New Republic Magazine says Liberalism is Dying

Originally posted by AlabamaCajun

The point is both Conservativism and Liberalism are both being destroyed where most people tend to be moderate and use the benefits of both to keep checks and balances.
The GOP needs to kick out the corporate backers and go back to being the party that tightens spending and stops throwing money at Impiorialistic world conquests, corperate giveaways and runaway spending. (Try spending the money on the troops for a change and miltary hardware that works, not the Privatization that we have today).
The DNC needs to focus on it's core issues, caring about the people, but no free handouts for everyone, just those who need it. Keeping the environment a top priority, a large percentage of other countries are in support of cleaning up while we reduce our controls. Human rights, rights of choice and preservation and protection of the constitution form people who think they can rise above it and vilate the priciples set forth.
Commerce, Media and Religion should be their own institutions out of government while still following the laws that are governed of and by the people. [/quote

He makes a good point here in my opinion despite any taint of revisionism he might bring to the table. The only people celebrating the path our current government is taking are those who stand to make a buck on privatization and cultural reactionaries scared of the future. At least thats my opinion.

I'm sure that back during the excesses of Liberalism there where plenty of liberals unhappy with the path things were taking as well. I know for a fact that I was and stil am unhappy with the democratic obsession with gun control and PC nonsense.

The fact is that any form of political extremism inevitably leads toward downfall

[edit on 1-3-2005 by boogyman]

Clutching my chest, barely able to type, one last final post...

Originally posted by centurion1211
From a very liberal magazine:

LOSING OUR DELUSIONS.

Which is I why I'm so fond of conservative magazines. The news is better.

Liberals control the media!
Liberalism rampant in schools!
Liberal thought police coming to get you (and your guns)!
Liberals control the world's resources!
Liberals invented global warming! (That was me. I made it in my garage.)
Liberals waging war on God, family, fatherhood!
Liberals persecuting Christians!
Liberalism pervades science, art, technology, entertainment, all our cities and all parts of the globe not at war with us.

Ask yourself: Who is a truly influential liberal mind in our culture?

Jesus.

Whose ideas challenge and whose ideals inspire?

Frank Thomas. Jimmy Carter. Barack Obama. Me.

*More on this point later.

Whose books and articles are read and passed around?

Uh, according to conservative conspiracy theory, all of them. They're all liberal.

There's no one, really.

Except those on the best seller list, dominated by liberals.

What's left is the laundry list: the catalogue of programs (some dubious, some not) that Republicans aren't funding, and the blogs, with their daily panic dose about how the Bush administration is ruining the country.

Strictly a liberal undertaking I suppose. Republican Internet gatherings to plen-t-plaint about the insideous liberal conspiracy to take over the world are exempt.

Though it is nice to see a prominent liberal author from a "very liberal magazine" passed around as evidence prominent liberal authors, liberal magazines and the like are dying.

* I "get" the author's point though. Liberalism doesn't rally around cults of personality as they have in the past, and conservatism does to a flaw with ever increasing purpose. That's the point. Though Majic (for example) may disagree and say liberalism does rally around phantom cults of personality like Marx, I don't see it that way. Liberalism is much more a platonic pursuit of the ideal with a keen understanding and acceptance (not denial) of a society or system's shortcomings and flaws, with an ever evolving eye for address and reform. Above all, an adherance to multiple perspectives and common pursuit of the greatest good whilst seeking to avoid the greatest harm. Though it's political "popularity" may ebb and flow in the face of rampant disinformation efforts and political attack, it's not going anywhere. And for all intensive purposes is about as enlightened as corporeal man can get in my humble opinion. Though it may not pay for today's televangelists to wave the same Christian socialist banner their predecessors once did in dust bowl pulpits across America and around the world, they'll be back. The current circus of Christo-Capitalism upon which the extremely fragile Republi-Corporate "rule" is based is a house of cards on a foundation of sand, barely even hiding the money changers inside.

It's going to fall and fall hard sayeth the Lord.

[edit on 1-3-2005 by RANT]

During the last election, a bus full of liberals was travelling down a highway when the bus suddenly veered off the road, and over a cliff, finally ending up smashed in a farmers field far below.

When rescue and law enforcement people arrived at the scene, they found only the wreckage of the bus and a farmer tidying up his field - there were no victims, no people to be seen anywhere.

Law enforcement, curious as to what had happened, asked the farmer if there were any people around from the crash. "Plenty of them." the farmer replied, "They were laying around all over the place.". "Where are they now?", asked the rescue teams. The farmer's response was simply, "I buried them."

An incredulous deputy asked, "But were they all dead?"

To that, the farmer's reply was, " Well, some of them said they weren't, but you know how none of those liberals ever tells the truth!".















Interesting metaphor for what happened in the last election, don't you think?

[edit on 3/1/2005 by centurion1211]

Originally posted by centurion1211
To that, the farmer's reply was, " Well, some of them said they weren't, but you know how none of those liberals ever tells the truth!".

Then the farmer feeling rather full of himself surveyed his accomplishment.

I just buried some liberals just like the ones that made sure my little town had a federally secured bank that would fairly extend a poor dirt farmer like me a loan to even have a farm that I couldn't afford to make payments on without the USDA guarantee of buying my crop wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, upland cotton, rice, soybeans and peanuts at regulated living wages so they can distribute them in the Food Defense Fund also known as the same food stamps issued to my daughter in law as a necessary Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance while my son is off escorting oil tankers in Iraq as an employee of the Federal government for his chosen career, but you know it's just not enough for my grandkids to get by on so I think I'll take the paved state road home to the house I secured through a Housing and Urban Development program for people like me and turn on the light that regulated electrification programs allowed us rural folk to finally be able to affordably see at night and not freeze to death, then after pouring myself a drink of cool, refreshing water the EPA gurantees is safe and taking both a bath and a dump INSIDE which my own grandfather never got to do, I think I'll check the mail for my wife's disability from social security and since most of her medicine and healthcare are covered by medicaid we can spend some of that on the grandkids, or maybe save it and with a little help send 'em on up to State College when they get older, since the local social worker at their public school says they got all kinds of college programs for farm kids.

Yes Sir. I am one self made man prideful of my lack of self deception. Not a lying or liberal bone in this body.

Liberalism is NOT dying. nothing of the sort. the damn conservatives and republicans are trying to beat us down, any way they can.

Run Liberal Run

Originally posted by Kitsunegari
Liberalism is NOT dying. nothing of the sort. the damn conservatives and republicans are trying to beat us down, any way they can.

Hey everybody, lookit! You missed one. It's a Liberal! Quick, get the net!

Now you just sit still right there while the boys get the Welcome Wagon ready.

Don't you mind them shotguns they's a-totin'.

After all, guns don't kill people, people do!

BRING IT ON, Majic, I can take any durn conservative, anyday. LOL

GRR, FEAR ME FOR I AM A PISSED OFF LIBERAL!!!!!

Pragmatic Weapons Of Ideological War

Originally posted by Kitsunegari

GRR, FEAR ME FOR I AM A PISSED OFF LIBERAL!!!!!

Why should I fear you?

I know you don't have a gun, because you have no "sporting purpose" for it and "guns are bad, ummmkay?"

If you're English, you probably don't even have a long pointy knife on you.

Meanwhile, I live in a state where any child over the age of four is expected to own and properly maintain a firearm.

Do you really think you can "take me"?

I'm still amazed how you conservative "patriots" are so eager for liberalism to die. So you want a one-party state with only one ideology? A nation with no political balance? You know what that's called right? It's called Authoritarianism. In this case it would be FACISM.

But don't worry, liberalism (or conservatism) won't ever die. The pendulum is constantly swinging back and forth. The fight between liberals and conservatives has been present in all societies for the entirety of human history. It's a constant struggle between those that want open-society and progress as opposed to a more structured society that keeps things they way they are.

In many instances, this conflict has broken into open warfare: Spanish civil war (both of them), Mexican civil war, WWII, French Revolution, Soviet Revoultion, etc. Neither side will ever wipe the other out...know why? Because they need each other. Society needs balance. We see what happens when there is none: Nazi Germany, Facist Italy, Mao's China, Soviet Union. I'm sure you people wouldn't mind an autocratic conservative state ruled by a succession of Bush's, but such a system would eventually collapse on itself.

I myself am on the liberal "side" (as if you couldn't tell), and frankly, I think modern day American conservatives (aka Bushies) are scum unworthy of breathing the same air I do. However, I wouldn't want conservatism to completely die away leaving liberals with unlimited power. With unlimted power comes...well you know how it goes.

Liberalism will eventually wax again, we just have to get some organization. Which is harder for us because we tend to be more individualistic and free-spirited as opposed to little cookie-cutter automatons that spout the same garbage handed down from Scott McClellan and spread by right-wing radio. Oh.....did i go to far there? Ah well, screw it.

You Talkin' To Me?

Originally posted by Flinx
I'm still amazed how you conservative "patriots" are so eager for liberalism to die. So you want a one-party state with only one ideology?

Sorry if I tripped your Pavlovian “conservative” trigger.

I don't buy into the whole “liberal/conservative” false dichotomy shell game.

Majic don't play dat.

I'm a registered Libertarian who almost never votes Libertarian, and is rather pissed off at the Democrats for not making a better showing.

Dems. Dudes. You really need to take a few puffs and chill the frack out.

You are totally making a scene, and this Howard Dean guy is like, so totally not cool. Someone slip that guy a lude. Please.

Here's the deal: I vote for candidates whom I think will best represent me.

Pretty radical concept, isn't it?

I like to think of myself as a trend setter.

Locally, we have some great Democrats I would gladly vote for in a heartbeat -- if the DNC would stop making them say things that cause me to want to call an ambulance to take these poor bastards in for psychiatric evaluation.

Harry Reid is one of my senators. Before he became the senate minority leader, he used to make sense.

I love Harry Reid, and used to be proud that he was one of my senators. He used to be a nice, level-headed, reasonable guy.

Now he sounds like he went off his meds.

I do not want a one-party system. That leads to nothing less than totalitarianism.

I prefer at least two sane and rational parties to choose from.

So far, no dice.

Please. I beg you.

Give me someone I can vote for.

Originally posted by Majic
So far, no dice.

Please. I beg you.

Give me someone I can vote for.

Sorry, I can't do that. I'm not the one controlling the Democratic party. Ask those guys, I've got nothing to do with it... If they decide to pick a less than spectacular candidate like last time, there's not much I can do about it. It's a matter of picking between the less stinky of two turds (mmm...lovely image). Personally, I'm hoping for Wesley Clark in '08. Hell, I'm not above voting for a republican if I think they'd do a good job. But having seen the transformation of the Republcian base into the polar opposite of everything I believe in, I see that as unlikely. It's not party though...it's ideology.

And there's nothing Pavlovian or instinctual about my response to conservatism. I've thought it through long and hard in recent years (I think alot, maybe too much) and decided I just plain don't like it. Also, despite what many think the left/right continuum does exist. Like I said in that long rant, it always has. It's just that most people are somewhere in the middle. Various politcal parties are somewhere on that scale as well. There was a 4-way political system I saw somewhere that I found interesting. Maybe that would better represent the politics of America in 2005.

Majic, i will beat you down with my hippie death ray!(oxy moron)

on a more serious note, that was a really stereotyping comment. so im a liberal, sue me. that doesnt mean i dont own a gun, because i do. not all liberals are the same. i agree with most of liberalism, but not everything they say. and im sure many other liberals can say the same.

--Kit.

the only good liberal is no liberal at all. i hope everybody knows how many times the liberals lied to the face of the taxpayer and lied again and again over 218 times. it was in my newspaper before the elections, 218 reasons not to vote liberal. paul martin was the only reason i needed. i dont understand why those thick skull newfies vote liberal... they steal your money too and waste it on things like a $220 dollar WREATH! paul martin bought... just a bunch of money sharks.

[edit on 20-2-2006 by GrowingConspiracy]

The topic of this thread is retarded. Not everyone fits into the narrow minded American political spectrum.
Cheers Xpert11.