Comments on: A mind isn’t such a difficult thing to change, after all

By: Americaneocon

Americaneocon — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:45:44 +0000

Well, in California, start in Berkeley, heading away from the Bay Area, preferable East, and just about any destination’s likely to get you away from the lefty Dems.

Good work!!

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:53:39 +0000

The question is: ‘Changing from what to what’?
I find it interesting that people label themselves. [True, for clarification on right or left blogs we do].
But labels are so arbitrary. More importantly these labels make the assumption that any one person is a caricature stitched together from all the extreme elements of one label or another. So, for instance, the idea that “all Liberals [or Conservatives] no matter who they are, where they live or what experiences they have all think just exactly alike and never waver one way or another” gets propagated all the time.
This, of course, is just not true. Most Americans are Independent and flow back and forth between Democrat and Republican. The political tides change according to what’s going on and how the news is perceived.
I would guess [I would hope actually] that someone would not abandon every belief they have and suddenly go the other way on every issue. That to me would be an issue much deeper than politics. [Take Chris Hitchens as an example.] That said, many neocons actually have views on many subjects that we would label liberal but they get clumped in with Bush and Conservative thinking.
The 9/11 experience definitely had an impact. And it should have. But some just as surely become less hawkish or stayed the same politically for whatever reason. [NY City hardly became a Conservative town]. The hawkish view is an instinctual and somewhat more proactive view given the circumstances. The question is how hawkish. How Conservative? I don’t think there is one answer.

By: Vanderleun

Vanderleun — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:52:04 +0000

Didn’t click the link at all, did you Matt?

By: Kamper

Kamper — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:54:44 +0000

Those instructions go in either direction!

I’m sure it’s a coincidence that, on the map provided, one travels left to get to Democrat and right to get to Republican.

By: nyomythus

nyomythus — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:52:57 +0000

There is a wing of Leftism that is not liberal at all, but has robbed the liberal identify, a Leftism that has abandoned classical America principles. We depart from the myrmidons of neoliberalism because it values politically correct rhetoric over freedom of speech, compassion for the suicidal underdog over the defense of western freedoms, equality of outcome over the equality of opportunity, socially constructed victimhood over self-reliance, radical environmentalism over measurable and validatable science, solipsism and the parochial over culture and modernity, we’ve seen it coming, and the sun has risen, bon voyage, sayonara.

By: nyomythus

nyomythus — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:54:16 +0000

Any questions?

By: Synova

Synova — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:22:14 +0000

I drive through Liberal, Kansas between “home” and where I live now.

There’s an Air Force museum (or something) there and I always figure I should stop but we’re always in a hurry.

By: sergey

sergey — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:54:09 +0000

The link does not work. It is read “Forbidden. You have not access to this server”.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:37:28 +0000

nyomythus
Not taking a neo-conservative position is not the same as taking a terrorist one.

By: Don

Don — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:38:40 +0000

While as noted above the road goes both ways, it’s interesting that no matter which way you go, you have to drive on the right. Coincidence? Or … ?

By: FredHjr

FredHjr — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:23:58 +0000

Matt,

What is a neo-conservative? I would like to know your definition of it. No tricks on my part. I would like to know. Define it for me.