Conservative thinking

not all ... and i wouldn't consider it total ignorance ... i think in general americans have been indoctrinated with many myths and that is the hardest barrier to break ...

i would say tho the majority of the conservatives on here are not in general ignorant ... they just have a different value system ... like i've said before - me vs. we ...

I think extreme conservative thinking and extreme liberal thinking are probably both about equally ignorant. I hear a lot of completely ignorant statements coming from conservatives in my line of work, but I also hear a lot of intelligent statements from conservatives (often on A Moving Train).

I made a comment in another threat on AMT that was poorly thought out and worded, and Electric_Delta (I think it was him) called me out for it - and rightfully so. It didn't really apply to the topic in question at all, but it's something I've been thinking about a lot this week (what I posted, not being called out for it).

A professor at LSU was giving a lecture on climate change, and attacked both sides of the argument in class to try and provoke discussion. A student filmed the lecture and posted video of it online, but edited out one entire train of argument to make it look like the only thing the professor was doing was ridiculing students who don't think humans are impacting climate change. In a conservative state like Louisiana, the shit hit the fan quickly, and the professor has been raked over the coals by the public (including my conservative father-in-law who tells me whenever the subject comes up that climate change is just a liberal hoax, no real scientist supports it, and any scientist who does support it is just a fraud who has bought into the Al Gore hype). Anyway - a few of the comments that were made about it on Facebook got me thinking about the mindset of some people. Somehow, the discussion thread on Facebook turned from climate change to evolution (also known as Liberal Hoax Number One), and one woman absolutely went off about how universities are just one-sided and they never teach students the whole story, and if universities just stuck to the indisputable "facts" then they would spend more time teaching students that god created the universe and less time teaching students absolute nonsense about how everything evolved over time. Her argument was that if you really think about organisms changing from one form to another over a period of time then it's impossible and illogical, and that the only reasonable explanation is that god did it all himself.

I read that comment and thought, "That woman is completely retarded. She's completely ignoring overwhelming scientific evidence in favor of words that were written in a book 1,500 years ago. The majority of the people on this planet have accepted the theory of evolution, but she is willfully part of the minority that believes with every ounce of their being that it's absolute rubbish and is all part of some conspiracy. I think she's completely ignorant."

And I also believe that she's sitting there thinking about people like me, and thinking, "They're completely retarded. They're completely ignoring the teachings of a book that answered every question about the universe people have been asking for two thousand years in favor of a book written by a guy on a boat 150 years ago. Anyone who believes that whales can turn into cows without the guiding hand of some supernatural force is completely ignorant."

I guess at the end of the day ignorance is all a matter of perspective

mikepegg44 wrote:

inmytree wrote:

mikepegg44 wrote:

Reading a lot of posts on this forum has often caused this question to come up in my mind a lot...

do a lot of you think that being a conservative is based on ignorance?

I don't want this to turn into a bunch of name calling and defensiveness, I am legitimately asking, do the democrats, liberals, and left leaning thinkers on this forum think think that conservatives are ignorant?

ignorant...? perhaps some folks...but that's with any group...

selfish...yes...

Keep in mind I am not picking a fight or anything, just interested, can you explain the selfish comment for me?

If I am reading it right, that is where we disagree I guess. This whole me vs we argument. I don't believe it is selfish to think that I should be able to keep what I earn and that no matter what I make I should be treated the same as everyone else. Glad to hear you don't think it is ignorance, but I take issue with the selfish part. Giving a man a fish and teaching him to fish are two good things. Why is one seen as selfish and the other seen as a great thing to do?
I am glad to hear you don't think it is simply ignorance.

I figured you'd be bothered by that, but that wasn't my intention...

by selfish, I mean that conservatives only want gov't to do what they want, to when they want...

for example, corporate welfare is good because it helps business...but that damn welfare queen better quit living off my dime...

It comes down to sharing...I'm ok with share via my tax dollars...I may not agree with all the gov't does, but I'm happy to have it...

They want a smaller gov't, which means lets cut all the social programs and keep military spending....

stuff like that...

I like what polaris has said... It is a different way of looking at the world.

But also, the first thing that come to my mind was the willingness to asking questions and critical thinking... I'm not talking about liberal or conservative radio/tv pundits, or the people who believe every word that they say... those people on both sides are lost causes.

(One again, generally speaking) But, maybe it's an education level or an age thing, but it seems to be that people on the left are more apt to question authority or ask the "and then what?" types of follow up questions. Like I said, age might have a lot to do with it... I don't know...

My biggest problem with both hardcore liberals and conservatives is how they can blindly walk the company line. I'm also disappointed in how they can shamelessly attack ideas that are brought up by the other side.

Unfortunately, most of this problem has to do with talk radio and Fox / MSNBC type networks. It's subtle, but before you know it, you get locked into their "thinking".

polaris_x wrote:

it depends on how you view the word "selfish" ... ultimately conservatives think about themselves or their personal interests above everyone else's ... liberals tend to think that what is good for the whole is good for them ...

See - I think that is horribly misguided to the point of ignorance. It is possible to think conservatively from the standpoint that it is in EVERYONE'S best interest or the good of the whole.

mikepegg44 wrote:

I wasn't bothered in the sense of I hate you...what you said was understandable and nicely put.
I do certainly wish that people who call themselves conservative and make a big public display about how conservative they are(limbaugh especially) would try and straighten out their beliefs before they spout them because people like myself who are caught in the cross fire because I consider myself fiscally conservative get a bad name. You cannot want the federal government out of everything and then say "except for"... it doesnt work that way. Unfortunately I think the only true conservatives are libertarians, and that group of people are just too sane to be taken seriously
I would say as a general rule, I have a much larger problem with and am more annoyed by inconsistent conservatives than anything else...I mean I can understand the opinions of liberals, I just don't agree with some of them, I cannot understand inconsistency. That is how I would describe the GOP, not necessarily selfish, but inconsistent.

You know, I can't really find much to disagree about with this....I agree that inconsistency is hard to understand...

nice post...