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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RON BL who wrote (144677)	5/11/2001 4:53:15 PM
From: Thomas A Watson	Respond to of 769670

Ron, I read you post and wonder at what it means. I don't find any problem in anyone being sure of their positions. I also don't have a clue as to what this means. >>>>>> After years of attack I think that conservatives were forced to reevaluate their positions and change. Without specifics I cannot make much out of such generalizations. tom watson tosiwmee

To: RON BL who wrote (144677)	5/11/2001 5:10:46 PM
From: greenspirit	Respond to of 769670

Agreed Ron, I'm starting to believe we're dividing into a nation of optimists and pessimists. On one side are the optimists who believe that with change comes opportunity. On the other side are pessimists, consisting of protectionists, traditionalists, and environmentalists, who want to rein in destabilizing growth to protect not only their own sense of peace and security, but impose this imprisonment on those of us "on the cutting edge of societal evolution", who want to use our creative sense to foster technology, entrepreneurship, and growth for the future. Optimists believe in a brighter future for our children, and want to foster a political climate which encourages it to flourish in. The pessimists like things just the way they are, often, they lack the imagination to understand how things could be better. Fundamentally, it goes right to the heart of what kind of person you are, what kind of maturity you have, and what kind of temperament you possess. Are you optimistic and in control of your environment, or are you pessimistic and feel that others are manipulating you? (Bush controls the stock market with single words) and so forth. Do you have a deterministic paradigm view of the world? Or are you responsible for your own destiny? How you answer these questions will determine how you come down on the political questions of our day. Examples include; free market influences to improve public education, Social Security reform, environmental protective measures, energy needs, and our social safety net. They are all effected by this optimistic or pessimistic world view. Unfortunately, both sides of the political spectrum our effected by this arbitrary mental model. The right has people like Buchannan who would like to close our borders, limit trade and the free flow of goods around the world. The left has people like Gore, Dashle, Gephard, Kennedy and so many others who fear any real systemic change to social security, taxes, education and our energy needs. They see a pie only so large, which must be divided up in a pessimistic "it will never get any better than this" way. I see compassionate conservatives as the the party which favors free growth and spontaneous evolution. They have an abiding belief that the future will be better, and want nothing to stand in the way of unleashing America's creativity and innovation. But, they also realize they cannot control or shape the future collectively in a clear definable way. There is no one best way, no set of policies that can shape one future precisely. The future will mean different things for all of us. We simply have to believe in ourselves, and not allow the bureaucrat to seduce us into believing he or she has all the answers to our problems. This is the legacy of Ronald Reagan's vision, and why his message of renewal and belief in ourselves had such a profound impact on our nation. 20 years ago the pessimists ruled america and convinced far too many people that Japan was going to rule the world with their craftily controlled Japan-INC. system of government. Chaos and reality has caught up with them, and they must re-learn the lessons that we re-learned. That being, the future is unknown and unknowable, and we must believe in ourselves in order to create a prosperous future of opportunity for our children's children to flourish in.