My Journey to Conservatism

Tech-Central.com ^ | 01/06/2004 | Keith Burgess-Jackson

[StarCMC]

This article was very thought provoking for me. Enjoy when you've got a minute!

[dasboot]

Just as it is unwise to disrupt a natural ecosystem, it is unwise to disrupt, disregard, or disrespect longstanding human practices.

Excellent! Never considered it that way: liberal greenies don't want a bulldozer making a road in a forest, but have no qualms about setting fire to evolved societal constructs.

Great article. Yep, what he said!!

[Riley]

I'd send this to my sister, but we have a moratorium between us on talking politics. She's a flaming liberal.

I'd still love to send it to her.

[Terpfen]

Liberals are optimistic about human nature, whereas conservatives are pessimistic.

I was enjoying the article until I hit this. He got it backwards.

Conservatives are optimistic about human nature--that's why conservatives support the free market, why conservatives want to step back and let everyone do their thing.

Liberals are pessimistic about human nature, which explains why they feel wealth is accumulated through fraud, and must be redistributed to those too stupid or too moral to understand how to cheat the system to become rich.

[lainde]

Thanks for posting..An excellent piece!

[StarCMC]

Good point. The only other thing I found wrong with this article was the assertion that we need more Bobby Knights. ARGH! Now if he'd have said Bear Bryants I would have gone along with him! LOL! Discipline, yes. Being a complete jerk, no.

[visualops]

It's not so much politics, but the philosophy that drives our politics.

[Terpfen]

Personally, I would've jumped on him if he had said Dave Wannstedt.

*waves goodbye to his Dolphins*

[gatorgriz]

This is a GREAT article!!! Outstanding! Well Done! A total SMASH!!!

[luckydevi]

for later

[gatorgriz]

A WELL DESERVED BUMP!!!!

[Jaysun]

I'd send this to my sister, but we have a moratorium between us on talking politics. She's a flaming liberal.
I'd still love to send it to her


I found myself in a similar situation with my brother-in-law. I simply sent the relevant material through a liaison who promised me that she wouldn't give me away as the original source, but would act as if she'd stumbled upon it herself. The liaison in that case was my sister. It's a dirty trick I suppose, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

[clee1]

Send me her email address: I'll send it to her. < /evil grin>

[Jaysun]

A very interesting and well written post. Congratulations on your "conversion". Though I didn't even know what a liberal or conservative was as a lad, I now know that I've always been a conservative. It just seemed that the conservative point of view was more logical and reasonable. I have kept a daily journal since 1985, and I agree with you that it's a good idea.

[Col Freeper]

LOL

I had the same problem with the article.

Maybe the author still has some lingering liberal antagonism toward those "meanie" conservatives.

[Riley]

Send me her email address: I'll send it to her. < /evil grin>

Thank you, but since the 'political talk moratorium' was my idea to begin with, I'd feel like a hypocrite if I didn't comply with my own proposed rule.

We had no relationship at all as siblings until this- we just couldn't talk at all. Now, as an adult, I finally have a sister, thanks to it. As with other liberals that I know, they are sometimes personally fine people, if you subtract their screwy politics from the equation.

I can only hope at this point. Every once in a while, I see a spark of political sense.

[KC Burke]

Perhaps on hope for human endeavor, you are correct, because a conservative knows that we "are beloved by God."

But, as to human nature -- man's perfectability -- he has it correct. A conservative knows that man is inperfectable, always containing flaws and that we must make our plans and endeavors to allow for that.

A rationalist believes that man is capable of being perfected and plans for that. He tries to use his personal plans to reach a utopian outcome based on that beleif.

For a very good study of this, see Thomas Sowell's A Conflict of Visions.

[MeekOneGOP]

Excellent ! Thanks for posting and for the ping.

I read the whole article and then saw at the very bottom that the author is an Associate Professor at UT-Arlington, my Alma Mater. In fact, I took two philosophy classes at UTA under this authors predecessor, Dr. Thomas King.

Dr. King was a young professor at the time who had acquired his Ph.D by age 26 I believe. He was a very thoughtful and articulate professor. I didn't agree with him on a number of issues, but he did inspire his students, was thought-provoking and I liked him. He tried to be objective and teach what each particular philosopher's thoughts and ideas were rather than to inject his own belief's into the class. I first went to UTA 1972-74 and returned in 1981 to finish my B.B.A degree. When I returned, I made it a point to see if Dr. King was still there. He was, and in fact had been made the head of the department of Philosophy. We had a nice conversation when I visited him, and he did remember me. I reminded him about the one day he missed class because his pregnant wife had delivered him a son, after already giving him two lovely daughters. He wanted a son, and was very proud to finally have one !

Some while back, about 12-15 years I think, I ran into an article in The Dallas Morning News about Dr. Kings premature death, to some cancer as I recall. I'll always remember Dr. King, may he rest in peace.

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded post/walk down memory lane here! lol!

Thanks for posting this ! Good article.

[MeekOneGOP]

Interesting article, imho ...

My Journey to Conservatism

Excerpt:

"A young person who's conservative has no heart; an old person who's liberal has no brain." Have you heard this saying? There are two ways it can be interpreted: as a statement of fact (about people's actual political trajectory) and as a judgment of value (about which trajectory is good). I read it as both. It says that as a matter of (natural) fact, there is a progression from liberalism to conservatism; and it adds (quickly) that this is good. The saying is both descriptive and prescriptive, like "S is lazy" and "T is a coward." It commends young liberals and old conservatives. It condemns young conservatives and old liberals.

I used to be liberal. When I was, I thought conservatives were uncaring, unintelligent, irrational, and obstructionist. They seemed to resist every attempt to make the world a better place -- by my standards. They seemed stuck in the past, oblivious to changes that were taking place in technology, demographics, and world affairs. Didn't they see the threat to the environment posed by global warming? Didn't they see that their cramped understandings of marriage and family were doing real harm to people? Didn't they see that their opposition to redistributive taxation was perpetuating -- indeed, exacerbating -- poverty, sickness, and illiteracy? Didn't they see that in affairs of state, no less than in personal relationships, force never solves anything but only makes things worse?

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