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Questions to Determine Whether a Friend or Relative Is a Liberal or a Leftist
Townhall.com ^ | March 2, 2021 | Dennis Prager

Posted on 03/02/2021 3:45:00 AM PST by Kaslin

The great tragedy of our time is that liberals vote left.

Virtually every value liberals have held for a century is now held by conservatives and scorned by leftists. Therefore, America, in serious jeopardy of being lost, will be saved when people convince the liberals in their life that the left, not the conservative, is their enemy.

This process begins by establishing whether a friend or relative is a liberal or a leftist. If it turns out that he or she is a liberal, it is worth engaging in respectful dialogue on the issues of the day. If the friend or relative is a leftist, you can probably only talk about innocuous subjects such as the weather (though not about global warming) or sports (though not about players taking a knee during the national anthem). If you talk about the great issues of the day with a left-wing friend or relative, that could be the last time you talk to each other. He or she is likely to unfriend you not only on social media but also in life. Leftists generally do not dialogue; they dismiss.

Here are questions you might want to pose to friends/relatives to determine -- as much for them as for you -- whether they are liberal or left.

Race

1. Many universities now have all-black dormitories, and some have all-black graduation exercises. Do you support these developments?

2. The University of California has declared this statement racist: "There is only one race -- the human race." Do you agree with the University of California, or do you agree with the statement?

3. Is the goal of being "colorblind" -- doing one's best to ignore a person's color and concentrating only on the person's character and personality -- a noble goal or a racist one?

4. Do you believe the color of a person's skin tells you anything of importance about that person?

5. Do you agree that all white Americans are racist?

6. If your answer is yes, would you tell the millions of blacks in Africa and the Caribbean who wish to emigrate to America that they would be making a poor decision? If not, why not?

7. Is it possible for a black person to be a racist?

8. Is it racist to claim that Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the greatest music ever composed?

9. Is the national anthem racist?

10. If your answer is yes, what would you like to put in its place?

11. The English Department at the University of Pennsylvania removed its painting of William Shakespeare because he was a white European male. Do you agree with that decision?

America

12. Do you agree with The New York Times' "1619 Project" that America was not founded in 1776 but in 1619 with the first arrival of black slaves in North America, and that the Revolutionary War was fought in order to preserve slavery?

13. Should statues of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln be taken down?

14. Has the United States, overall, made the world a better place?

15. Would America be better, worse, or the same as now if all Americans dropped their religion and became secular?

16. Has capitalism been a net-plus for America and the world?

17. Everyone would like to improve America. Some would like to, in their words, "fundamentally transform" it. Would you?

18. Could a good person have voted for Donald Trump in 2020?

19. Do you believe that CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times and the rest of the mainstream media are biased toward the left or try to present the news as accurately as possible?

20. Should America have full control over its borders to prevent illegal immigration?

21. There are between 11 and 30 million people in America who entered the country illegally. Should they all be put on a path to citizenship?

22. Should those who enter America illegally be called "undocumented immigrants" or "illegal immigrants"?

23. Do you believe police departments should be defunded, or at least have their budgets severely cut?

24. Should the government provide vouchers to enable parents to choose what school their child attends?

25. Which school do you believe is more likely to be attacked by a gunman: one that has a sign in front that reads, "Gun-Free Zone" or one that reads, "This School Has Armed Personnel"?Men and Women

26. Should it be legal for a teenage girl to have her breasts surgically removed because she identifies as a male -- or should there be a minimum age of 18 or 21?

27. School teachers have been told to stop calling students "boys and girls" because a student might not identify as either male or female. Do you agree with this policy?

28. Should biological males who identify as females be allowed to compete against biological females in sports?

29. Is the statement, "Men give birth" science-based?

30. Do you agree with the practice of inviting a drag queen into public libraries and elementary school classrooms to conduct a "Drag Queen Story Hour"?

Speech

31. Do you believe that free speech allows for hate speech, or should hate speech be banned?

32. If you believe hate speech should be banned, who do you believe should determine what is hate speech?

You might want to send these questions to the people in your life whose views are to the left of your own. At best, you (and they) will realize that you have more in common than either of you previously thought. At the very least, their answers will bring you both clarity. And at worst, they will explain why there is a rift between you -- and why you might want to restrict communication to weather, sports, recipes and warm memories.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: leftist
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1 posted on 03/02/2021 3:45:00 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Only Prager could handle this question!


2 posted on 03/02/2021 3:48:43 AM PST by Does so (The Media is the enemy of the people...Trial lawyers close behind...)
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To: Kaslin

Just one question: Are you entitled to my earnings?


3 posted on 03/02/2021 3:49:55 AM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: Kaslin

You can almost tell if someone is a liberal by just their appearance. And then you have to remember that they can identify us conservatives as well.


4 posted on 03/02/2021 3:50:09 AM PST by HighSierra5
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To: Kaslin

If they wont answer the questions while trying to sound intelligent (to themselves) then they are leftists


5 posted on 03/02/2021 3:50:20 AM PST by BRL
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To: kearnyirish2

If I were a liberal my answer would be: “Absolutely” But since I am not, my answer is No..


6 posted on 03/02/2021 3:54:55 AM PST by Kaslin (Joe Biden will never be my President, and neither will Kamala Harris)
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To: Kaslin

“How do you feel about the color orange?”


7 posted on 03/02/2021 3:59:57 AM PST by Antihero101607
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To: Kaslin

Here is one and only question, “who did you vote for” end of story


8 posted on 03/02/2021 4:00:49 AM PST by ronnie raygun
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To: Kaslin

Also, the amount of leftism is inversely proportional to how many questions they answer before yelling the f-word or “bigot” at you.


9 posted on 03/02/2021 4:02:25 AM PST by ReaganGeneration2
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To: Kaslin
18. Could a good person have voted for Donald Trump in 2020?

Save time and start with this question.

10 posted on 03/02/2021 4:05:54 AM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: Kaslin
My family *never* discusses politics. It makes for less stressful interactions. But living in the land of the Kennedys,the Kerrys and Princess Liawatha I know how the majority of people around here would answer.

The overwhelming majority in fact.

11 posted on 03/02/2021 4:08:33 AM PST by Gay State Conservative (Trump: "They're After You. I'm Just In The Way")
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To: Kaslin

Really, my experience has been that you don’t have to ask. Leftists will insert their opinion just to see if they can get a rise. When they get any push back though, they stomp off as if they are spoiled brats.


12 posted on 03/02/2021 4:09:40 AM PST by Bearshouse
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To: ReaganGeneration2

> Also, the amount of leftism is inversely proportional to how many questions they answer before yelling the f-word or “bigot” at you. <

Right. That’s why I usually follow a don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy. If a liberal friend or relative asks me a political question and wants a genuine discussion, okay. We’ll talk. But their questions are usually loaded. Their questions are traps of sorts.

I avoid such traps. I won’t be changing any minds anyway. Plus my blood pressure is high enough as it is.


13 posted on 03/02/2021 4:10:10 AM PST by Leaning Right (I have already previewed or do not wish to preview this composition )
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To: Kaslin

If you did present these questions, you would be called a racist just for asking them.


14 posted on 03/02/2021 4:12:50 AM PST by iontheball
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To: Bearshouse

......”my experience has been that you don’t have to ask”......

Generally that is so....you can tell as soon as they comment about daily ‘life’ because they’re a death cult when they support abortion.


15 posted on 03/02/2021 4:14:06 AM PST by caww
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33. Did Prager ever apologize to the late, great Bob Grant before he died?


16 posted on 03/02/2021 4:15:19 AM PST by bankwalker (groupthink kills ...)
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To: Kaslin

Only one question needed: Trump?


17 posted on 03/02/2021 4:19:54 AM PST by ConservaTexan (February 6, 1911/June 14, 1944)
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To: Leaning Right

........”their questions are usually loaded. Their questions are traps of sorts.”......

Great observation and true. They want to generally just hear themselves talk about their own political positions.....


18 posted on 03/02/2021 4:22:15 AM PST by caww
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To: kearnyirish2; HighSierra5

“Entitled to my earnings...”

The answer is “yes” for all as long as we have a givernment. Besides, there are many FReepers who get their social security checks because your earnings are confiscated. (I know, I know ... they “paid into it...it’s mine”). The argument is to how much is the givernment entitled. But the more fundamental question is what is the proper role and size of the givernment, and only then do you debate how to fund it. Our givernment runs in the opposite direction. They mandate how much they are going to vacuum out of your wallet, then they figure how they are going to spend every penny and more. Since the “wise” courts have held since FDR that the feral givernment’s powers are not limited to those enumerated in the Constitution (they even find stuff that’s not even in the Constitution!), almost none of the now living have any experience to know what it’s like to live under really limited givernment. It’s a nice idea about the past until it is cleaned out of the history books by the big tech censors and thought police. Very difficult to convince people that the givernment needs to be limited when they cannot comprehend the idea based on their experience.

But back to Prager, some of his questions are not that great. But to a complete stranger, I don’t need 32 questions to figure out whether someone is a leftist, a liberal, or a parrot who spouts slogans that the media puts into their heads. To an acquaintance or family member, I could get by with no questions in many cases. As Sierra said, you can tell without talking - looking at the way they are dressed. But if that doesn’t work, you can tell just by listening to whatever it is they chatter and cackle about, cliches, slogans, empty phrases.


19 posted on 03/02/2021 4:27:06 AM PST by Susquehanna Patriot ( )
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To: Kaslin

Do you drive a Subaru or a Prius?


20 posted on 03/02/2021 4:37:19 AM PST by bramps (It's the Islam, stupid!)
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