When did you grow weary of conservatives
What are called conservatives today seldom deserve the label. To be conservative, by definition, is to generally favour the preservation of existing conditions and institutions, and to resist or slow-down change. Laissez Faire, a kind of revolutionary capitalism in vogue with most mainstream (what are called) conservatives, is the antithesis of this definition of conservatism.
Last edited by Stannis on 05 Jul 2014, 5:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
luanqibazao
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After Reagan's election, when he dragged the Religious Right into the mainstream. (Believe it or not they were pretty fringey before.) I actually subscribed to National Review for a while, just out of curiosity, but man did I get tired of being whacked about the face by their imaginary friend.
And the same could be said about liberals when it comes to liberal by definition....
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"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
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The fundamentalists have become the cancer of conservativism.
The moment you allow these people to become politicians who then tell the people that bad things happen because of adapted liberal views I lost a lot of respect and seriousness for conservatives. And I'm not talking about problems like the economic crisis or anything that could actually be the fault of politics...
...I'm talking about blaming school massacres, hurricanes and basically anything bad that politics weren't even responsible for and then saying it's a punishment by God of for being too liberal. That's just insane. As well as the conservative paranoia, that the current people in power want to turn America into a communist state and that the government is out to get them.
The insertion of Limbaugh into politics is what turned the debate into sewage He, and his ilk, are what makes politics nasty. You want to see the demise of morality in America, look no further than Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck. Nothing is off limits to that side of the coin. Not all Conservatives swim in the treatment facility, but the ones who give credence to the likes of Limbaugh (Tea Party Conservatives), are what turn me negative to everything they stand for. It has nothing to do with actual politics. It is their lack of human dignity and civility, and the acceptance of their tactics by their followers.
iamnotaparakeet
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In terms of American politics, R.I.N.O.s (Republicans in name only), have always been tiresome since they are essentially Democrats running on the Republican ticket. However, I have grown a bit weary of some of the neoconservative stuff now also, namely since they've made it sound like they think, on a Biblically basis somehow, that polygamy is worse than homoeroticism. It's like, what, are you even serious? Can anyone say, "eisegesis"? Also, I've never really cared for the rhetorical game of attacking character rather than going after the argument, but both liberals and conservatives do that so it's an annoyance in both camps.
And the same could be said about liberals when it comes to liberal by definition....
Exactly. What does it convey to you about the nature of the discussion when a word is used to label multiple opposite and contradictory concepts? The liberal/ conservative dichotomy does not describe american political reality. Shoehorning everyone into one side or another just confuses everyone.
Last edited by Stannis on 05 Jul 2014, 10:29 pm, edited 10 times in total.
thomas81
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When I reached the age of reason, shall we say.
I grew up in a family of right wing views. Their opinions, juxtaposed with our material circumstances seemed stupid to me. That is mainly what pushed me to the left.
And the same could be said about liberals when it comes to liberal by definition....
Exactly. What does it convey to you about the nature of the discussion when a word is used to label multiple opposite and contradictory concepts? The liberal/ conservative dichotomy does not describe american political reality. Shoehorning everyone into one side or another just confuses everyone.
Yeah, but the shoe horn method is for general labeling. I have one of those a place for everything and everything in it's place kind of minds. Not all of my beliefs are of the traditional right wing stripe (the war on drugs comes to mind first) but I'm still more right than left so I identify with the right.
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Kraichgauer
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Well, I've always been a liberal, so it's not like I ever underwent any sort of political conversion. I had grown up with understanding that liberals were the defenders and friends of organized labor and civil rights, while conservatives were against them. But what honestly soured me to the right was when the likes of Limbaugh and his countless imitators on radio, as well as politicians like Newt Gingrich set a vindictive, barely hidden racist, homophobic, and anti-science agenda for the right to follow. Sure, people who hate gays and who think blacks were better off as slaves, or who think foreign policy should be based on the Book of Revelations, or who think the six days of creation should be taught in school science books have the right to express themselves, but I think it's fair to say that it's a major mistake to let these lunatics run the asylum. And running the asylum they are!
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