Traffic School and Liberal Thinking
Just finished my traffic school exam. Did an online course, wasn't too bad; took about 4-5 hours all told to read through the material and finish the test. As irritating as it is, I must admit that it was also somewhat useful; for example, I never actually knew some of the legal definitions of DUI before, nor the specifics of Kaitlyn's law.
On another note, it's difficult to avoid hearing about the issues these days between liberals and conservatives. Yet some folks seem to find it quite impossible to actually clearly explain the basic differences. People get all emotional about it and any attempt to actually clarify what a "liberal" is vs. a "conservative" evolves into a fight about gun control, abortion or whatever.
So as a public service tonight, I would like to offer the following definition of the liberal mindset. If you fit this you are probably a liberal. If it annoys you or you start listing exceptions, you are probably a conservative. It's actually quite simple:
When evaluating an issue that has two distinct viewpoints, consider yourself as the loser on each side; if one viewpoint forces you to accept a pre-defined result, whereas the other allows you to ignore its consequences, then you will support the latter.
Obvious examples:
Gay Marriage - a gay couple wishing to be married have no ability to ignore a restriction on doing so (loser cannot ignore result); a person not enamored of the concept can turn their eyes away and snort in disgust but go on with their lives (loser can ignore result). Liberal viewpoint supports removing the restriction.
Abortion - a woman wishing to terminate will have no choice to ignore her baby if forced to come to term (loser cannot ignore result); a person opposed to abortion can spend friday dinner deriding her choice (loser can ignore result). Note that the whole argument about "protecting the fetus" does not come into play within the constraints of the definition provided above, because a fetus is not capable of choice (cruel as that may be). Liberals will therefore support the right for abortion.
Gun control - a person who loves guns can still choose to live without them (loser can ignore result); a person being shot cannot choose to ignore the bullet (loser cannot ignore result). Thus a liberal will support a restriction.
These are of course quite obvious examples, but the point is that this guideline seems to work well in subtler issues as well, and seems to slice right through the liberal/conservative difference in mindset. It isn't surprising; liberalism is enshrined in individualism (or is it the other way around?), whereas conservatism is generally societal/communal.
Oh, hell. Look what traffic school's doing to me, it's like verbal diarreah. G'night y'all.
On another note, it's difficult to avoid hearing about the issues these days between liberals and conservatives. Yet some folks seem to find it quite impossible to actually clearly explain the basic differences. People get all emotional about it and any attempt to actually clarify what a "liberal" is vs. a "conservative" evolves into a fight about gun control, abortion or whatever.
So as a public service tonight, I would like to offer the following definition of the liberal mindset. If you fit this you are probably a liberal. If it annoys you or you start listing exceptions, you are probably a conservative. It's actually quite simple:
When evaluating an issue that has two distinct viewpoints, consider yourself as the loser on each side; if one viewpoint forces you to accept a pre-defined result, whereas the other allows you to ignore its consequences, then you will support the latter.
Obvious examples:
Gay Marriage - a gay couple wishing to be married have no ability to ignore a restriction on doing so (loser cannot ignore result); a person not enamored of the concept can turn their eyes away and snort in disgust but go on with their lives (loser can ignore result). Liberal viewpoint supports removing the restriction.
Abortion - a woman wishing to terminate will have no choice to ignore her baby if forced to come to term (loser cannot ignore result); a person opposed to abortion can spend friday dinner deriding her choice (loser can ignore result). Note that the whole argument about "protecting the fetus" does not come into play within the constraints of the definition provided above, because a fetus is not capable of choice (cruel as that may be). Liberals will therefore support the right for abortion.
Gun control - a person who loves guns can still choose to live without them (loser can ignore result); a person being shot cannot choose to ignore the bullet (loser cannot ignore result). Thus a liberal will support a restriction.
These are of course quite obvious examples, but the point is that this guideline seems to work well in subtler issues as well, and seems to slice right through the liberal/conservative difference in mindset. It isn't surprising; liberalism is enshrined in individualism (or is it the other way around?), whereas conservatism is generally societal/communal.
Oh, hell. Look what traffic school's doing to me, it's like verbal diarreah. G'night y'all.
posted by Blinkered at 11:10 PM
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