No, I honestly don't

I saw Arthur M. Schlessinger speak one time at a University and he brought up an interesting point about American politics. The liberal viewpoint and the conservative viewpoint are like a pendulum that swings to the left or the right (liberal to conservative) and over again, about every 10-15 years - never reaching an equillibrium.

Popular thought (and dare I say "acceptable" thought) in the mid 80's revolved around the Churchill saying, "anyone with a heart under thiry years old is a liberal, anyone with a brain over thirty years old is a conservative". Notice that popular thinkspeak at that time was tilted to the right extreme... you are smart if you are conservative and "have heart" but aren't smart if you are liberal - this is not so different from modern thinkspeak like you can't be a "compassionate conservative", n'est ce pas? You, being an Economist, tend to look at things from a capitalist Economist's standpoint (I emphasize "capitalist"), that most things the private sector do are goooooood and most things the government does are baaaaad. Which from a strictly free enterprise capitalist's point of view is pretty true.

The problem lies in the fact that government IS necessary to curb runaway capitalism (i.e. Go to the Cuyahoga river and eat some fish caught there...) and they can sometimes be good. The heart and the head are both necessary for a person to survive.

I've heard Rush Limbaugh say things like "there is no such thing as a moderate Republican", "feminazi's", "tree huggers", etc... This kind of inflammatory crap thinking is quoted often and then is associated with "conservativism" (I think he says his show is the "center for conservative studies"). Perhaps foreign countries hear his program? If that is their definition of what an "American conservative" is, God help conservatives... Rush is no more a conservative than Bill Clinton is a liberal... but if noone challenges fools like Limbaugh and actually pay him hundreds of millions of dollars (yes, that's right, he signed a $125,000,000 20 year deal!!!), then they may deserve to be characterised as fools themselves...

I'm all over the map now, but you should take heart... a swing to the right is coming! If only I can endure another one... I'll try to enjoy the moment of equillibrium...

Post #4,286 by mhuber 8/8/01 5:18:50 PM Reply	No, I honestly don't Unless it is just that there was disagreement in both cases and that the sides treated each other the way politicians usualy do. White guys in suits know best - Pat McCurdy
Post #4,297 by bepatient 8/8/01 7:12:18 PM Reply	No...its not "usual"... ...and there is where the fault lies...its the way in which one political side treats the other...and is generally not reciprocated. And around here I expect to have noone recognize that fact...so its not really surprising that you don't see it. Um...er...well... I have no choice! [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #4,370 by screamer 8/9/01 11:46:16 AM Reply	You are a victim of your times... for now I saw Arthur M. Schlessinger speak one time at a University and he brought up an interesting point about American politics. The liberal viewpoint and the conservative viewpoint are like a pendulum that swings to the left or the right (liberal to conservative) and over again, about every 10-15 years - never reaching an equillibrium. Popular thought (and dare I say "acceptable" thought) in the mid 80's revolved around the Churchill saying, "anyone with a heart under thiry years old is a liberal, anyone with a brain over thirty years old is a conservative". Notice that popular thinkspeak at that time was tilted to the right extreme... you are smart if you are conservative and "have heart" but aren't smart if you are liberal - this is not so different from modern thinkspeak like you can't be a "compassionate conservative", n'est ce pas? You, being an Economist, tend to look at things from a capitalist Economist's standpoint (I emphasize "capitalist"), that most things the private sector do are goooooood and most things the government does are baaaaad. Which from a strictly free enterprise capitalist's point of view is pretty true. The problem lies in the fact that government IS necessary to curb runaway capitalism (i.e. Go to the Cuyahoga river and eat some fish caught there...) and they can sometimes be good. The heart and the head are both necessary for a person to survive. I've heard Rush Limbaugh say things like "there is no such thing as a moderate Republican", "feminazi's", "tree huggers", etc... This kind of inflammatory crap thinking is quoted often and then is associated with "conservativism" (I think he says his show is the "center for conservative studies"). Perhaps foreign countries hear his program? If that is their definition of what an "American conservative" is, God help conservatives... Rush is no more a conservative than Bill Clinton is a liberal... but if noone challenges fools like Limbaugh and actually pay him hundreds of millions of dollars (yes, that's right, he signed a $125,000,000 20 year deal!!!), then they may deserve to be characterised as fools themselves... I'm all over the map now, but you should take heart... a swing to the right is coming! If only I can endure another one... I'll try to enjoy the moment of equillibrium... Just quite a few political thoughts, Screamer "Putting the fun back into funatic"

Welcome to IWETHEY!