Alright, so I was just thinking of this after last night. So, I absolutely hate people like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hanity, Michael Savage, etc, etc. They completely and utterly sensationalize politics and put an embarrassing light on conservatives. The Tea Party on the news, at the rallies, another very embarrassing thing to witness. However, I have to admit that in real life, they are some of the kindest, most generous, and hard working people I have ever met. In Alaska, there are tons of pure conservatives. Oil working, backwoods, Sarah Palin Country. When you go to the oil fields, there is only one channel on. Either Nascar or Fox News. And even though I'm sitting with 100's of conservatives watching Fox News talk about socialism and the destruction of America by a non-American Kenyan communist, community organizer with no executive experience, born to destroy the World funded by Superman himself, George Soros... it amazes me. My point is, from a purely subjective point of view looking on the outside, someone who has many social conservative qualities, that the media and the internet portray conservatives out to be some of the most disrespectful, hateful people in America. And I'm talking about conservative media. I know MSNBC or liberals will paint that picture. But I'm talking about actually watching Fox News and reading what conservatives write on this forum and online. Literally, can't say one respectful thing about their President. The highest honor in America. Absolute disrespect!! But then in person, they are some of the most respectful and helpful people out there. I just don't get it.
So in other words, your shocked that conservatives are not kissing the hand that steals their freedom and destroyes their economy, while they are self sustaining individualists attempting to win despite the roadblocks they face. The fact is that most conservatives are hardworking and compassionate to the needy and look at big government as causing more harm than good.
So, you hate people you've never met and who I suspect you rarely listen to and you like people you do meet who are conservatives. And you wonder where the problem lies? And people should honor President Obama. Should they honor him like liberals honored President Bush? Probably not.
I hated liberals who disgraced President Bush. I like all President's. They represent America. I dislike some of Bush's policies. But I felt he was doing what he felt was right for the betterment of America. Just like Obama. But your argument is exactly why politics is ridiculous and will never stop. One side is going to have to man up and start acting like civilized adults. Just because liberals hated Bush, doesn't mean you have to hate Obama. You can think for yourself you know.
I'm better described as a conservative than I would be a liberal. But I'm not the conservative described by liberals. I care about the planet, the plight of my fellow man, Injustices to folks that don't deserve them. I just don't agree that democrats and liberals are providing any solutions. For certain, republicans aren't either. It's just that liberals are way too far extreme for me. I am categorically not a socialist or a communist. Not that all liberal democrats are, but they're getting too close for comfort.
IMO, the OP has no idea what he is talking about. He is giving his uneducated opinion of conservative media. Conservative media is a reflection of the average conservative which he claims to appreciate.
No it's not. Beck and Limbaugh, and Maddow, all of them, are entertainment more than anything else. A moderate left-leaning or right-leaning show wouldn't fly. No one would watch it. If no one watches, advertisers don't cough up cash. We are stuck with Limbaugh and Maddow et al because private news organizations must cater to the lizard-brain in order to attract advertising dollars. On a practical level news organizations must in some way be run as a business because they, like everything else, can not operate in the red for eternity. That is, they must, in the long run, pay for themselves. But ideally the news should not be subject to competition because the impetus to give people what they want will always distort news content. And when it does, the news effectively stops being the news. This is where we are now. Limbaugh and Maddow are a result of a race to the bottom to feed back to people beliefs they are already known to be popularly predisposed to, and to do so luridly to keep the lizard-eye captivated.
actually, it's been my experience that cons are often quite a cheerful and hospitable lot IRL whereas liberals are often unpleasant, hectoring, and unhappy. (with the caveat that this is, of course, a gross generalization.) it's pretty plain why. conservatives believe a lot of real happy horse(*)(*)(*)(*): * you can just be selfish and everything will work out, in fact being selfish makes you superior to the people around you. * we live in the greatest country in the world and rarely do we ever do wrong on the international stage. * war is an exciting opportunity for us all to find common cause, fly our nation's colors and rejoice that we are once again bringing freedom and democracy to a backwards nation suffocated by tyranny * the purpose of life is basically to make money and raise a family, and if you've made a fair amount of it, you're basically a success and don't really need to examine the larger world or your place in it. *racism, sexism and other forms of inequality have basically been solved and we live in a land of equal opportunity, except for those few reverse racists who continue to pester us about a problem that's already been solved. * pollution is basically a myth, oil is going to last forever -- or if it's not, the free market is going to magically save us with its innovation -- and global warming is just al gore trying to make a buck. whereas liberals believe *we do great damage to the ecosystem and to the living systems around us when we don't live within our means, even though living within our means means a pretty spartan existence and eschewing a lot of very tempting luxuries. * we live in a country that does a great deal of harm around the world due to its misguided foreign policy, and is all too ready to dismiss the plight of the disadvantaged at home. * war is usually a ruse designed to consolidate power in the state and advance narrow landed interests at the expense of indigenous people the world over, and should be opposed even if this opposition is largely futile. *racism and sexism are persistent problems that may in fact be inherent to the human condition. nevertheless, they too should be opposed, no matter how futile this opposition might seem. * global warming, pollution and oil depletion are all very real existential threats to humanity's continued existence on this planet, and we should desperately try and alleviate these problems even though it's probably too late to do anything real about them. who wouldn't be more cheerful as a con? it hardly matters that cons are living in a fantasy world, and the liberals are miserable because they're facing up to a bunch of real issues that anyone in their right mind would feel justified in sweeping under the rug.
I think you are making assumptions based on little to no information. It is no coincidence that conservative media is far more successful than liberal media. What is telling is that you say you "hate people" (conservative media). I have seen enough of Maddow and Oberman to make the decision that I find them unamerican, but I do not hate them.
It has something to do with the culture of zealotry. Conservatives tend to seem to think that the answers to political questions are simple and obvious. They seem to assume that however they happen to see an issue at the moment must be the objectively correct way to see that issue and they assume that everybody else probably sees it the same way. So, you get these ideas like that anybody who disagrees with their point of view must be intentionally and knowingly doing evil (evildoers...). They aren't very good at shifting perspective or grasping subjectivity. So, if you start from that point where you assume that there are obvious, easy, answers that should be clear to everybody, then promoting your message becomes less about how persuasive or reasonable your advocates are and more about how loudly they can scream and how zealously they ram their message down people's throats. Logic takes a back seat to passion, honestly takes a back seat to loyalty to the platform, persuasion gets replaced by fearmongering, etc. Pretty quick you end up with Glenn Beck. Some liberals are like that too of course, but it seems to be a whole lot more common on the right. But, real life is very different than political discourse. In real life they aren't trying to impose their point of view on the world, they're just nice, normal people like anybody else. I think that's why you get the weird dichotomy that we seem to have where one person can just be a flat out pro-evil nut politically while being perfectly charming when you run into them on the street. It is kind of disconcerting though...
I don't know if you can argue the respectful person and the common freak you meet here or see on TV is the same. They probably think Fox news is harmless entertainment but they knew why they held the opinions they did before Fox news came around to tell the angry budding conservatives out there that liberals were the blame for all of their problems. If those people you see were posting, they would probably be labeled liberal by "conservatives" here because they'd be able to explain why they have the opinions they do without immediately attacking liberals and talking about being a conservative constantly. (The people are so weird here! I have an unhealthy interest in the absurd, what can I do. lol ) The "conservatives" here can't do that. Its just reality TV that they get to participate in. They could be talking about anything really. It just so happens that being an edgy, radical, mindless conservative is popular right now. I like that this site allows "inflammatory opinions" but they shouldn't allow the noise to happen here -that OBVIOUSLY doesn't indicate serious intent to discuss those opinions- if they want this site to be anything other than a place to flame.The people that post here the most often have learned how to do this without getting into trouble. Its a shame the potential here is allowed to be trashed regularly but that's how they like it here so its probably a good idea to take or leave it as it is. I've found that if you spend too much time on any forum you'll hate everyone there eventually. The internet is an ugly place. Too bad there arent places to meet in real life specifically for the discussion. The people that get online because they feel the need to do something about whats happening in this country usually get discouraged because its mostly a session of BS and then they drop it. Talking to people in person is much healthier (good example is your impression of conservatives) and you don't have to put up with trolling.
Most conservatives are true moderates that are brainwashed. They have a few (some quite a few) issues that make them side with the far right. They let religious faith lead them and actually believe the right is for God. They are hung up on the non-issue; issues. Gay marriage? Hell no we cant have that and them liberals are going to push it. Abortion? Nope gotta git rid of that as well and these good ole boys here on the right will fight against it. Many are brainwashed and could never believe that their darling right could do any wrong even when they stick the big one all the way in. And the liberals? Most liberals are true moderates that are brainwashed. They have a few (some quite a few) issues that make them side with the far left. They let tolerance lead them and actually believe the left is for freedom. They are hung up on the non-issue; issues. Gay Rights? Hell no we can't have them right wingers taking away basic human rights. Abortion? Woman needs a right to choose and these good ole boys here on the left will fight for it. Many are brainwashed and could never believe that their darling left could do any wrong even when they stick the big one all the way in. Just a few key issues are what really separate the two sides but the rhetoric on both sides catches them in the moment and they side against common sense and unity. They would rather the future generations (our children) have a lower standard of living than actually think about what they are doing. They are spoon fed two different truths and the will die defending the lies that they have been told are truth.
In person people are likely to be more accommodating. For instance I didn't call out the idiot yelling about 'the muslim president' because he was an Army vet like myself. On the forum, yeah, I'm totally going to call them an idiot. At the bar, one on one, I'm just going to let the drunk idiot be. Not a great example because the guy was either insane or extremely dumb (not because of the Obama deal, he was clearly mentally deficient) but still the same principle applies. I mean how often do you get in heated debates with people you don't know? It's not that common for me and I'm at the bars fairly regularly.
Works both ways. Most of my friends in real life are varying degrees of liberal. I've only got a handful of conservative friends. But most of those liberal friends are reasonable and even tempered. We can even debate politics over a beer and nobody gets offended. Yet here on this forum, in the liberal media, liberal Hollywood, OWS, etc. are an entirely different story. They come across as some of the meanest, most malicious, and most genuinely rotten people I've ever encountered anywhere.
Heh, I see it the other way (left/right deal) but I completely agree. I think it's the not being in person and/or atleast not knowing the people you're talking to. It sucks for me IRL because I loved BSing politics with my friends sister but now she just gets pissed and tells me to look up facts. When I show her the facts, she wants to leave. Some people can't handle their politics
