My 1,000th post. What have I learned?

I felt like I should say something important. So I've been stalling. My plan was to read through all my previous 999 posts and produce a carefully constructed hunk of opposition (Or is that piece of resistance? Not sure - my French isn't very good...). My critics suggest that I should use more editing and less bourbon. I intended to give it to them, good and hard, and see how they like it. But that seemed a lot like work. So I wrote less unedited incoherence and drank more bourbon. And I got more and more messages, asking what was going on. You just can't please some people.

Some Ricochet members seem determined to persuade others to think like they do. I've never felt that impulse. I was very clear from the beginning that I was here to learn. My fundamental problem was that I found myself in constant disagreement with a group (Democrats) that I simply didn't understand. Which meant, in my view, that I really didn't understand my own perspective as well as I thought. I explained my uneasiness with this problem on the Dave Carter Show - how can I criticize that which I don't understand? So I came here to read and to write. Not to convince others of my wisdom, but rather to seek understanding. Fathers of little girls will understand my efforts to understand, such as in the picture above.

I've come to view leftism as more of a religion than a political movement, just as Islam is more of a political movement than a religion. But the religion of leftism lacks two very important things: An underlying ideology, and a system for repentance for sins. Sort of like the French Revolution all over again - screaming mobs who believe in whatever they're supposed to believe in this afternoon. If you wonder about the ethics of all this, that makes you a conservative. Humility is a conservative impulse.

I've written nearly a million words on Ricochet. And I'm proud of most of what I've produced. But I'm struck by the uncertainty of it all. I continue to conclude many of my posts with, "I hope I'm wrong about all this". And maybe I am.

So I ask for an extension. Give me some time to think about all this. I'll produce something worthwhile. At some point. Probably. At least, I hope to.

But in the meantime, I would love to hear what the true difference is between leftists and conservatives, from my esteemed Ricochet colleagues. Or even from the rest of you!

I've learned so much since my first post, in November of 2016. I'm eternally grateful for all you've taught me. But I still don't understand. I'm a slow learner. Please be patient.

Once I have time to look through all this stuff, I'll post at least a coherent summary of my incoherence.

In the meantime, I'll continue to wander, as I did in the picture above. Where the heck is the Yukon Territory? Am I actually there? Who knows? Might as well keep poking around. You never know what you'll find.

I hope to produce something coherent soon.

Thank you for your patience.

Yours,

Dr. Bastiat