the time comes, but to avoid doing so is like a rotten child.
You understood my point to a tee.
When I was in college, a hundred years ago, or so, we used to have "Bull Sessions" in which we would sit around expressing "what-if" ideas. They were always geared toward making life perfect and government good.
What else would you expect? We were Sophomores!
Some of those students got older, but never grew out of their Sophomorism. President BO is a contemporary example.
The trouble is, they have tried to force their fantasy concepts into the real world, and they just won't fit...period.
Joe:
Good analogy. I'm not sure that even sophomores are this naive. Most of us (well, let's just say 'lots of us') have visions of perfection, try and implement them and life frustrates us in achieving our vision.
Most of us (lots of us) seem to learn that 'the best laid plans of mice and men...' often go awry. In other words, we become pragmatists, or realists. We wish that things were so, but understand that this is impossible. These folks are eventually called conservatives.
Not so with liberals. Either they are sheltered by grown ups who pick up the pieces after the liberal is done doing things that don't work for the rest of us, unbeknownst to the wild child liberals. Or perhaps they are like kids who never had to pick up their toys after they were done playing; that was Mom's job (or Dad's).
Example: Former Senator Bob Packwood (R-Ore) asked the following hypothetical question to a room full of CBO analysts, which went something like 'given the current federal revenue at current marginal tax rates, what would be the total revenue coming into treasury coffers if we raised marginal rates to 100%?'
To his amazement, these eggheads pounded their calculators furiously and came up with all kinds of astronomical numbers. In the real world, when ALL of your profits are confiscated by a 100% tax, NOBODY will put up with that, and the REAL federal revenue stream will be close if not exactly $0.00.
Liberals. They live on a different world than you and me, Joe.
Liberals or Liberal wantabe, that is the questionable trait that needs to be outed.
Young ones are easily fed--good times and everyone lives in harmony, propaganda from the real Liberals.
There are not that many true Liberals, but they have build a army of wantabes.
That goes for every enemy achieving societal degradation since the beginning of the Kings and Tyrants trying to get everyone producing all goods for the Big Cheeze.
The Liberals will have their children in the crowd of wantabes as cheerleaders and idea promoters. That is how you can see Liberals in the crowd of our and our neighbors teens, and it looks like there are lots and lots of Liberals.
They/we: huh!!?
I must be pretty dense, as your comment makes no sense to me.
The wannabes, they have been bred to look like a majority to represent the Big Cheese, but they're really not?!!?
Maybe you should dumb that one down to a Joe Sixpack like me.
Ok, so I can't explain things a well as David Horowitz.
David Horowitz was a real Liberal, when his best friend was murdered; caused him to rethink what his parents trained him to do. Influence kids who were easily persuaded (wannabes) to joining the Liberals agenda. Yes our children (our neighbors,ie;college kids and American kids in general). In a group of 20 or so- there are one or two charismatic cheerleaders, idea promoters that will turn heads of young skulls full of mush. That is what Professors do also.
In other words there are a lot of young people who are recruited and or caught up in the hype and used for Photo Opps.
David Horowitz goes around to the Colleges trying to help these young wannabees realize that this path is not as utopia as the cheerleaders make the Liberal agenda to seem.
But as long as the real Liberals have a hold on these young people, these young people will hold the Liberal line ( the army of the small number of real Liberals).
If this is not clear enough; reading up on David Horowitz will help.
Like you, Fredd, I would like to simplify the problem, i.e., get to the bottom of the question, "Why do liberals think the way they do?"
I wonder if it's just a difference (albeit a very large one) in the logic process. My theory is that conservatives use reason with logic, and liberals (like most children and teens) use emotion with logic. "It's the way I feel, so it must be true." (Or something like that.) And the emotions that produce this wrong-headed thinking are often based on envy and resentment, rather than on a cold assessment of facts.
Thanks for the mention, Fredd!
I like your line of thinking, and I agree with your conclusion.
It is easy to be a liberal and want everyone to be fed and warm and taken care of...
Indeed it is a Christian desire; but Jesus said nothing of hijacking the state and robbing everyone to do it.
Charity comes from the heart, and I, like most good conservatives, give voluntarily to my church and to charities that my wife and I choose.
El Cerdo:
Your explanation also makes sense, since liberal leaders use envy and resentment to mobilize their base at every turn, much like throwing meat to hungry lions: works every time.
Silverfiddle: gotta give credit where it's due, that moron on your post inspired this one.
As as usual, you are correct in pointing out that forcing me to be charitable by government muscle is not charity; it's theft. And liberals really don't see the distinction, as they view all things through children's eyes.
Fredd, you and SilverFiddle are nailing it. Stop telling me how to help people with my money! Oh and BTW, great comment on my post earlier thanks, i put up a reply :-)
Liberal wackos belive that if we threw away all our weapons we could live in peace and harmony with the chi-coms thats becuase these pathetic liberals are so far out in the middle of downtown stupidville they can no longer think they just use emotional blabbering
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