What you posted above is called an appeal to authority: "The professionals say so, so it must be true." You didn't even bother to name the "professionals".
With regard to your other post #197:
Consider these two opposing statements:
The most important asset “instilled” by Asians to their children is their genetic heritage. . . . That intellectual gift bestowed upon Asians (properly nurtured, of course) is the unspeakable “elephant in the room” for their success as a group.
On the one hand, you're saying Asians are bestowed genetically with an intellectual gift, and that gift is their key to success, as long as it is properly nurtured.
We can dream all we want about “everyone” being “equal” and capable of the same things, “if only we give them the chances they deserve”, etc., etc.
But, here you're saying nurture makes no difference. Those statements are conflicting.
the baseline for true conservatism is being able to see the reality of the human condition for what it is.
No, conservatism is about natural law, individualism, and free will. Conservatives judge what people do as individuals, not as members of a group. Grouping people is what the Left does. And conservatism is about taking responsibility, not making excuses.
“We can dream all we want about “everyone” being “equal” and capable of the same things, “if only we give them the chances they deserve”, etc., etc. (me)
But, here you’re saying nurture makes no difference. Those statements are conflicting.” (you)
I never said that. Dreams do not make things real. I suggest reading comprehension 101.
“the baseline for true conservatism is being able to see the reality of the human condition for what it is. (me)
No, conservatism is about natural law, individualism, and free will. Conservatives judge what people do as individuals, not as members of a group. Grouping people is what the Left does. And conservatism is about taking responsibility, not making excuses.” (you)
Your definition of “what conservatism is” is what _you_ believe it to be. It may not actually be what it is.
Conservatives at times behave as irrationally as we believe liberals do as a matter of course. That is to be expected, for all people are subject to the same failings, regardless of political persuasion.
One of the most striking “conservative” statements I ever read was a simple line:
“Reality is what it is. It is not what we believe it to be”.
That guy said it all. Without being able to see things squarely “as they are”, we’ve no chance to deal with the problems those truths present before us.
There are those in this thread who have chosen (at great risk, even on a forum such as FR) to confront “reality” squarely as it is, without glossing it over or slurping on psuedo-conservative platitudes. Those platitudes often become a balm, a salve to alleviate our inner guilt and frustration. They become a vector for us “to make excuses” (your words above) so that we _don’t_ have to “take responsibility” and deal with the dilemmas before us.
Where am I going with my reply? I think the “reality” of what confronts us (regarding the thread title subject) is that there are some problems that really don’t have “solutions” — at least not those of an “egalitarian” nature.
There are some “gaps” that cannot be closed.
(Suggestion: read “We Are Doomed” by John Derbyshire. A seminal, modern conservative work.)