"Trying" to be Liberal
By Paul Walfield
Jul 31, 2003, 10:45
No doubt most people who are of a particular political ideology didn’t consciously
decide which side of the isle they would sit on. It is a safe bet that other than the
most unscrupulous among us, where we stand politically is not simply a whim, but
rather a culmination of inheritance, experiences, education and willingness to
reason objectively about a subject.
However, in any attempt to describe opposing viewpoints there is always the
danger of slanting descriptions and understandings in a manner that is conducive
to ones own position. With that understanding, it is nevertheless apparent that
Liberals, like everyone else, have a mental picture of the world that they want to
live in, and all their political positions and platforms are geared to make that vision a
reality.
On July 3, 2003, Gallup released the results of a poll they conducted in which it
was shown that people who identified themselves as conservatives were
overwhelmingly more inclined to be proud of being an American than people who
identified themselves as Liberals.
As was reported in a WorldNet Daily article on the subject, “Eighty percent of
conservatives said they are extremely proud of the country, while only 56 percent
of liberals responded that way.” Adding, “more than eight in 10 Republicans are
extremely proud to be Americans, while two-thirds of Democrats feel this way.”
So, starting from that basis, it is no stretch to conclude that conservative
republicans would be more interested in what is good for America and have an
understanding that America’s actions were justified in most situations around the
world.
On the other hand, it is no doubt plausible to view most liberals as more interested
in individual happiness rather than as a nation. Which brings to mind the dubious
saying, if the individual is happy, those around that individual will be happy and so
on. Then by extension, we do not need to see ourselves as Americans or have a
strong country, but rather, as “progressives,” see ourselves as citizens of the
world.
That can partially explain why liberals are less proud of America, but it doesn’t
explain why they are less proud in the first place. Liberals go to the same schools
as everyone else, and they are exposed to the same media reporting. To
understand the difference, you need to take a closer look at the Gallup Poll.
WorldNet Daily reports in the same article, “Six in 10 adults aged 18 to 29 say they
are extremely proud, compared with about three in four Americans in both the
30-to-49 and 50-to-64 age groups as well as roughly two-thirds of adults aged 65
and older.”
Clearly, younger Americans are less inclined than older Americans to feel a sense
of pride in being American. Younger Americans are being educated in schools
and universities which have literally been taken over by the Left. Our children are
systematically being taught to feel less for our country and more for themselves as
individuals and citizens of the world. All in the name of “academic freedom;”
which has in effect become a euphemism for anti-American rhetoric taught by
America’s liberal elite.
Many Americans are aware that in other surveys, as reported by NewsMax, it has
been shown that virtually all of the professors and educators in America’s
universities are members of the Democratic Party and have a decidedly Left
leaning political ideology.
That being the case and the fact that the Gallup poll shows a statistically
significant difference in America’s age groups’ views of America, the result is
inescapable. If nothing is done, nationalism as we know it will become a politically
incorrect concept.
While much has been said in recent months about a backlash on campus among
students who disagree with their more liberal minded professors, the poll results
should not be ignored. More importantly, is the liberal vision one that if actively
pursued a positive or a negative for Americans in general.
Trying to see things from the Liberal point of view and doing all that can be done,
short of disconnecting neurons, there seems to be a few too many assumptions
for the Liberal model to actually be a good thing for anyone who is proud to be an
American in 2003.
There literally has to be an assumption that there are no bad people in power in
other nations that would take advantage of a demilitarized, non-nuclear America.
There also has to be an assumption that America’s economy is beyond the affects
of competition by nations that subsidize their nations’ production and exports.
The list of not too likely assumptions goes on and on. Trying to be Liberal and view
the world as it necessarily must be to allow for the Left’s vision of the perfect
human habitat, requires a deadening of critical thought and blindness to reality that
entails a leap of faith which brings you nowhere but falling into an abyss.
Then there is the matter of integrity. Generalizations are of course subject to
criticism but the overwhelming manner and frequency of occurrences of bad
behavior on the part of both politicians and “journalists” on the Left is astonishing.
The attacks on President Bush for saying sixteen words which are in fact true,
that Britain did and does claim that Iraq attempted to purchase uranium from Niger
are beyond the pale. The nation of Britain absolutely stands by those words, so
why does the Left say they are lies?
For that matter, why do so many democrats who agreed with the same
assessment of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction by former President Clinton,
now claim they were “deceived” by President Bush? Why do so many in the media
and elsewhere become oblivious to any sense of honor when it comes to tactics
and means in their attempts to regain power?
Quite literally, the willingness to ignore present circumstances at the expense of all
that surrounds oneself including the American way of life, has only two
conclusions. A deep resentment and goal of ending that way of life or a naiveté
that borders on a refutation of Darwinian thought.
In either case, being a conservative never appeared a more natural ideology than
after attempting to understand 21st century liberalism.
bigjweb.com |
