Why I'm proud to be and NOT to be a Liberal and Conservative.
Posted: Saturday, December 12, 2009
by Kenny St.pierre
This article will deal not only with why I believe what I believe, but also as much with the subject of what I feel constitutes superior intelligence to idiocy.
Over the years I have learned that an understanding mind is of lesser intelligence if or when it only adopts the concepts of a particular ideal while discarding its opposing constructs. Any mind that takes into account only concepts of one political or philosophical party, one historical viewpoint, one culture, or one source of information I would say constitutes ignorance.
Usually when men go to war and kill in the name of opposing forces it's often times because they lack the ability to reason smartly that the other side has something concrete to offer. Their fears tell them that opposition is destructive to their way of life, and just as incorrectly they believe that such opposition must be destroyed. Strong beliefs against, and denial of, opposing ideals can turn humans into hostile creatures and perpetuate moronic aggressive behavior.
It is only those who recognize any amount of value in a differing party, organization, or viewpoint that I declare as bright people. For what amount of intelligence or satisfaction is there for those who assert their loyalty to Conservative viewpoints while denouncing Liberalism? What gratification or cleverness can men boast when declaring Liberalism while knocking Conservative ideals as something to be mistrusted or banished? What do men gain when they call themselves one "title" or another if they are not open-minded to views that oppose their own?
Intelligence is not a value determined by affiliation to groups and constructs. Brilliance is defined by the ability for man to absorb from each subject of study that which is deemed sensible and rational, and to incorporate what may work from each of them for the betterment of all. Whenever we consider past human endeavors, one idea or group thought has never been the absolute correct way, yet humans will still today declare resistance whenever their confronted by conflicting interest.
During the darkest and gravest adult differences, innocent children naturally accept the opposing forces of human nature, yet often many of them die in the cross-fire of "grown-ups" who fight against opposing political and religious beliefs. Instinctively accepting children of different races and sexes might play guiltless at a playground together, yet still be victimized by the bombs of overhead jets controlled by arrogant unintelligent adults who's views are inherently one-sided against the land and people they are attacking, for what they consider "just cause." But that is the extreme side of beliefs and ideals, and so I will concern myself with the more subtle topic of the Conservative/ Liberal debate.
I am pleased to say that I can personally communicate imperfectly with those who differ from me. Exchanges with my counterparts are of equal value to my intellect and understanding, just as the conversations I hold with those who have similar leanings to my own.
I find humans and their ideals to be fascinating when their mindset consist of values to an overall agenda where the majority benefits. This obviously applies to those who's intentions it is to understand that which does not always adhere to their own beliefs and principles. Never will I brag about subscriptions to Conservative people or groups such as, Rush Limbaugh, George W. Bush, Clint Eastwood, Hank Williams Jr., Charlton Heston, The American Conservative Union, Citizens United, The Conservative Caucus, and others - for I would become as blind as they.
Nor will I ever boast life-long affiliations to Liberal people or causes like, Madonna, Janeane Garofalo, Dustin Hoffman, Spike Lee, Danny Glover, Julia Roberts, The American Civil Liberties Union, The Anti-Defamation League, or Americans United for the Separation of Church and State - for such groups are equally short-sighted.
These people and groups are not my hero's! I acknowledge both sides as of equal importance. To observe this unintelligible preoccupation humans have with groups and celebrities can leave me to scratch my head. Why, I wonder, are people so proud to hail any person or group as the more sensible when every human and organization has both its good and bad? What benefit is there when each side blindly claims they are most right and the voice of truth?
For example, the Rush Limbaugh website states, " Rush Limbaugh, also known as: America's Truth Detector; the Doctor of Democracy; the Most Dangerous Man in America; the All-Knowing, All-Sensing, All-Everything Maha Rushie; defender of motherhood, protector of fatherhood and an all-around good guy. There is a "consensus" among the American people, who have made this the most listened to program, that it is also the most accurate, most right, and most correct. "
Who declares Rush, " ... most accurate, most right, and most correct? Those who think like Rush of course. Who says, " People who disagree with this are Rush Deniers?" The same people who believe and agree his ideals are the right ones. But ideals that don't represent the best interest of ALL the people are fallacious. Such people accept just the concepts they are in personal agreement with, thus the birth of one-sided perspectives.
Similarly, at http://www.bigeddieradio.com/about/ I read this: "Why is the Ed Schultz Show hotter than a polar bear in Pensacola? Easy. Because he is so different from every other talk show host on the dial and so much like the 3 million Ed Heads who tune him in for the unvarnished truth. He's a straight talking, no-nonsense voice of reason in unreasonable times. "
Unlike Limbaugh, Schultz is a progressive radio host, but to view the reviews of these two men it's hard to overlook how both sides seem to think they are the voice of reason, accuracy, and truth. How can this be? How can two men with opposing views both be the voice of truth? How many truths are there I wonder? The silliness and transparencies of these bias appraisals are clear; they both represent narrow viewpoints, where neither view is ever proved to be more valid than the other. Most viewpoints are only opinions, and those who share them should be careful not to take them to extremes. It's the extremes that do the greatest disservice. As the saying goes, "The dove needs both the right and left wing to be able to fly."
For me, constrictive ideals I can never adopt as intelligent. "Ask a liberal and they will tell you that the powerful conservative corporate sponsors are the ones who control the media; ask a conservative and they'll tell you it's a cabal of leftist Hollywood and elite weenies." http://www.probush.com I wonder if anyone takes the time to research such things anymore? Should I subscribe and believe a viewpoint just because it agrees with my own, or should I get the facts first? Only open-minded intelligent people know the answer to that.
An example of how "tunnel vision" perpetuates mindless comments is like when John McCain , who considers himself to be a maverick , couldn't even stand up to members of his own party and pick his running mate of choice. Apparently McCain's idea of a "maverick" is allowing others to choose for him. He used less scrutiny in determining his running mate than he probably uses to shop for a pair of pants.
Another illustration of one-sided unintelligent thinking is when the Conservative party extended compassion to Bristol Palin for having loose morals similar to many poor, non-white girls who Conservatives typically regard with disdain. It amazes me how people strongly believe in something until it hits home.
And not to be outdone, Liberals also say and do stupid things because they are just as guilty of prejudice.
"But I don't know that she's ever had a real job - I mean, since she's been grown up." Teresa Heinz-Kerry on First Lady Laura Bush, a former teacher and librarian.
Equally ridiculous and perplexing is when I read quotes such as this : "Liberals feel that there is no authority in the world except listening to their "inner self". In other words, there really is no right or wrong. Excuses can be made for every crime. Damn the idiot who tries to paint anything in black and white." Wesley Mills
I wonder if Wesley ever contemplated that the "inner voice" is usually considered the most important and influential authority to human goodness and understanding? The vast majority of philosophical and religious schools of thought would agree. Without inner reflection there would be no authority. What's in our hearts IS the voice of authority. Consider; if it weren't for the intelligent contemplating inner voices of the authors and draftsmen of the Constitution, Democracy would still be an untried ideal. It is such silly narrow-minded arguments that keep me from attaching myself to organizations. The inner voice of reason is the authority of Liberal and Conservative, Republican and Democrat, Capitalist and Communist etc. Intelligence embraces all that is sensible regardless of tags. It's sensible when one party opens new doors, and an opposing party walks in those doors to enjoy the furnishings of the room.
Abraham Lincoln once wrote, The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out, the conservative adopts them."
In those sentences it is clear to see how Lincoln viewed both the radical and conservative, and how they each have their proper time and place. One paves the way, while the other, we hope, adopts which path is best. Conservatives help keep Liberals from being too radical, and Liberals assist in protecting Conservatives from becoming dogmatic. Opposing forces are the natural checks and balances required for intelligent reasoning. It's usually when the leash is either too short or too long problems arise and imbecilic psychological oppression begins.
I commonly seek out liberal minds and ideals for my knowledge. Then I try to establish a conservative foundation from those liberal concepts, which will eventually induce my own personal liberal concepts, where the conservation of logical thought and reasoning can be built upon.
As a man in search of a fairer world, I place trust in myself to consider all possibilities when confronted with an issue that affects more than just me. I try never to lean too far either way so as to guard against falling off balance and landing into ignorance. Therefore I am both Liberal and Conservative whenever my intelligence sees fit to apply their principles for the benefit of the many.
" A man's vanity tells him what is honor, a man's conscience what is justice."
Walter Savage Landor
1775-1864, British Poet, Essayist
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Top-level comments on this article: (9 total)Well said Kenny. I have long said it would be futile to try to pin me down to a particular political ideology --- and I think there are many people who feel the same way.I particularly liked: Why, I wonder, are people so proud to hail any person or group as the more sensible when every human and organization has both its good and bad? What benefit is there when each side blindly claims they are most right and the voice of truth?I thank you for your passionate viewpoint and thanks for sharing.Keep the flags of fearless questioning waving.
Nicely done. Seems many (probably way more than we think) are in the same boat, yet come election time it's always A or B.
Wow Kenny, I didn't realize you could write like this. WarpIt, Mr. Chekov!- GChekov? That is quite a compliment to give someone. Thanks Greg!
Kenny, I am impressed. Very well articulated, you supported your ideals without belittling others. I would love to see you write like this more often -It would be wonderful to see you just as "open-minded" and give others the freedom to believe differently than you and comment with such great intilligence on their pieces as you displayed in writing this piece. Again, excellent writing. Blessings to you! TeresaThanks for the compliments Teresa.Yes, courtesy is usually more effective, but I will still give and take a kick in the ass when necessary. Otherwise we'll all become a bunch of nice guys and nothing would ever get done.Emotions and certain thoughts work best when used at the proper times. The trick is to know when and how, and that's why we'll always be human. Mastering our emotions and thoughts are an endless undertaking. The key is to stay free of insults. I know once I resort to insults for the sake of insulting then I know I've lost touch.In this article I insult when I said, "Anyone who believes in only one point of view is ignorant," yet I won't back down because it's not just an insult for the sake of insulting - it's how I genuinely feel. Tough for those who can't take it! I expect to elicit some form of emotion from my readers otherwise I'd consider my writing as a failure. I'm not here to be everyone's friend.Hi Kenny, exactly my point. Expressing your opinion that might insult another is unavoidable, but insult for the sake of insult with the goal of hurting another is just plain mean and serves no purpose. I didn't even read that line as insulting, and that is good writing. As a writer we do hope to make others think, that again is entirely different.
That's some darn good writin' there pardner! I was hard put to select my favorite part- as I read I found I liked each succeeding part better than the last. But I finally zeroed in on one that throws a moo-moo-- one size fits all over most of the population. And I quote: " It is silly, narrow- minded arguments that keep me from attaching myself to organizations." I may add myself: And the cliques, clubs and little "groups" which humans seem unable to prevent themselves from forming in every area of life. In pondering what the reasons may be for this I've decided it is our old, ever- present nemesis FEAR. All those things and situations make people feel safe."...I've decided it is our old, ever- present nemesis FEAR. All those things and situations make people feel safe."*** Bingo! You go to the head of the class Ella! Yes, It's called fear when we don't ask questions! It's fear when we accept what we are told! It's fear when we become subdued! It's fear when we agree to things without researching them!
It sickens me when I see people sit in front of the telly to watch Monday Night Football or American Idol for two or three hours, yet those same people can't find the time to view the enormous amounts of information that questions our society and challenges our minds which is everywhere on the internet.Have you seen Zeitgeist the Movie yet Ella? How about 9/11 truth rising? Or maybe the O'bama Deception? There are many more. If not, go after them Ella. It's apparent you are more than ready for them.While our country is being overrun by the bankers who put us in debt and at their command, people find more time for recreation and mindlessness while they wait on their God to come fix everything for them. Apathetic fools who FEAR being labeled as anti-American while they are emotionally, psychologically, and financially raped.
I could care less who calls them-self a Liberal or Conservative. All I care about is who has the intelligence to question things and how they help resolve problems fairly!
Thank you for your beautiful comments Ella!
"They hurt you at home and they hit you in school.
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool.
Till you're so f***ing crazy you can't follow their rules." ... John Lennon
Interesting read, but I see one glaring flaw in your logic. Loving diverse thoughts and ideas, as you say you do, is an unmistakably liberal, un-conservative thing. Conservative, by the definition of every legitimate dictionary, means closed-minded and not open to new thoughts and ideas. Conversely, liberal means open-minded, even if the ideas are conservative in nature.I know Liberal has been made into a bad word by people opposed to new ideas, but everything in this blog post indicates you are liberal.Conservatism : (Latin: conservare, to "save" or "preserve")[1] is a political attitude and philosophy which advocates institutions and traditional practices that have developed organically within a nation over a period of time.[2] The raison d'être or central emphasis of conservatism is a focus on stability and continuity.Hi Vince! As you can see, the very base word conservare, means to "save" or "preserve." Please tell me which dictionary(s) you found the word "closed-minded" to describe Conservative.
Liberalism is the American Dream- conservatism is the reality it has become.
Hi Kenny.Very well said! And I think a philosophy of tolerance is best. I also think taking what is good and works well from wherever you find it is smart. I've never been a "joiner" and you've explained to me exactly why that is.I think egos (by this I do not mean an inflated sense of self importance, but more as it is defined by Eckhart Tolle or within Buddhism) are to blame for a lot of the woes of the world. Also, belief is a powerful thing and can give us solace when we need it, but the flip side is that we can become defensive and downright aggressive when we feel our beliefs are being threatened or questioned. I believe the ego is responsible for this.Thanks for a wonderful article,Dianne
Thank you Dianne!I have read some of your articles and I think you are great!I was once going to comment on your article, "What is the Value of Art in Society," but you covered everything so well you left nothing for me to say or add.
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