They Love the World … Except for All the People

 

Since personal liberty is so important to conservatives, we tend to be more tolerant of those with whom we disagree.  We understand that we must tolerate the idiosyncrasies of others if we expect others to tolerate our own idiosyncrasies.  When you presume that you will get along with everyone you meet, it changes how you look at them.  Whenever I meet someone, I look for something about them that I like.  And I nearly always find something – something that we can build a friendship on.  Or at least a working relationship.  And thus, I get along well with nearly everybody.

Leftists and socialists hope to build a Utopia here on earth and, as such, they are very intolerant of the flaws of others, which might get in the way of building a perfect world.  Thus, many of my liberal friends meet people and look for something about them that they don’t like.  And they nearly always find something – something that can place that person in a group of which my liberal friend does not approve.  And since conservatism is evil, and leftism is good, then tolerance is not an admirable quality.  Again, Utopians are not a tolerant group.  Just ask a dead Russian from 1918.  Or a dead Jew from 1944.  Or a dead Cambodian from 1976.  Those who seek to cure the flaws of society via revolution to build a Utopia – such people see no virtue in tolerance.

Leonardo DiCaprio filling up his Prius.

I think this is one reason that leftists are so miserable all the time.  They don’t like anybody.  And after some years of disliking everyone they meet, they begin to dislike themselves.  I think that a lot of what is described as ‘virtue-signaling’ is not necessarily an effort to convince others that one is a decent human being.  I think they’re trying to convince themselves that they’re better than everybody else.  Because everybody else is awful.

I think this is one reason that conservatives have such difficulty understanding leftists.  Conservatives look at what the Democratic Party has done to America since Trump left office.  Catastrophic inflation.  Exploding energy prices.  A European war.  Supply chain problems and shortages.  All the suffering – none of this had to happen – why?

But it makes more sense if you really don’t like people.

It is true that humans are capable of tremendous evil.  But we are also capable of tremendous good.

So, on a macro level, the idea is to build a society that encourages the good, while discouraging the bad.

On a micro level, the idea is to look for the good in every person.  There may be a lot of bad in that person, but there is probably good in there too.  So you should look for the good.  Because if you don’t actively look for it, it can be easy to overlook.  And if you overlook the good in people, then personal liberty and other conservative concepts make no sense whatsoever.

A society of evil people can be nothing but a prison camp.  Which is why we put those who do evil into prisons.  They need totalitarian control not just to protect society from them, but also to protect them from themselves and from one another.

But a society of good people – even fairly good people, or moderately good people, or even somewhat good people like me – in that society, liberty can flourish.  And that liberty, combined with the goodness and virtue in each one of us – that liberty can create happiness, prosperity, and security.  But only if we acknowledge the good in each of us, and seek to encourage its expression in various ways.

So many leftists just can’t see the good in people.  They hate me because of my big car.  Or the straw I put in my drink.  Or the mask I don’t wear on my face.

I feel bad for my leftist friends.  They’re always unhappy.  And I can understand why.  They’re surrounded by awful people.  I’d like to help them, since I’m surrounded by good people.  I’d like to point out to them that my good people are the same people as their awful people.  But they won’t listen to me, because they don’t like me nearly as much as I like them.

As I said, conservatives struggle to understand leftists.

But leftists have no idea at all what motivates conservatives.

I explain to leftists that I’m a bleeding-heart conservative.  I’m a conservative because I find leftism to be heartless.

Good leftism is heartless like the DMV.  The workers behind the counter will get to you when they can, but they really don’t care about the people standing in line.  Which is heartless.

Bad leftism is like Russia under Stalin.  If the government suspects that you don’t support it, the government will kill you.  Which is heartless.

Obviously different degrees, but with both good leftism and bad leftism, leftism is heartless.

I’m not heartless.  So I’m conservative.

When everything is based on the good of the collective, it matters less if you break a few eggs along the way.  Which is fine.  Unless you happen to be an egg.  Which you are.  So there you go.

While my daughter was attending a very elite college, a friend stopped her in the hall and whispered, “Are you conservative?”  My daughter was understandably horrified, and asked why her friend would think such a thing about her.  Her friend explained that since she was always nice to everybody, he couldn’t help but wonder.  He meant no offense, and would keep her secret to himself.  She still didn’t admit it, but he knew.

I think in general, leftists know.  They know that there is a difference between a Tea Party rally that leaves a park cleaner than when they arrived, and a Black Lives Matter riot that destroys part of a city overnight.

So if leftists know that conservatives are happy and nice, then why aren’t they conservatives too?

Because they don’t like people.

I guess.

If anyone has a better theory, I’m all ears…

NOTE: The title of this post is a quote from the Men at Work song, “Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Jive”.  

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  1. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Putting people in power that hate you is insane.

    • #31
  2. DonG (CAGW is a Hoax) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Hoax)
    @DonG

    AMD Texas (View Comment):
    I think that is what has made our revolution so much different than so many others. The founders were not looking to make Utopia and they let us know from the beginning….

    Utopia is in the eye of the beholder.  For those schooled in the Scottish Enlightenment, utopia was a society where people could fulfill God’s plan for themselves to contribute to the betterment of society.  Utopia (happiness) is not about things you have, but what you create/make/give to others. 

    • #32
  3. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):

    OK, Doc, sorry if I misinterpreted you.  I do reject the idea that tolerance is a wonderful virtue.  We have been taught this.  You and I seem to have been in the first American cohort taught this idea.  (For this conclusion, I rely on Allan Bloom’s Closing of the American Mind, in which he documented a change in the attitudes of his college students starting in the early-to-mid 1980s.)

    You did argue:

    Dr. Bastiat: We understand that we must tolerate the idiosyncrasies of others, if we expect others to tolerate our own idiosyncrasies. 

    What sort of idiosyncrasies did you have in mind?  If it’s just about whether you like Mexican or Thai food, I’ll agree to live and let live.  If it’s illegitimacy or polygamy, count me out.

    Fair enough.  Your point is reasonable. 

    • #33
  4. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    9thDistrictNeighbor (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: …leftism is heartless.

    I once had a conversation with my mother-in-law about the things that leftism produced. She came to the US in 1956, her family having lost everything, first to the Nazis, then to the Soviets; but she was on the left. She received fundraising calls from Planned Parenthood on Thanksgiving. She donated to the Southern Poverty Law Center. She loved International Women’s Day and the Unitarians.

    Discuss specifics on abortion, or the bigotry of low expectations, or anything involving the actual outcomes of leftist policies, and she did not agree with the left at all. “Oh, no. That’s wrong.” So I asked why she voted democrat. She paused and said, “Oh, because I care!”

    Sounds like my benighted mother, since Jesus was the first socialist, you know.

    • #34
  5. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Percival (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):
    They say you need to break a few eggs to get an omelet, but they never seem to produce the omelet while many eggs are crushed and destroyed.

    You would think people would notice a pattern after a while…

    Ekosj (View Comment):

    When the goal is literally Utopia what matter are a few dozen ( hundred, thousand, tens or thousands ) lives? Don’t you think that those unfortunates would gladly give their lives if it meant ushering in Utopia for their children and their children’s children? Of course they would. To make an omelet you must break some eggs, no?

    The environmental extremists have adopted a similar logic with their assertion that climate change is an existential threat.

    If they think climate change is going to kill everyone, and that’s what they want, why not just let climate change do it?

    • #35
  6. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Jim McConnell (View Comment):

    AMD Texas (View Comment):

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: Leftists and socialists hope to build a Utopia here on earth, and as such they are very intolerant of the flaws of others, which might get in the way of building a perfect world.

    It’s a weird dichotomy that they have. They think heaven can be created here on earth and that man can be perfected. They also seem to think that undesirables can be gotten rid of if you don’t go along with their program. They say you need to break a few eggs to get an omelet, but they never seem to produce the omelet while many eggs are crushed and destroyed.

    I think that is what has made our revolution so much different than so many others. The founders were not looking to make Utopia and they let us know from the beginning….

    “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

    It is your right to pursue happiness. It doesn’t say what happiness is for every individual and it doesn’t promise that it would be found by every individual. You have the right to make your own Utopia but others are free to seek their own..

    You said a lot there, in just a few words.

    Should probably add, nobody owes you the utopia that you seek for yourself.

    • #36
  7. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):
    They say you need to break a few eggs to get an omelet, but they never seem to produce the omelet while many eggs are crushed and destroyed.

    You would think people would notice a pattern after a while…

    Ekosj (View Comment):

    When the goal is literally Utopia what matter are a few dozen ( hundred, thousand, tens or thousands ) lives? Don’t you think that those unfortunates would gladly give their lives if it meant ushering in Utopia for their children and their children’s children? Of course they would. To make an omelet you must break some eggs, no?

    The environmental extremists have adopted a similar logic with their assertion that climate change is an existential threat.

    If they think climate change is going to kill everyone, and that’s what they want, why not just let climate change do it?

    Because they want the power now!

    • #37
  8. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    kedavis (View Comment):

    9thDistrictNeighbor (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: …leftism is heartless.

    I once had a conversation with my mother-in-law about the things that leftism produced. She came to the US in 1956, her family having lost everything, first to the Nazis, then to the Soviets; but she was on the left. She received fundraising calls from Planned Parenthood on Thanksgiving. She donated to the Southern Poverty Law Center. She loved International Women’s Day and the Unitarians.

    Discuss specifics on abortion, or the bigotry of low expectations, or anything involving the actual outcomes of leftist policies, and she did not agree with the left at all. “Oh, no. That’s wrong.” So I asked why she voted democrat. She paused and said, “Oh, because I care!”

    Sounds like my benighted mother, since Jesus was the first socialist, you know.

    • #38
  9. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Percival (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    9thDistrictNeighbor (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: …leftism is heartless.

    I once had a conversation with my mother-in-law about the things that leftism produced. She came to the US in 1956, her family having lost everything, first to the Nazis, then to the Soviets; but she was on the left. She received fundraising calls from Planned Parenthood on Thanksgiving. She donated to the Southern Poverty Law Center. She loved International Women’s Day and the Unitarians.

    Discuss specifics on abortion, or the bigotry of low expectations, or anything involving the actual outcomes of leftist policies, and she did not agree with the left at all. “Oh, no. That’s wrong.” So I asked why she voted democrat. She paused and said, “Oh, because I care!”

    Sounds like my benighted mother, since Jesus was the first socialist, you know.

     

    Yep, I’ve used that one before too.

    But my mother is so benighted, she doesn’t understand it.

    • #39
  10. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    I think in general, leftists know.  They know that there is a difference between a Tea Party rally that leaves a park cleaner than when they arrived, and a Black Lives Matter riot that destroys part of a city overnight.

    Leaving it cleaner references the old order, and all the supremicist ideas that values stability over equity. A riot that destroys homes and businesses – even if it is affordable housing, and the businesses are owned by immigrants – is useful for birthing the post-capitalist order.

    As long as it happens in someone else’s neighborhood. 

    So they know, yes; they prefer their homes not to be burned or their neighborhoods trashed. If other locales suffer, it’s a price they’re willing to pay. If it gets out of hand, they can armor up with ideological certainties about systemic systems and isms. They can get prissy and pissy about people who clean up their messes, because they want the wrong things, and insane to valorize the kid who has a tidy room and wants to be a Marine when you should celebrate the kid with problems who lives in disorder and wants to, you know, change things

     

    • #40
  11. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    I think in general, leftists know. They know that there is a difference between a Tea Party rally that leaves a park cleaner than when they arrived, and a Black Lives Matter riot that destroys part of a city overnight.

    Leaving it cleaner references the old order, and all the supremicist ideas that values stability over equity. A riot that destroys homes and businesses – even if it is affordable housing, and the businesses are owned by immigrants – is useful for birthing the post-capitalist order.

    As long as it happens in someone else’s neighborhood.

    So they know, yes; they prefer their homes not to be burned or their neighborhoods trashed. If other locales suffer, it’s a price they’re willing to pay. If it gets out of hand, they can armor up with ideological certainties about systemic systems and isms. They can get prissy and pissy about people who clean up their messes, because they want the wrong things, and insane to valorize the kid who has a tidy room and wants to be a Marine when you should celebrate the kid with problems who lives in disorder and wants to, you know, change things.

     

    Yep, like I memed on another post:

     

    • #41
  12. DaveSchmidt Coolidge
    DaveSchmidt
    @DaveSchmidt

    @jameslileks

    With all the predictions of a red wave this November, do you see anything like that on the horizon for the Twin Cities?

    • #42
  13. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Dr. Bastiat: Bad leftism is like Russia under Stalin.  If the government suspects that you don’t support it, the government will kill you.  Which is heartless.

    I have been getting into watching Dr. Yuri Maltsev videos. He says this and it’s even worse than that. The incentives are all wrong and people don’t want to work, so they point a gun at you to work. Once you start trying  socialism you start doing everything at gunpoint, effectively. 

    I’m not sure I’ve seen a good general video from him yet, but he has really good and unique ways of explaining these types of things. 

    • #43
  14. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Dr. Bastiat: While my daughter was attending a very elite college, a friend stopped her in the hall and whispered, “Are you conservative?”  My daughter was understandably horrified, and asked why her friend would think such a thing about her.  Her friend explained that since she was always nice to everybody, he couldn’t help but wonder.  He meant no offense, and would keep her secret to himself.  She still didn’t admit it, but he knew.

    I love this. 

    • #44
  15. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    AMD Texas (View Comment):

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: Leftists and socialists hope to build a Utopia here on earth, and as such they are very intolerant of the flaws of others, which might get in the way of building a perfect world.

    It’s a weird dichotomy that they have. They think heaven can be created here on earth and that man can be perfected. They also seem to think that undesirables can be gotten rid of if you don’t go along with their program. They say you need to break a few eggs to get an omelet, but they never seem to produce the omelet while many eggs are crushed and destroyed.

    I think that is what has made our revolution so much different than so many others. The founders were not looking to make Utopia and they let us know from the beginning….

    “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

    It is your right to pursue happiness. It doesn’t say what happiness is for every individual and it doesn’t promise that it would be found by every individual. You have the right to make your own Utopia but others are free to seek their own..

    This isn’t really my bag, but the culture was dominated by protestant farmers and protestant small businessmen. Everything South of the border was dominated by slavery and extraction. I forget what dominated in other areas, but from what I understand this is a big deal and it’s why we have a better constitution, but it was also a superior culture to pass down.

    • #45
  16. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

     Maybe its just assumed here, but so important we need to be explicit.– Individualism has little meaning in top down societies which is what the world has always been.  Greece was an exception, showed us how and also showed us how to end it.  Great human diversity doesn’t mean as much in bottom up world because folks can keep the company they want, live where and how they want given their income and talents.   We’re so big and so diverse, it’s harder, but top down is absolutely inconsistent with representative government, probably  impossible. 

    • #46
  17. Steven Seward Member
    Steven Seward
    @StevenSeward

    What an interesting perspective in this post!  Your theory of leftists hating people because people are not perfect explains a lot about the World.  I put an entry about this in the encyclopedia in my head.

    • #47
  18. Steven Seward Member
    Steven Seward
    @StevenSeward

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):
    They say you need to break a few eggs to get an omelet, but they never seem to produce the omelet while many eggs are crushed and destroyed.

    You would think people would notice a pattern after a while…

    Ekosj (View Comment):

    When the goal is literally Utopia what matter are a few dozen ( hundred, thousand, tens or thousands ) lives? Don’t you think that those unfortunates would gladly give their lives if it meant ushering in Utopia for their children and their children’s children? Of course they would. To make an omelet you must break some eggs, no?

    The environmental extremists have adopted a similar logic with their assertion that climate change is an existential threat.

    If they think climate change is going to kill everyone, and that’s what they want, why not just let climate change do it?

    I thought the same thing about Covid.

    • #48
  19. Phil Turmel Inactive
    Phil Turmel
    @PhilTurmel

    Django (View Comment):

    FWIW, I think you’re pretty much correct. I once asked our resident progressive why he was ticked off all the time and he said, “Because we have the power to create a Utopia …” He might have said more, and in fact I’m sure he did, but after I heard “create a Utopia”, I stopped listening.

    This is a key point that I haven’t yet seen expounded on.  @drbastiat‘s initial observation about how we view our fellow humans in society doesn’t come from a vacuum, but is intimately tied to our views on human nature.

    Leftists have bought into Rousseau’s ideas of the noble savage, the goodness of nature, and that humans are born as a blank state.  The consequence of these philosophical positions is that evil men must be produced by society, and when surrounded by “evil” people, that society must be evil indeed.  And the sources of the corruption of the members of society must be rooted out, by force if necessary, so that everyone can grow to maturity in their “natural” goodness.

    Conservatives acknowledge, whether through secular or religious reasoning, that savages are not noble, nature is red in tooth and claw, and humans are both naturally flawed and endowed with varying inborn talents. Conservatives believe we must be raised to be good, and that society must do this or collapse.

    So when a leftist looks around, they see imperfect people and declare them collaborators in the evils of society.  When conservatives look around and see imperfect people, we see varying reflections of ourselves, and rejoice that we are among fellow humans.

    • #49
  20. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    kedavis (View Comment):

    9thDistrictNeighbor (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: …leftism is heartless.

    I once had a conversation with my mother-in-law about the things that leftism produced. She came to the US in 1956, her family having lost everything, first to the Nazis, then to the Soviets; but she was on the left. She received fundraising calls from Planned Parenthood on Thanksgiving. She donated to the Southern Poverty Law Center. She loved International Women’s Day and the Unitarians.

    Discuss specifics on abortion, or the bigotry of low expectations, or anything involving the actual outcomes of leftist policies, and she did not agree with the left at all. “Oh, no. That’s wrong.” So I asked why she voted democrat. She paused and said, “Oh, because I care!”

    Sounds like my benighted mother, since Jesus was the first socialist, you know.

    I think an argument could be made that the first Christians experimented with socialism. Didn’t work out so well for Ananias and Sapphira, so the survivors gave up on it. Turns out you have to account for self-interest in human nature to live in a decent society.

    • #50
  21. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Percival (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):
    They say you need to break a few eggs to get an omelet, but they never seem to produce the omelet while many eggs are crushed and destroyed.

    You would think people would notice a pattern after a while…

    Ekosj (View Comment):

    When the goal is literally Utopia what matter are a few dozen ( hundred, thousand, tens or thousands ) lives? Don’t you think that those unfortunates would gladly give their lives if it meant ushering in Utopia for their children and their children’s children? Of course they would. To make an omelet you must break some eggs, no?

    The environmental extremists have adopted a similar logic with their assertion that climate change is an existential threat.

    If they think climate change is going to kill everyone, and that’s what they want, why not just let climate change do it?

    Because they want the power now!

    And, they have to save Obama’s beachfront property. 

    • #51
  22. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):
    They say you need to break a few eggs to get an omelet, but they never seem to produce the omelet while many eggs are crushed and destroyed.

    You would think people would notice a pattern after a while…

    Ekosj (View Comment):

    When the goal is literally Utopia what matter are a few dozen ( hundred, thousand, tens or thousands ) lives? Don’t you think that those unfortunates would gladly give their lives if it meant ushering in Utopia for their children and their children’s children? Of course they would. To make an omelet you must break some eggs, no?

    The environmental extremists have adopted a similar logic with their assertion that climate change is an existential threat.

    If they think climate change is going to kill everyone, and that’s what they want, why not just let climate change do it?

    Because they want the power now!

    And, they have to save Obama’s beachfront property.

    The coasts are worth saving right?

    • #52
  23. Stina Inactive
    Stina
    @CM

    I Walton (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):
    They say you need to break a few eggs to get an omelet, but they never seem to produce the omelet while many eggs are crushed and destroyed.

    You would think people would notice a pattern after a while…

    Ekosj (View Comment):

    When the goal is literally Utopia what matter are a few dozen ( hundred, thousand, tens or thousands ) lives? Don’t you think that those unfortunates would gladly give their lives if it meant ushering in Utopia for their children and their children’s children? Of course they would. To make an omelet you must break some eggs, no?

    The environmental extremists have adopted a similar logic with their assertion that climate change is an existential threat.

    If they think climate change is going to kill everyone, and that’s what they want, why not just let climate change do it?

    Because they want the power now!

    And, they have to save Obama’s beachfront property.

    The coasts are worth saving right?

    Well the peninsula definitely is o.o I could be biased.

    • #53
  24. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    DaveSchmidt (View Comment):

    @ jameslileks

    With all the predictions of a red wave this November, do you see anything like that on the horizon for the Twin Cities?

    NNnnnnnnoooope. At least not in Minneapolis. 

    • #54
  25. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Minneapolis is 80% Democrat. 

    • #55
  26. DaveSchmidt Coolidge
    DaveSchmidt
    @DaveSchmidt

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Minneapolis is 80% Democrat.

    HHH would be a right-winger these days.  

    • #56
  27. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    You can’t do much about Minneapolis except on the edges in statewide elections. I always think it’s dumb when Republicans argue otherwise.

    • #57
  28. Hugh Member
    Hugh
    @Hugh

    Well…..  The most devout Greenies do believe that 75% of the people on the planet need to die to create the utopia they want…..

    • #58
  29. DaveSchmidt Coolidge
    DaveSchmidt
    @DaveSchmidt

    Hugh (View Comment):

    Well….. The most devout Greenies do believe that 75% of the people on the planet need to die to create the utopia they want…..

    It’s odd that they never volunteer to make it happen.  

    • #59
  30. Charlotte Member
    Charlotte
    @Charlotte

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: Since personal liberty is so important to conservatives, we tend to be more tolerant of those with whom we disagree.

    Conservative. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. :)

    Sometimes, modern “conservatives” seem to be trying to conserve the worst excesses of the 1960s. It is not strange to me that people would want to live in a sort of society involving:

    • Widespread fornication, adultery, and outright perversion — the fornication and adultery are tolerated, the perversion is affirmatively celebrated and given legal privileges hitherto reserved for marriage
    • Public lewdness, even in schools and libraries
    • Rampant drug abuse and alcoholism
    • Genocide against the unborn
    • An illegitimacy rate of around 30%, must worse among black Americans
    • The constant use of foul language in public, in music, in movies, and even on ordinary television

    What is strange to me is the idea that people who tolerate such things would call themselves conservatives.

    On another note, the comment about tolerance is particularly funny at the moment, Doc, coming on the heels of the vilification of Sen. Cornyn and a number of other Republican Senators relating to some gun bill.

    Your search for something to disagree with has led you to a whole list of things I didn’t say.

    For what it’s worth, I disagree with most of that, too.

    Geez…

    OK, Doc, sorry if I misinterpreted you. I do reject the idea that tolerance is a wonderful virtue. We have been taught this. You and I seem to have been in the first American cohort taught this idea. (For this conclusion, I rely on Allan Bloom’s Closing of the American Mind, in which he documented a change in the attitudes of his college students starting in the early-to-mid 1980s.)

    You did argue:

    Dr. Bastiat: We understand that we must tolerate the idiosyncrasies of others, if we expect others to tolerate our own idiosyncrasies.

    What sort of idiosyncrasies did you have in mind? If it’s just about whether you like Mexican or Thai food, I’ll agree to live and let live. If it’s illegitimacy or polygamy, count me out.

    Just out of curiosity, what exactly does not tolerating the gay couple who own the house three doors down actually look like in practice?

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