Posted on 04/28/2015 11:56:37 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
I remember the righteous smugness I used to feel when the one conservative friend in my social circle would begin expressing his opinions at a dinner gathering. I and the other enlightened diners would shift uncomfortably and glance at one another, rolling our eyes: "Here he goes again." My stomach would tighten with a worry not fit for the occasion. I began to feel personally offended. And the smugness sometimes boiled over into anger, as I'd listen to my friend, loyal and kind, simply share his "crazy" ideas and opinions with us.
What I thought then was only my frustration with his views, I know now was also my own discomfort with my belief it was okay to dismiss and condemn him for expressing himself. We ganged up on him. And while he didnt like it(who would?),he took it well,and eventually the conversation would drift into safer territory like work and sports, and all would be forgotten.
Oftentimes after these dinners I was left thinking (no pun intended), that this guy was one of the smartest, nicest people I knew, and all he was trying to do was offer another angle on things. He was sharing a voice that wasn't that of an echoing lemming skirting over issues in search of a choir, but rather an informed, passionate, and to us, provocative perspective we were all uneasy with. And again, I could feel in my gut that I hadnt been fair or nice. But wait, aren't us liberals supposed to be nice and sensitive and open? I mean, if the basic meaning of the word liberal is to advocate the freedom of the individual, why then is there such hell to pay for those who dont agree with the Lefts political or social views?
Why the defensiveness? Why the arrogance? Why the hostility?....
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Just bring up the subject of GMO and see what happens.
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Forgive my ignorance, but what is GMO?
Your children are lucky to have such an informed parent willing to share knowledge.
Exactly what I was thinking! No questioning allowed on that topic.
I’ve worked at a very small business for 10 years.
My boss, who is also a very good friend, is a great guy, but very leftist. Considers himself a socialist.
When I started work he spent quite some time trying to convert me. Failed miserably every time. Largely because he’d spent his entire life in the liberal echo chamber and had never been exposed to the facts and opinions I showed him.
His problem was that he believed any conservative was by definition evil, stupid or both. And of course he was well aware I was neither.
So rather than re-examining his own belief system, we just stopped talking about political and related issues. Created too much cognitive dissonance for him.
However, I have recently come to the conclusion that he’s not nearly as liberal as he thinks he is. So there’s hope.
Liberals are “offended” by conservative viewpoints because those viewpoints devalue the liberals source of self-righteousness.
Why the defensiveness? Why the arrogance? Why the hostility? I think its fear; the fear of one day realizing that we may just be wrong, and have been wrong all along.
It’s more than that. Humans inherently have a sense of eternity, and obviously desire a positive eternity for themselves. Liberal Humanists believe that their advocacy and “caring” make them a good person, guaranteeing a positive eternity.
When you, no matter how gently, point out how this advocacy is actually harmful to the object of their “caring”, you’re not attacking the policy, you’re attacking this person’s eternal existence.
THAT’S why they get so mean, vile, defensive and try to shut you up at all costs.
genetically modified organism
Thank goodness for hope.
Same operandi. Impossible to have honest open dialog with either group.
GMO stands for genetically modified organism, not the same as a hybrid by the way. It a food that has been genetically altered.
Thanks.
That, and Glenn Beck seems to be a contentious subject as well!
I have one as well. Our decisions are like a brutal game of racquetball but its all in good fun and he is a good sport. I often tell him we have been talking for years and he has yet to win an argument.
The other day it was about minimum wage. He was on a rant about how important it was that it be razed to $15 an hour with all the liberal claptrap.
I just let him rant, then his son (who works for him) piped in and said "Dad you don't pay me $15 an hour!"
GAME ON: I said, "What you don't pay your employees' a living wage!" I ripped him for a good while and had a blast doing it. Game set match.
The author writes that she loves living and working in Los Angeles. Hard to take her seriously. ; )
This includes their so-called climate change agenda. It has absolutely nothing to do with the environment, the climate or the planet. It has everything to do with the Marxist revolution.
None of the predictions about the climate or the effects on the planet by man, has ever come true. None. Nunca. Nope. Nada. Zip. Zero. The proponents of this climate change hoax just keep changing the rules to the game to fit the hand they currently hold.
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