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Thomas Sowell: "Us" or "Them"
Creator's Syndicate ^
| October 25, 2005
| Dr. Thomas Sowell
Posted on 10/25/2005 2:24:39 AM PDT by RWR8189
click here to read article
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To: RWR8189
What a brilliant mind. Sowell has, again, reduced a large segment of abstract thought into its most basic principles. This is the hallmark of a great teacher.
61
posted on
10/25/2005 7:46:17 AM PDT
by
TChris
("The central issue is America's credibility and will to prevail" - Goh Chok Tong)
To: saveliberty
Both of you touch on a quote that Thomas Sowell has cited not too long ago.
Not long ago indeed. In fact, it was in this column.
62
posted on
10/25/2005 7:48:38 AM PDT
by
oh8eleven
(RVN '67-'68)
To: RWR8189
Hmmm, a relation broken up by politics. I have a story to tell.
Back this March, I had despaired of ever finding a woman to share my life. But I decided to give it one more try. I signed on one of those on-line dating services. One of the questions they asked was "Who has most influenced you in your life?"
I thought about it a while and put down "Thomas Sowell." Sowell's books and columns helped convince me to give up my leftism and adopt a more mature approach to the world. It didn't just affect my politics. It changed the way I looked at my job and my relations with my family.
I had no idea how women would react to that. Some women who liked the fact that I did creative writing were immediately turned off when they found out I was a conservative. But there was this one very intelligent wonderful conservative woman who answered the ad. She very much likes the ideas of Thomas Sowell. That's just one of many great things about her.
So, I'll be getting married in May. I wonder if I should send Sowell a thank-you card.
To: RWR8189
Many crusades of the political left have been misunderstood by people who do not understand that these crusades are about establishing the identity and the superiority of the crusaders. T.S. Eliot understood this more than half a century ago when he wrote: "Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm -- but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves."
I stand in awe...
64
posted on
10/25/2005 7:55:12 AM PDT
by
GOPJ
(Protest a democrat -- light your hair on fire -- and the MSM still won't take your picture.)
To: Our man in washington
I wonder if I should send Sowell a thank-you card. You should not.
You sould send him a wedding invitation, along with the story you just told us.
Who knows? He might even show up!
65
posted on
10/25/2005 7:57:06 AM PDT
by
ArrogantBustard
(Western Civilisation is aborting, buggering, and contracepting itself out of existence.)
To: Our man in washington
Congratulations! To a smart man and his obviously smart soon-to-be wife.
And yes, I think you should send Sowell a thank-you card.
To: oh8eleven
:-) But he opened with that quote in a column about one year ago.
Sorry for the confusion.
67
posted on
10/25/2005 8:10:01 AM PDT
by
saveliberty
(I did not break the feed. I may have lost it, but I did not break the feed.)
To: js1138
I couldn't agree more.
My husband and I were stuck listening to Randi Rhodes on Air America one day on a trip. We were stunned. It was very clear that the reason the network is tanking is that they have no grasp of what and who conservatives really are and therefore did not have the tools to do a meaningful show.
If you entire understanding of an alternative philosophy is based on a caricature, you become a caricature yourself and completely unconvincing. We decided that a good solid entrepreneurial conservative could do the show and actually make it work...because there are a lot of really solid conservatives who deeply understand the left's philosophy.
I often have the opportunity to debate liberals. I learned a few years ago, however, that the first thing I ask them is why they are liberal and what they believe. If they do not have a coherent answer...I don't even bother.
Why debate someone who is liberal because "they don't want to be one of those mean old baby killing money grabbing conservatives." That is pointless to debate because the whole thing becomes impossibly vapid within two minutes.
The good news is...I'm amazed at how many people discover themselves to be conservative once they go study the issues. There's nothing like having your opponents go out and convert themselves trying to convince you the left is right. ; )
To: oh8eleven
69
posted on
10/25/2005 8:20:41 AM PDT
by
saveliberty
(I did not break the feed. I may have lost it, but I did not break the feed.)
To: dirtboy; RWR8189
Smartest Man In America Alert (IMHO).
Believe it or not, Sowell used to be a Marxist.
If you like this, read his "Vision of the Anointed".
70
posted on
10/25/2005 8:20:53 AM PDT
by
George Smiley
(This tagline deliberately targeted journalists.)
To: doberville
ALthought Williams is highly entertaining, I recommend that you get Sowell's "Basic Economics" and "Applied Economics"
Nary a chart or graph in either book, and they're eminently readable.
71
posted on
10/25/2005 8:24:52 AM PDT
by
George Smiley
(This tagline deliberately targeted journalists.)
To: kjenerette
72
posted on
10/25/2005 8:24:54 AM PDT
by
Van Jenerette
(Our Republic...If We Can Keep It!)
To: ABG(anybody but Gore)
If she was cute, I could overlook the environmentalism. Yes, I'm shallow.
73
posted on
10/25/2005 8:27:46 AM PDT
by
XJarhead
To: pollyannaish
...the network is tanking is that they have no grasp of what and who conservatives really are and therefore did not have the tools to do a meaningful show.I would argue that this applies to most (not all, but most) liberals that I know. I've stopped debating for many of the same reasons that you have - it's no fun to debate with someone when you have a loaded weapon and the other guy doesn't. "Bush is a idiot" is an inaccurate opinion, not a philosophy or platform, and certainly not a debating point.
I hope that the Democratic party eventually stops embracing these fringe elements. No good comes from one party being too powerful - think of the Republicans now, and the Democrats back in the 70s. I think that both parties have valid ideas, and the Dems will never challenge the Republicans as long as they promote wild-eyed fanatics like AirAmerica as 'representative of their party'. They no more represent the 'common man', than lunatics like Eric Rudolph represent all Republicans.
74
posted on
10/25/2005 8:28:51 AM PDT
by
wbill
To: NattieShea; PowerBaby
75
posted on
10/25/2005 8:31:22 AM PDT
by
Carry_Okie
(There are people in power who are REALLY stupid.)
To: Pusterfuss
Sowell is a true intellectual, not a pandering rabble rouser; he writes from the truth, not towards coercive persuasion; he knows better than the reader that his words are meant for history, not revolution.
76
posted on
10/25/2005 8:33:55 AM PDT
by
Old Professer
(Fix the problem, not the blame!)
To: Phantom Lord
"The thing I like about Williams is his style of explanation in his use of everyday examples..."
The thing I like about Williams is the way he lords over his household and the gifts he buys for his wife! ;-)
77
posted on
10/25/2005 8:34:10 AM PDT
by
CSM
(When laws are written, they apply to ALL...Not just the yucky people you don't like. - HairOfTheDog)
To: backhoe
One of the definitions I heard of "genius" many years ago was "the art of taking something hard or complex, and making it look easy." He does that, and does it very well. I love that as an academic he refuses to obscure his ideas with self serving academic jargon. I imagine his clarity has unnerved many an intellectual opponent.
To: KMAJ2
I find this article by Sowell to be spot on, and if you step back, his analysis also applies the the current rift among conservatives. Ya got that right, at least from a lot of the Republican base.
But that does not explain all of it. Personally, I suspect a hidden agenda from some members of the lynch mob.
For instance, prior to this the Bush administration was in position to heavily influence selection of the next Republican presidential nominee. Weakening President Bush simultaneously opens the door to candidates who would find a strong President Bush an obstacle.
Likewise, this is a golden opportunity for some to "even the score". Politicians have enemies, most of whom will lie low when they perceive strength. But when they see weakness, the long knives come out and they extract revenge.
79
posted on
10/25/2005 8:34:49 AM PDT
by
EternalHope
(Boycott everything French forever. Including their vassal nations.)
To: counterpunch
Back during the 1930s, in the years leading up to World War II, one of the fashionable self-indulgences of the left in Britain was to argue that the British should disarm "as an example to others" in order to serve the interests of peace.
80
posted on
10/25/2005 8:36:49 AM PDT
by
Niteranger68
("Spare the rod, spoil the liberal.")
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