If by some real twisted, half-baked thought that you think they do, keep reading the above until it sinks in or get your parent to explain it.
Oh, and one last thing: in addition to what is listed above, add the RNC, Rush Limbaugh, the author's wife, or their dogs and/or cats.
Just so ya know.
VW
I LIVE.
This is MOGS.
You know, formerly of the soon to be late, great Diary of the Mad Pigeon.
VeeDub has graciously allowed me to hang out here and every once in a while throw down my own "unique" perspective on things.
I'm not entirely sure that he (nor the rest of the crew) quite know what they've gotten themselves into here....
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No seriously for a second, thanks to the Violence Worker and his gang. Like I mentioned on the Pigeon, my contributions will likely be appearing somewhat randomly, but I hope to contribute to the discussion in any way I can.
Go visit The Trenchcoat Chronicles. His tag: Poking the crime world in the eye with a sharp pointy stick!
Not only is it visually well done, it's pretty entertaining as well.
Enjoy!
VW
From high atop the Sierra Nevada Mountains comes a good solid weblog that is in my must reads in my feed reader. The name of the blog is the Bloviating Zeppelin/
BZ has some solid opinions and also a great sense of humor.
From his "About" blurb:
A former Democrat in my tender and ignorant youth, I am now a Conservative first and, these days, something of a distant Republican with a dash of Libertarian mixed in for good measure. I believe in God, the strength of America, the brilliance of our Founding Fathers, the valor of our military, and the need for Leadership in all forms and on every level. I am not an advocate of censorship as I feel everyone on the Far Left has a God-given right to be painfully stupid -- as I have a right to expose said stupidity. And yes, I'm still on an outdated dial-up connection. What takes you a minute takes me an hour!
Enjoy often!
VW
2. I reserve the right to banish you and I will do so if you can't be nice.
3. I reserve the right to edit, delete, post, mangle, fold, spindle, and/or mutilate any comment. I probably won't do it if you play nice.
4. I may post any email sent to me if I want to. Privacy will only be honored if requested and I think it needs to be kept private.
5. This is a hobby, but feel free to help defray the costs via the tip jar. :) If you don't, Obama will tax you out of it, so you may as well give it to me. I pay for the bandwidth and this blog. It ain't blogspot. Seriously, if you don't donate, don't feel obligated. I'll still like you.
6. Enjoy. Constructive criticism is alway welcome.
7. If you'd like to participate as an author here, Email me and we'll discuss it.
VW
Labels
Scott brought up a great point in the comments to this post that I think is worth discussing. We all use labels for things, groups, and even individuals. My definition of a liberal or a conservative may be (and probably is) different than others - including someone who shares my world view.
I'm reminded of a definition of communication I learned at the TAC NCO Academy many years ago that really stuck with me. It goes like this:
Nothing you say, write, or convey in some manner will be received by someone exactly how you intended it. Only you fully understand the depth of your own emotions and intent. The rest of us must try to understand your meaning given commonly accepted and learned patterns. We listen for verbal clues such as tone and speed, or we look for visual clues in your body language, but we can never fully understand the depth and meaning of your words. Sometimes, the clues are hard to come by. An example might be if I say:
Does that mean that I think we should drop what we are doing and go to the park? You don't know. I might just be throwing out an idea or I might have already thought about it and I've made up my mind. Unless I give out some other clues, or you ask me to clarify my intent, you aren't really sure what I mean. If I'm just tossing out a suggestion and you think I have already made up my mind, it could be a problem.
And so it is with the labels we use, often casually, to catalog everything in our sphere including people and ideas. On a certain level, it's human nature. We seek a certain order in our lives. My desk at work is usually cluttered with papers and notes. My desk at home seems to be a catch-all for half the house. What matters to me is that I have everything ordered in my head. My space around me can be in total chaos, but as long my thoughts are organized, my external space is secondary. Your definition of organization or need to organize might be totally different and probably is.
So when I use the words liberal or conservative, I have my own definitions. They might be similar to yours, but not necessarily. Long ago in some forgotten English class, probably in high school or even junior high school (now called middle school in most places - see how labels change), I was taught that your writing should be adjusted for for your intended audience. The most obvious example of that is the difference between writing for small children and writing for adults. Beyond that are the nuances of education level, genre, scope and message.
Since this little dead end off the information superhighway is geared more toward people who more or less share my worldview, the language is slanted toward that group of people. Along comes Scott whose views are not exactly quantified by the usual pigeon hole we stuff people in it and it becomes a bit more difficult to paint with the broad brush.
When I use the word liberal, I don't mean it in the Jeffersonian model. I mean it in the Ted Kennedy, Barack Obama, Nacy Pelosi, Harry Reid model. In other words, it generally means those who favor a larger centralized roll and involvement of the federal government in most aspects of our lives. It includes those whose worldview says that government is fairer and that society takes precedence over the individual's desires.
Conservatism (in my definition) takes on a different view in that we see government as our servant, not our master. We think individuals in general are far better off on their own and will achieve more and produce more if left alone. Government has it's roll and we need a certain amount to maintain civilized society, but by and large, people should be allowed to determine their own destiny.
I admit, they are somewhat vague. It seems almost an impossible task to pin them down to an exact definition that everyone will agree with. That said, when I speak of liberals, that is mostly the idea I have in mind. I don't think all liberals are bad, nor do I think all conservatives are good. I do believe that most entrenched politicians in either party are generally not a good thing for either side.
I hope it "kinda sorta" makes some sense. If not, then ask specific questions. Otherwise, I might resort to another 700 plus word essay to try and explain a simple label.
VW
Posted by Mike Pittman on Monday, November 16, 2009 at 07:57 in Boring, Comments, Conservatism, Discussions, Society and Culture, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
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