Posted on 01/24/2006 11:01:08 PM PST by Captainpaintball
"Liberalism is the philosophy of the stupid."
My sainted mother was a member of mensa and a lifelong demonRAT. Intellectually she was as conservative as I am, BUT, emotionally, she couldn't cut the fdr, jfk, cord that kept her bound to the RATS. In any reasoned discussion, she would agree with conservative principles, but would vote {and donate and work for} the RATs. I miss my mother, but know that she is still voting for the RATS, as I am sure she is part of the graveyard shift. I've twice been to the polling place where she used to vote and she is still on the rolls.
Ditto for my father - he is very intelligent, with a very high I.Q., but he is a Yellow Dog Democrat. I was raised as a YDD, but changed my tune when I saw what Reagan's tax cuts did for the economy.
My father and I disagree on almost everything politically.
He doesn't like my explanation for his liberal views:
I think its a subconcious thing: Kennedy = Good, Nixon = Bad. Kennedy = Democrat, Nixon = Republican. Therefore Democrat = Good and Republican = Bad.
I think he. and others like them are stuck in that mindset and refuse to see the truth.
When I pointed out to my parents that Nixon began the E.P.A., the federal Affirmative Action program and OSHA, my mother just shrugged and said, "It just goes to show you how even an evil man can do some good."
When I bring up Teddy Kennedy and Mary Jo, my mother's response is "So he made a little mistake".
And this from the woman who gave me life!!!
Frederick Hayek doesn't think liberals (actually he says socialists) are stupid, either. In fact, he considers socialism to be an error to which intelligent people are particularly prone. I know liberals and I argue with liberals and I know they're not stupid. The errors they make are intelligent errors, and it takes intelligent arguments to counter them.
Joel Stein can be reached at: thejoelstein@yahoo.com < thejoelstein@yahoo.com>
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