Posted on 04/01/2005 9:51:33 PM PST by Bob J
For those of you who dont know, Jim and the mods treat old timers a little different than newbies. They get a little more slack, a few more mulligans than those who signed up in last four years or so.
I always wondered if that was a good policy. After all, why should the crusty buggers be treated any differently than someone who signed up last week? Are they more intelligent, are their arguments more cohesive persuasive? Do they have any more or less to contribute to this community we call the Free Republic? Not necessarily.
But they do have one thing new participants dont and that is perspective. In a way us curmudgeons can help provide a sense of continuity and historical perspective to events that newcomers cannot. Sometimes, we are the glue the bridges Free Republic from one crisis to the next. I believe the recent Sciavo issue is one of those times so I am going to ante again and prove to Jim that his investment is worthy of its returns. I ask other old timers to chime in and pull their weight as well.
The Forum has a history of going through upheavels in terms of political philosophy and/or cultural standards, this is not unusual for a community such as outs. The first thing we need to understand is that the conservative movement is made up of many individuals with different motivations. For example, some are economic minded, some are culturally based, some are second amendment supporters and others view their vision on religious principles. Sometimes these differences can cause us to reevaluate our alliances. But that would be a mistake. The left is counting on us tearing ourselves apart from within for that is the very philosophy upon which their strategy is based foment division and hatred then attack at the breach. It has worked well for them in the past and they count on it working again for them now and in the future.
My humble opinion and suggestion to all is in these times of contention and confusion, that we remind ourselves who the real enemy is and where the battles ought to be fought. On more than one occasion I have had firefights on FR with individuals who later I found myself sitting next to in a foxhole when we were fighting the real enemy the militant left. I berated myself for some of the things I had posted and wished I could take them back. For here was my true brother or sister, sitting in the foxhole with me, taking hits with me, helping to lead the bravest charge at our direst moment. How could I have been so thoughtless in my moment of indulgence?
We may divided, on occasion, but lets not lose sight of the fact that we are all brothers and sisters fighting the good fight against those who would enslave us and our children into bondage for generations. Argue the good argument, stand on principle, but lets not forget we are all ultimately on the same team. The man or woman you trash today might be the brave soul who saves your behind tomorrow.
Lets keep out eye on the ball.
Uh, after you have donated to this site, please.
Stop spending my money!!!!!!!!
So, then, there should be no innate moral law?
IIRC, his mother died in getting him to America to hopefully grow up in a free country.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Are you talking about the one where you attacked the car I was driving and I ran over you repeatedly until you were flat as a pancake? Or the one where you got the AF operation & I posted a picture of your anatomy? Or maybe the one where you splashed my 'photo' standing in front of my trailer... Or the one where you sued Socks and me for trying to save your dang life when you had that dahlia root growing out your ....LOL! Maybe we shouldn't look for it.
Amen that is true. What is also true is that those here for years have some rudimentary knowledge of the Constitution. That seems to be lacking in the new members.
The people who are taking their marbles and going home are the the Bill Kristol types who see the Constitution as an impediment to producing a true "Conservative" state. They see federalism, law enforcement without bounds, slavish obedience to the neo-conservative party line. They have beat up the old line pro-constitutional crowd and chased them out referring to them as nuts and tinfoil etc. Some truly were. Many who weren't quietly left. The born again crowd who takes their marching orders from Falwell and have no grasp of the Constitution were on their side in these fights. They thought they were of like mind. Now they find who the majority has become here on FR and they can't handle it. They have wrought what the they have sown.
The mod - seemingly all neo-cons have a real problem. They can't ban all these people and they have run off the weight and sanity of the old timers by not allowing dissent on basic views. The neo-cons thought it was the golden age but they were cutting their own throat.
Sit down for a ride, defense of the Constitution, once so prominently mentioned on the front page of FR is now defense of the KJV of the Bible. The Constitution is an impediment, as it was for the neo-cons.
Hell I agree with the born agains on most issues, I just don't think we should run our government out of the KJV. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
Agree, to a point.
Please keep in mind is that one can be a long-time Conservative (in my case over 40 years) and be new to FR.
Many of "newbies" are new to FR because of work and family responsibilities. I had little time to come to FR because I was usually at sea most of the time (Navy) When on shore duty, my hours we long and I tired to spend as much time with my family as possible.
Just a thought....
Well, yeah. ;-) I ain't goin' nowhere. At least, not until Jim gets tired of seeing me here.
Just addressing the Freeploaders; defined as those who consider Free Republic some sort of entitlement. So we have these annoying quarterly fundraisers.
We keep you around as an object lesson for folks to know what the other side is about.
Maybe we should just let flattened dogs lie.
:-)
Exactly. Who needs spyware, it's too much trouble to visit Drudge much anymore.
Hey, I resemble that remark!
BTTT
Yup. Not only that, but I get more important and current news from FR. FReepers are always on top of things.
But once one has survived the first few months and has demonstrated a solid track record of posting responsibly (within guidelines), I think that individual has earned the right to be here, even though his/her posts might be offensive to many. Obviously if there is a fragrant violation of the rules (threats, profanity, the repetitive posting of prohibited material etc.), then that person should be shown the door. But by and large, our long-time "curmudeons" have become a part of our community and belong here. Even if they don't march in lockstep with the conservative agenda.
A good example is the poster "Willie Green." I can't think of another individual on this forum with which I disagree more often. But no matter how many times I disagree with him, he is unfailingly polite and civil in our disagreements. Sometimes he even makes me think a little about my own political views on things. If he was to disappear from this forum, I am honest in saying that I would miss him. He is a real asset to this forum.
There are many others here that I love to argue with and sometimes I post articles intentionally that I know will "rile them up" a little!
I think most of us on this forum have the ability to accept other points of view but there are certain issues that tend to divide us and cause huge rifts between us. The Terri Schiavo case was definitely one of them. So was the Elian Gonzalez case. And also the 2000 election when Pat Buchanan supporters were pitted against George W. Bush supporters. There were some real flame wars back then and a lot of people got banned or suspended.
Each of these times, there were always those who said "Well this is the end of Free Republic" and we saw our fair share of farewell opuses. But I suspect that most of those snuck back in under other screen names!
Free Republic will survive the Terri Schiavo debate, I am sure of that.
Lay off the Geritol.
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