(August 26, 2014 at 3:27 pm)CapnAwesome Wrote: When you say 'these same conservatives' who exactly do you mean? Conservatism in the United States covers a wide swath of people who have a variety of opinions that aren't uniform.I wish that were true. It would mean there are thoughtful people on the right who come up with their own ideas. It would even indicate there are many on the right who are open to things like facts and reason. In my fantasy world, that's how it would be. Our national political discourse in America would be very different than it is right now.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying there isn't one in every crowd. But conservatism in America right now is largely dominated by repeated talking points as they bounce out of the right-wing echo chamber. In case you haven't heard the saying in DC, "liberals fall in love, conservatives fall in line". Even the much talked-about differences between the so-called "Tea Party" and "the establishment" has more to do with means than their ends. The "establishment" conservatives understand the political process and are more savvy with their messaging and media presence, but their ideology in terms of what they'd like to achieve is mostly the same.
Quote:Are there specific conservatives on these boards who said that then maybe you could just quote them specifically to make your point.As a matter of fact, yes. I'll try to dig up that thread later but it was one dedicated to the issues of Ferguson "Too much or not enough", contrasted with my thread where I proposed the idea of banning paid political advertisement.
Quote:especially given that there has been heavy criticism of police action in Ferguson from many people on the right:"Heavy criticism"? I'll grant the second word. One in every crowd. Even George Will is a fossil of the GOP I once belonged to.
Quote:Sometimes though when you write about political matters it seems as though all of your information comes from left-wing sources and your idea of what conservatives believe comes from the strawman presented by Jon Stewart and others.A bit of an aside but Jon Stewart is a centrist, not a liberal. Do you remember his guest appearance on Crossfire? Or his DC rally "to restore sanity"? He's made it clear time and time again that he wants to be a centrist and lampoon both sides so bad he can taste it. That he's often ridiculing conservatives is only because the GOP has gone insane.
But back to your charge, I can't say much more than "sorry you feel that way". I was a conservative once and persuaded to shift to the left precisely because I'm open-minded and seek to understand issues from all sides.
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist