The most extreme of either party are unwilling to listen to any other points of view; so you are correct. To answer your question I need to know what is the definition of a liberal? Seneca
a functional definition might be.. a conservative is someone who prides himself on having been placed out in the middle of field many miles at age of 5 could find his way home. a liberal having discovered the child's plight would take him in, feed him, and help him find his way back. so, perhaps the short answer is empathy for another?
I think part of the problem is that many conservatives view the present administration as an extension of Reagan and conservatism, simply because its Republican. The two could not be more different. Liberals on the other hand have never given Reagan his due and don't understand a very important point: For every $1 Reagan increased military spending, the congress increased domestic spending by $1.03. So who is really to blame? One thing about Reagan, he had an unflenching belief in core principles, but he also knew when to punt. He compromised much more than Bush. He understood that politics is really about compromise. And he did so without sacrificing his core principles: a strong military, tax policy that favoured growth and individual liberty. Bush, on the other hand, ran on a platform of no "nation building". Look what that got us! I think there are valuable ideas on both sides. It seems more and more that it is the extreme right and left that are dominating national politics.
True story, just yesterday I was talking to an old man who didn't trust Obama because he was Muslim, poor dumb fuck. He said he gets his information from listening to Rush and Hannity. Then he went on to tell me how Bush was the right man at the right time, how Iraq is a success and how the democrats are responsible for all the problems of the Bush presidency and the national debt and how Clinton is also responsible for the current spending problem. There are a large percentage of republicans just as stupid and out of touch as this man. He actually thinks Jesus would vote republican. Republicans, the stupidity would be funny if they weren't so dangerous.
Not bad. However, IMO, the reason debate is usually futile is that BOTH parties are classical liberals. Here is one definition from an online dictionary (other non biased sources will be similar): " 2. a political or social philosophy advocating the freedom of the individual, parliamentary systems of government, nonviolent modification of political, social, or economic institutions to assure unrestricted development in all spheres of human endeavor, and governmental guarantees of individual rights and civil liberties. " So IMO being called a liberal is a nice compliment. Seneca
David Brooks is starting to float this idea that the party has been hijacked by stupid poor southern rural dumb fucks. if they don't wake up, they'll never win a national election or a majority in congress again. They have to abandon the immigration issue or they lose the Latinos, and if they abandon the immigration issues get who these new Americans are going to vote for. For the GOP, the future is lose-lose
The human genome project refuted the idea that life started in Africa and the "New, Improved Model" appeared in Europe 50,000 years later. You don't hear about that at all though. Really, it was the biggest news of the last hundred years, was it not? fricking "science" and this culture make me sick... Liberals used their political power in the last century to take over the schools and the media. Then they bashed Bush 24/7 for 8 years, poured three quarters of a Billion dollars into an advertising campaign and took the White House.. does that prove that they are right about anything? No, they can be, and likely are, completely wrong about every thing but it does not matter to them at all...
Do you have a citation for the refutation of the out of Africa thesis? this article written last year affirms with recent DNA findings the out of Africa theory. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070509161829.htm Seneca