Take That Pollyanna

I am generally considered pretty liberal, but I am not 100% liberal. By that I mean I am not which would be considered politically correct. On some issues I fall into the conservative camp, on others and probably most, I am definitely out of step with my conservative brethren. And it should be no surprise to anyone that the older I get the more conservative I seem to become. But I can say that is not without a great deal of consternation. It does seem that most of my liberal nature is in the area of how we come to certain conclusions and not so much the conclusions themselves. For example many of my online liberal friends, at least to me, seem to have a Pollyanna-ish perspective on the way things are or should be. It is almost like just put on a happy face and the world will smile back at you. I have not found this necessarily to be true, although I do think one’s attitude does play into what one actually perceives as reality. But that being said I have found there are situations and persons regardless of the positive face one might put on, these persons and the situations precipitated do not necessarily resolve themselves to the betterment of all involved.

Many liberals, if not most, and I actually think this applies to conservatives as well as liberals but it is liberals I have spent most of my thinking time with, are willing to entertain an idea until it actually conflicts with their own, then they cease being quite so liberal and turns you off or wish to turn you off to prevent further discussion. It is like it is okay to engage in a discussion until there is some kind of conflict or argument to be engaged in, and argument not in the sense of personal attack but argument as a philosophic or academic engagement. It is as though an unwillingness to hear potentially effective ideas may somehow enter and taint what they have already determined to be the truth. Like I say I don’t believe this is just a liberal problem, or a conservative problem, but a human nature problem. We don’t want to face the possibility first, that I might be wrong, and second, this new information may affect or possibly even change my mind. And God forbid that I might ever be lumped together with those conservatives.

Being conservative has an image problem. Generally when one thinks of a conservative things like biased, bigoted, close minded, traditional and unthinking come to mind. Though I realize this is not the case I also realize it is a real perception. And though some conservative ideas and ideals do have valid foundation that foundation is only within a limited perspective, or way of thinking. The biggest problem I can see with conservatives is that they are died in true to the status quo. Whatever has been is the way it should be. And anything which counters the way it is … is suspect. It would seem that the willingness to take chances for the betterment of all concerned was tossed out at the end of the revolution for independence from Great Britain. Of course here I am speaking to an American audience so my European and world friends will simply have to tolerate my being an American.

We are all affected by our life’s experiences. I think first and foremost is our actual first-hand experience but other factors play into this including education, natural temperament and a myriad of others. As all these factors become part of our mental equation our perceptions are formed and subsequent to these decisions are made as to how we respond in life. Some of us have led more sheltered lives than others, others have been thrust out and have had to deal with realities which are not the experience of their sheltered peers. I do not think there is any absolute as to which may be become liberal or which may become conservative, as stated above there are a plethora of factors which go into this equation. The point is not all of our experience is the same and the more experienced one is there are more factors which come into play, or can come into play if education is equal.

I post essays on numerous Internet sites. Depending on my life’s demands I may find myself writing and blogging more than others. As I post essays, I leave them posted and often they are forgotten. After a while I remember I had been posting at a particular site and go back to reread some of these. I virtually never pay attention to comments that are left until it is well past the time of the original post. But I had the “Fortune” or “misfortune” to read one of these comments that was left about a year ago. This was from a person who I would describe as a classic liberal, but at a time I was being accused of certain anti-liberal and biased or possibly antisocial behaviors in the past, without considering what I might have to say or hearing the full story or understanding the conditions underlying the accusations they decided to drop me as a friend but not before posting their own opinions. To me this is an example of limited biased prejudicial thinking… Of the liberal sort. But let it be clear conservatives behave the same way… Human beings whatever else we may be… Are not perfect… And for now that’s all I have to say.