Oh....that explains it!
- Thread starter CANTDRIVE55
- Start date
Nice one IMHO.
Jim, You realize what your problem is, we all have problems of some sort. I'm just saying that when I'm not sure how to spell a word, I cut the word from what I'm writing, put it on an open email, the email will tell me if it is spelled incorrectly, I click on the word and a correct spelling comes up. I cut the word and paste it on what I'm writing. I guess what make me nuts is that I know you are an intelligent guy and the misspelled words detract from that. I'm not trying to bully you, sorry if it seemed like that.
Oh how much chaos and confusion those two little words create when spoken or typed aloud...liberal and conservative.
I didn't know that I had to live my life in a box, of my choosing or someone elses. So long as some group tries to redefine a word or label to suit their ends, I refuse to participate in any self-labeling.
Let's see here...my background is that of a redneck, white, blue collar family. And yet I'm the only one who has gone to college...several times. Not because I can't finish, but because my interests change and I pursue them. Not ready to lock myself into any "field of expertise" which is what most people assume a bachelors, masters or doctorate is. Aside from some very good doctors, engineers, and scientists, I fear that a higher degree does not lend credence to "expertise" in their chosen field.
By most peoples reckoning, I would be considered a conservative...and yet...
I support equal rights, especially those of homosexuals (including service in the military). There are already tens of thousands, if not more, homosexuals serving in the military...I for one do not want to alienate someone who may save my life, based on their sexual orientation. I don't believe that marriage has anything to do with religion anymore...so I say let homosexuals get married. Hell, straight people can't seem to stick to a self-imposed commitment...why not let homosexuals be as miserable as the rest of us?
I support a woman's right to choose regarding abortion. I don't have to carry a child for 9 months, nor will I be stuck raising one for the rest of their adolescence if my partner decides to pack off after knocking one out. (This isn't to say I would abandon my parental responsibilities, financial or otherwise, just that in our society, it seems that women bear the brunt of that...and this is speaking as the child of a single mother.)
I support legalization of marijuana. Anything that can help put some semblance of control on the growing border war with the cartels and violence stemming from it is a good thing. Not to mention the benefits of taxation, and restoration of a practice that was legal until the 1920s. George Washington smoked reefer and he somehow managed to lead a newborn nation towards full independence, both before and after the war.
Those three alone put me solidly into the "liberal" camp...and yet amazingly, all are about me supporting someone elses right to CHOOSE, not hampering them in any way. Crazy huh?
My only issue with the idea of finding a genetic link, is that too many people use a genetic predisposition as an excuse or justification. Alcoholism, drug addiction, abuse in it's myriad forms. So which is it? Do we have CHOICE, or is it genetic predestination?
Am I genetically "confused" because I harbor both controversial "liberal" traits AND "conservative" traits? Should I abandon choice derived from reason to satisfy those who tell me "it's not my fault"?
John,
We probably disagree on a lot of things, but on this post, I give you pretty much 100% agreement.
Is a conservative a redneck gun-toting bible basher -NO!
Is a Liberal a Homosexual teacher afraid of a fight - NO!
Boxes and labels muddy the waters. If I say I am conservative then labels stick to me like shit to a blanket - most of which are complete bollocks. Same goes if you call yourself a Liberal.
I have read your posts with interest and some I find very gung-ho, but this is post is exactly where a debate should be. Interesting and well thought out.
In terms of a genetic predisposition, the "Conservatives" will say that there is no such thing and that it is all the fault of the individual, and the "Liberal" will say that it's not their fault, they were just born that way.
Nature / Nurture. This is interesting, because it flags up the fact that both "camps" are wrong and that the answer lies somewhere in the middle....
Kind of like most of us on here - we exist (I imagine for the most part) somewhere in the middle of the political spectrum.
We only polarise our beliefs as a reaction to what other people say on the forum.
Try this one for size - If I met you in a bar in Wyoming and we had a few beers together, then I imagine that although we may disagree on a lot, we would also completely agree on a lot.
After a few more beers, we'd be firm friends and value each others opinion, and may even have moved a tad towards each others position through good conversation and reasoned debate.
Now Juxtapose that will the mud slinging on this forum. People overtly taking the piss out of Jim because he can't spell (that's a tad elitist isn't it). I was guilty of that a while back, for which I apologised to the person I was taking the piss out of.
It is so difficult to moderate the points we make in a medium such as this and we end up pouring vitriol off the page in an attempt to match the other sides mudslinging.
Then we get nowhere.
Anyway john, I liked your post and its honesty.
Cheers fella,
Graham.
Pat
Supporter
Thanks Nick, I appreciation the clarification. You may not always have my agreement but you certainly have my respect.
I often wonder, as stated on another blog topic, what it would be like to have a beer with other posters on the forum. I suspect it would have little of the tension and a lot of more of the camaraderie.
Perhaps we should have an international GT40s.com convention to test the theory.
John,
We probably disagree on a lot of things, but on this post, I give you pretty much 100% agreement.
Is a conservative a redneck gun-toting bible basher -NO!
Is a Liberal a Homosexual teacher afraid of a fight - NO!
Boxes and labels muddy the waters. If I say I am conservative then labels stick to me like shit to a blanket - most of which are complete bollocks. Same goes if you call yourself a Liberal.
I have read your posts with interest and some I find very gung-ho, but this is post is exactly where a debate should be. Interesting and well thought out.
Interesting is a polite way of putting it
I find it amusing and alarming at the same rate that my posts are interpreted as "gung-ho"...as a person, I have a very intense personality and it suits me for what I do in my career(s) and in my private life.
Would you want a sloppy, careless, inattentive machinist making the precision components for your hand-built automobile? No way in hell would I be satisfied letting that kind of work leave my shop, not with my name on it or my time in it.
If I am "gung-ho" about being a citizen-soldier, then what do you say about an ER nurse or neurosurgeon who is emphatic about their adrenaline rush at solving problems to save lives? Or an adventure-sportsman who jumps out of planes, off buildings, antennas, or cliffs? Or a law enforcement agent who loves being immersed in tough cases? Or a chef who enjoys experimenting with new ingredients and styles of cooking? Or an architect who pushes boundaries to design and build innovative and evocative buildings?
I daresay no-one would critique any of them for being "gung-ho". The fact of the matter is that killing isn't politically correct. And because of that, it's easy to deride my emphatic responses as being over the top. Please remember that I don't ENJOY killing, it is unfortunately what the job entails. Don't like it, change US policy so that myself and others never have to do it again.
In terms of a genetic predisposition, the "Conservatives" will say that there is no such thing and that it is all the fault of the individual, and the "Liberal" will say that it's not their fault, they were just born that way.
Nature / Nurture. This is interesting, because it flags up the fact that both "camps" are wrong and that the answer lies somewhere in the middle....
Kind of like most of us on here - we exist (I imagine for the most part) somewhere in the middle of the political spectrum.
We only polarise our beliefs as a reaction to what other people say on the forum.
I get pretty damned polarized when someone dares tell me they know what's best for other people. Not many ways to get on my bad side quicker than tell me how to live my life, or what I'm allowed to do with it.
Try this one for size - If I met you in a bar in Wyoming and we had a few beers together, then I imagine that although we may disagree on a lot, we would also completely agree on a lot.
After a few more beers, we'd be firm friends and value each others opinion, and may even have moved a tad towards each others position through good conversation and reasoned debate.
I would tip a few with many of the ornery bastards on this forum, any time, any location!
Now Juxtapose that will the mud slinging on this forum. People overtly taking the piss out of Jim because he can't spell (that's a tad elitist isn't it). I was guilty of that a while back, for which I apologised to the person I was taking the piss out of.
It is so difficult to moderate the points we make in a medium such as this and we end up pouring vitriol off the page in an attempt to match the other sides mudslinging.
Then we get nowhere.
Anyway john, I liked your post and its honesty.
Cheers fella,
Graham.
Just as an aside, I don't let the stuff people say on here bother me. Sorry fellas, but what many of you may think of me simply doesn't affect my life. At worst, it becomes a point of consternation and annoyance, but after posting a response, it is of little relevance to the life I am busy living.
No worries, as I said to my wife we have been happly married for 25 years, she pointed out we have been maried 26.5 years , to which I replied, well no ones perfect. Luckily she knows me quite well so I got away with that one.
Great idea about the convention, pity it's so far, suggest you only allow happy drunks to go.
When I was a student we had a few aggressive drunks in our circle, and being the slightly older, couple of pints only guy, it was always me that had to get them out of trouble.
Total thread drift and indulgence, but I will never forget standing in a club in Soho, between them and a group of heavy weight bouncers with baseball bats, trying to pursued both sides not to knock hell out of each other.
All because my student friends thought it would be funny to throw peanuts and get on stage to dance with the young ladies who were trying to remove their clothes at the time.
In those days I could really negotiate, got them all out safely, worst thing was we had only been in there for 10 minutes.
Only ever failed once when one of them got locked in the cells overnight, after being caught by the police peeing off the end of Brighton peer. Went to the police station to negotiate his release, to be told they would have let him go but after locking him in the back of the police car whilst dealing with another incident they returned to find him trying to climb out of the police car window to escape, happy days.
One of the group is now a respectable business man in Australia, and he tells me the one who was arrested now lives in the USA. Both conservatives and one still having a go at my Liberal beliefs 30 years later.
Is this in any way related to "lane drift"...? That seems to be the manifestation of "Law of Sensory Overload and Decreasing Attention Span" whereby a vehicle has wandered totally offtrack by the third lane...
Jim Craik
Lifetime Supporter
Posted by Mike (crash33)
Mike, you didn't think you could get away with that statement did you?
I let it go for a few days as this is really Dougs wheelhouse. As Doug appears to be off line for a few days I'll comment.
What a bunch of crap and a cheap shot as well!
Your answer to the question about why there are so few concervative teachers: you do not give a thoughful answer, instead you make a blanket statment insulting all teachers. Typical selfish conservative! You should be ashamed of your self.
Additionally I'm supprised that other folks have not called you on it.
You say that concervatives are too busy changing the world to be professers, more crap. I really think the reason you gave that cheap shot answer is that there really is no good reason why there are not more concervatine teaches/professers.
If you really do want to change the world, teaching is the first place you should go!
I think a much more likely answer as to why there are so few concervative teaches/professers is:
(1) Concervatives are for the most part selfish.
(2) An educated concervative = a liberal.
The study that started this thread says it best. The more education a person has, the more interaction with people and the world in general, the more likely someone is to be liberal.
If you look at a map, you will see that the red states are mostly in the center of the country, the coasts, major cities and University towns are almost all Blue.
Mike, I really think your quote should be changed to:
Those that can't teach.................probably are small world, short sighted concervatives.
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Guys guys... sorry to jump into yet another circular thread but more accurately it is: "Those that can ....... and those that can't ........ " (Fill in the missing words for your grand prize)
However, I have always thought this crap to be an insult to the teaching profession. To be able and willing to pass on knowledge and experience to young people in a neutral balanced fashion is, to me, a God given skill and is so vital to our future that not enough attention (but loads of mockery) are attributed to it.
If you never do anything else ever in your life, pass on your experience (not rhetoric or dogma) to young people no matter how reluctant they appear to be.
This is the TRUE future of the human race....
Remember, no rhetoric no dogma, no fucking conservatives and no shithead liberals.
Thank you good night.
However, I have always thought this crap to be an insult to the teaching profession. To be able and willing to pass on knowledge and experience to young people in a neutral balanced fashion is, to me, a God given skill and is so vital to our future that not enough attention (but loads of mockery) are attributed to it.
If you never do anything else ever in your life, pass on your experience (not rhetoric or dogma) to young people no matter how reluctant they appear to be.
This is the TRUE future of the human race....
Remember, no rhetoric no dogma, no fucking conservatives and no shithead liberals.
Thank you good night.
