Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Rush is Funny

"O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us! It wad frae mony a blunder free us, An' foolish notion: What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us, An' ev'n devotion!" ---Robert Burns

I don't usually post comments about Rush Limbaugh or things he says, mainly because he spends the entire 3 hours of his show accusing Liberals in general of being the personification of evil and I just don't see Liberals that way.

I see them as idealists who stubbornly cling to the idea that a Utopian society is indeed possible. Not that Utopia is a bad thing, it just isn't realistic in my opinion. Nor is stubbornness necessarily a bad thing. Or idealism.

Jesus will establish a true Utopia when He returns, but no one else will ever accomplish that task, no matter how hard they try. I don't think anyone can be blamed for trying, though.

Liberals want better things for America and the American people. They want a chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage. They want the hungry to be fed. They want poverty to just go away. They want peace in our time.

I do too.

Conservatives want these things, too. The difference between Liberals and Conservatives is that we disagree on how to accomplish these goals. We all become frustrated when others just don't see things the way we do. Often times that frustration manifests itself in anger. It's only natural.

I have often stated my belief that Liberals, for the most part, are generally more mean spirited and hateful than Conservatives. They seem to me to be more likely to engage in name calling, personal attacks, half truths, lies, and biting sarcasm when people disagree with them. Some Conservatives do that, too, but not as many as Liberals.

It is an unfortunate progression arising out of a passion for equitability. I think Liberals are more passionate than Conservatives. There is an oft repeated truism among Conservatives that says, "Conservatives think. Liberals feel." That is just a rather offensive way of saying, "Liberals are more emotional."

I feel. I also think. Sometimes I just think I feel. More often I don't think at all.

Now we have a new appointee to the Supreme Court of the United States, Samuel Alito. He is reportedly a staunch Conservative. I guess I don't fully understand why Liberals and Conservatives are preparing to fight over his nomination. Don't both sides agree that the job of a Justice should be to read and interpret the Constitution? So what difference should it make whether he is a Conservative or a Liberal? I daresay the Constitution is not partisan.

I did think it was funny, though, when yesterday, Rush said he thought Chuck Schumer should have his own 24/7 news service and suggested he call it "the All Schumer Service, or ASS".

19 comments:

Fritz said...

Mark, Sheila sent me.

Being a liberal is easy. Standards are lose and intellect focuses on tangibles. Being a conservative is hard work, requires intellectual honesty, recognizes both the tangible and intangibles. There is no greater illustration of liberalism than teenage children.

Fritz said...

I guess you could say, being a parent is a great illustration of conservatism.

Mark said...

Why didn't Sheila come herself?

Fritz said...

Mark,
I have poor communication skills, Fritzisms. I should have said, Sheila directed me to your site.

Erudite Redneck said...

Fair and balanced post, Mark.

Fritzy is off, though.

--ER

The WordSmith from Nantucket said...

Didn't Winston Churchill say something to the effect that, "If you were never liberal in your youth, you have no heart; and if you aren't a conservative as you grow older, you have no brains"?

I guess I don't fully understand why Liberals and Conservatives are preparing to fight over his nomination. Don't both sides agree that the job of a Justice should be to read and interpret the Constitution? So what difference should it make whether he is a Conservative or a Liberal? I daresay the Constitution is not partisan.

Mark,

It's for the same reason that we squabble over whether journalists are nonpartisan or partisan. The same bias that creeps into news reporting can creep into how we interpret the Constitution. It comes down to your worldview. It can't help but color your perception of things, no matter how well-intentioned you are in trying to interpret just the facts, and remain detached from political partisanship.

Jaymeister said...

Wordsmith, I think you are refering to George Bernard Shaw.

I kind of liked the story that George Will told in the Ken Burns "Baseball" series. He talked about growing up in Western Illinois, midway between Chicago and St. Louis, where you had to decide on who your team was. Will said, "All my friends grew up Cardinals fans, happy and liberal. I grew up a Cubs fan, conservative and miserable."

Anonymous said...

By the by Fritzy---

Being a Bush supporter must be easy ..just hide your head in the sand and be prepared once again to be f-ed by this Administration like the prison b*tches DeLay, Libby, et all have become......

Mark said...

No Sheila, those guys are just Liberals proving my point for me. They hang out here to prove ER wrong about me having an amen corner here.

Mark said...

Sticks and stones, Sheila, sticks and stones.

Erudite Redneck said...

Oh. I don't count obvious jackasses in my totals, Mark.

That leaves out Bruiser on the left, and Lone Ranger on the right. And others.

But, of the literate ones who comment here -- and Lone Ranger is literate, just a mean jerk; Bruiser has never, to my knowledge, left a comment that wasn't laced with hatred, or something -- of the literate ones, most do agree with you.

That means nothing, though, beyond the obvious. You've managed to attract losers from both extremes.

And here, the ones on the left do appear to be the rudest and meanest. It'd be pretty silly, though, to conclude that "all" or "most" liberals are that way. Just the ones you've attracted here.

--ER

Allen said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
SBB said...

Dude, off the subject, but I wanted to wish you luck with NaNoWriMo! You can do it.

Goat said...

Mark, you know where I sit, Alito, or McConnell were the choices for originalist perfection after Roberts. I look forward to this battle as it will force me to study more, when I will find the time to sleep,,, at least yardwork has slowed, LOL. You are a good blogger buddy to have. On a side note if Dr. Rice does accept a nomination for POTUS, nominate her to the SCOTUS or better yet to lead the UN.

The WordSmith from Nantucket said...

Jay,

Not familiar with the George Bernard Shaw comment, but here's the quote attributed to Churchill: "Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains.

Sheila, nice comments. If I had time, I'd respond more, but....I'm off!

It's nice to be able to categorize, to a degree, but of course we are all mixtures of liberal and conservative tendencies and no one person really fits neatly into one compartmentalized label. Plus, those divisions are ever changing. Liberalism and conservatism mean different things to different cultures, and at different points in history.

Damn...I forgot, I said "I'm out of here!"

Mark said...

Thanks, Tech. I wrote about 500 words on my novel last night, then inspiration failed me, I got sleepy, and went to bed. Not a great start.

Toad734 said...

I heard he can get some good drugs. Rush is indeed a moral icon, a great example for children.

Mark said...

ha ha ha... Better be careful, Bruiser, in your zeal to be totally contrary to any prevailing opinion from either side of an issue, you may find yourself agreeing with those you don't like.

LOL I'm starting to like you, you're good for a laugh or two.

Mark said...

Actually, ER, that is wrong also. Jaymeister, Sheila, Liam, and a few others who comment respectfully on my blog often disagree with me. They certainly couldn't be characterized as Conservatives or my Amen corner.