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A few weeks ago I was listening to a radio show and the host referred to liberals as "compassionate" and conservatives as "mean".

Well, I went off. I cornered my kids and made them listen to the idiot then gave them a little lecture. In the example I gave, I recalled an issue I'd had with my son at the beginning of the school year. He'd forgotten his homework, called home and begged me to bring it to him. I told him, "This is your *ONE* freebie for the year. I will only do this for you one time, after that, you're on your own. Are you sure you want to use it right now?" He assured me that this assignment was *that* important and I took his homework up to the school for him.

Later that *same* week, he called again in a total panic. He'd forgotten his homework and *this* assignment was *SO* much more important than the last!

I told him, "tough cookies," and hung up. He hasn't forgotten another assignment.

I told the kids that I *did* hurt for him at that moment. I was tempted to help him. But I knew, if I did, that he'd never learn responsibility and I'd be handicapping him for life. I told them that *this* is the difference between the left and right. The left feels compassion for the moment, the right looks down the road and sees that it's sometimes better to allow someone to suffer a little now so they don't suffer forever.

Over and over I've seen this example played out in real life. I see the young woman who's parents never gave her a break and pushed her to be smart and do her best and I see the young woman who had (at least one) parent who enabled her to get away with murder out of a displaced feeling of "compassion". And I see the end results.

NO. Compassion does NOT mean giving and enabling and sheltering people from the natural consequences of their own actions. Compassion allows us to help people who've genuinely been screwed by life or other people, not by themselves.

“The host referred to liberals as “compassionate” and conservatives as “mean”.

My theory (maybe lame brained)is that the driving force behind radical liberal ideas is Narcissism - that is, an unhealthy preoccupation with your own feelings, and how you feel a need to project those feelings with the aim of public approval. Narcissism clouds the mind, so for example, when faced with a choice or dilemma, you or me would put some thought into your decision, make a choice and that would be it. With a Narcissist, however, their first reaction is “what is the right way of describing this situation ?” or “how will I look in the eyes of others” ; their secondary reaction will be that any disadvantaged person is in difficulty because someone, or something, is to blame.
Another symptom of this is the person’s obsession with levelling ie. every single human being is equal. Taken to extreme the tribesman running through the New Guinea jungle is equal to the Wall St fund manager living on Park Avenue.
Modern Narcissism really took off on America’s West coast in the mid 60s (sorry some of you freepers!) but it has spread out all over the Western World. However, of all the first world , developed societies Liberal Narcissism will have the least success in the United States.I say this from visiting and speaking to people over there, and it strikes me that you Yanks, unlike Europeans, are an obstinate bunch - decent and honest - but will not allow noisy minority interest groups to tell you what to say and think.
I mean, Free Republic is proof of this.

Of course this is only a theory, after all I am I am only a commercial real estate agent not an anthropologist; so it goes without saying reply if you think this is wrong.