Conservatives are nicer than liberals.
I mentioned last night how awed I am by how civil and decent my commenters are, even in debate. And it reminds me of something I’ve wanted to blog about for a long time: my observations about how full of shit liberals are when they say conservatives, especially the religious ones, are generally intolerant and mean.
As you know if you’ve been reading this blog for long enough, I’m on the record as NOT being either a conservative or a Christian. I’ve openly expressed disbelief in the Bible, total rejection of organized religion, serious beefs with Christian thought processes, a desire to legalize marijuana, no problem with gay marriage, loathing of children, and now even support for teenage girls being given contraception without their parents’ knowledge. Also, I cuss a lot and take the name of your Lord in vain on a near-daily basis.
So how mean and intolerant are the right? I’ll tell you.
The vast bulk of regular “traffic floods” to this site comes from none other than Conservative Grapevine and Right Wing News, both run by John Hawkins, a Christian who probably disagrees with at least a third of what I write, who’s also the only blogger to ever interview me and was the first blogger to ever link me. He sponsored me for BlogAds and has given me priceless advice.
What a jerk! You just can’t reason with conservatives can you? If you don’t toe their line and share all their beliefs, why, they’ll….they’ll…do you huge favors on a regular basis. If that’s not intolerant and hateful, I don’t know what is.
He’s not the only wingnut out there throwing around that “close-minded hate”. SarahK, who posts Bible scriptures and has a no-cussing policy on her blog, became my friend after reading my blog and knowing quite well my opinions on religion. The Sisters of a Different Order, who are Catholics, have linked to me in a complimentary manner even though I have specifically attacked the Catholic Church. Jeez, you say one rude thing about someone’s faith and they act all, well, friendly.
Liberals are so much kinder. I know this because they are the only ones who ever send me hate mail, and are the only ones who link to me with statements like, “Rachel Lucas and her commenters prove that there’s no need to dumb America down any further, they’ve already taken care of it.” They’re definitely the only ones with enough open-mindedness and love in their hearts to leave comments about how I’m a stupid Texan who needs to get laid and/or shot with my own gun. See, they’re all about hope! and change! It emanates from them.
Hell! Let’s find out how many of you are intolerant, close-minded, and hateful right-wingers who prove those qualities by regularly patronizing a blog authored by a woman who says things like “Christ on a cracker” while discussing her socially liberal ideas in between posts about how the Bible is fiction, all with regular F-bombs.
(In all seriousness, I am curious about this because it really does intrigue me how many of my readers, based on comments, are very right-leaning Christians and conservatives, when I’m neither of those things. I’m working on a secondary theory about how it seems to me that if you’re on the fence politically, you’re far more likely to be befriended and accepted by the right than the left, thus proving my long-held primary theory that liberals tend to be assholes. So answer the polls. Do it.)
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Rachel,
For ‘Are you a Christian?’ you need a third choice:
‘Not necessarily but with strong Judeo-Christian vales’
or maybe
‘ish’
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:12 amESTNow now, ccs - there will be none of that equal opportunity bullshit on Rachl Lukisez blog! You’re either WITH Jesus, or you’re AGAINST Jesus!
(That’s about as conservative and intolerant as I can be with a straight face here, people…)
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:22 amESTRachel,
I have followed the occasional link to your blog for a while now and over the past week I have added your blog to my list of regulars. I attend church regularly, go on Wednesdays for Lent and Advent, I have never voted for a Democrat in my life, and as much as I do slip up I frown strongly upon swearing. All this I lay out beforehand because I want to say how much I love your blog despite our differences in opinion as I read some of your posts.
I find your blog a wonderful contrast to what I normally read (Mountaineer Musings, Pass the Ammo, IMAO, Right Wing News, etc) and it now fits wonderfully in the middle between the right (previous blogs mentioned) and the left (Daily Kos, Democratic Underground, etc) that I try to read to keep myself well informed. So, from a Christian and a proud Right-Wing-Nut, please keep up the excellent blogging because even if the liberals hate you this Conservative will keep coming back for more.
~Mark
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:26 amESTRachel,
also on the political leanings, I had to make a ‘closest’ guess. I’m a right-wing conservative small-’l’ libertarian with anarchist leanings ;).
Steven Den Beste once posted a wonderful article about alternatives to using only a right-left meter. He had a multidimenional model that seemed to be far easier to locate folks on. For your edification and amusement, Left and Right
Of course that would make for one messy, complicated poll…
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:26 amESTRachel - I adore you. I don’t know you from a hole in the wall and probably wouldn’t recognize you if I saw you in a crowd of people. But I cannot go about my day without visiting your blog and reading your thoughts. Why? I don’t know. You express things so clearly and passionately - even when I disagree with you I enjoy reading your words.
I’m a Christian and I consider myself fairly right leaning…more than average so I picked the far right. It seems that the tolerance levels on the right do tend to be higher than on the left. And there are different expectations. People can disagree on the right and still get along. Disagree with anyone on Kos and you’re doomed.
You’re a blessing and a joy.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:31 amESTHere’s a poll that’s not-so-complicated, but more robust than the tired old left-right axis of dumbed-down simplicity:
http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html
Caveat: this poll was developed by libertarians who get annoyed at being lumped into an all-other bucket with the likes of Greens. Ahem.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:32 amESTMore proof that conservatives are just. so. damned. mean: Conservatives donate more of their income, their time and their blood than do liberals.
John Stossel’s review of Who Really Cares?
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:41 amESTYou don’t have a category for Goldwater Republicans, so I voted “other”.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:43 amESTIn a nutshell, I’m a small “R” republican, which means I wish our nation was still run the way the founding fathers envisioned it. About the only things that make me conservative are a desire for much, much lower tax rates, a strong market based economy with little gubmint intrusion, and a robust national defense. As for other society issues, I am more libertarian; I want to see drugs decriminalized, and I want people to stay the hell out of my gun cabinet. I think when it comes to our government on all levels, less is more.
I also think that the most nefarious cancer on our nation, the one that’s least talked about is the environmentalist/climate change mindset, which has metastisized on both sides of the aisle. The Earth Muffins and Tofu snorters have done more to stifle our capitalist market than any single force. High gas prices? That can be fixed with new refineries, drilling in our own fucking land, and allowing new nuclear power plants to be built. Diesel fuel too expensive? Thank the greenies at the EPA for forcing gas companies to redo the way diesel is refined, making it more “bio-friendly.”
Got off on a tengent there. Bottom line, let the market work in all areas, even health care.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:49 amESTYou’ve lumped way too many ideologies in the category “other”. I don’t think you’re going to learn as much as you might have hoped. Especially since people identifying as Goldwater Republicans are feeling it necessary to hit other.
I mean, libertarians and Greens in the same category? Ewww.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:51 amESTRachel,
The “Are you a christian?” question is often not a yes or no issue. I was raised in the christian church but have not been active in many years. I still beleive most of what they teach. I identify with Christianity and am certianly not Jewish, Muslim, Bhudist or any other stripe of ideology.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:51 amESTEven if I don’t always agree with what you say I love the way you say it.
Rachel,
I think you will find the common thread through all your readers/commentators is that we agree with you on PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. And even when we disagree with you, your’e so damn onery that its just fun to read what you write. You also seem to gather some funny commentators (Lance ;))
Conservatives are also more secure in their beliefs and don’t feel the need to attack/justify their opinions.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:55 amESTPersonally, I’m a conservative, though not very religious, but I’ve always found religious people to be much more tolerant than your typical liberal. The religious people I know are generally pretty “live-and-let-live” while liberals tend to be up in other people’s business. Sure, there are a few religious people I’ve known who are in-your-face about it, but almost all liberals I know are in-your-face about their political views all the time. I can’t even talk to my old roommate from college anymore (a Dennis Kucinich supporter and volunteer) because politics MUST come up. Yet, I never talk about religion with my religious friends.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:59 amESTAlthouse quite regularly makes the same point on her blog. She has about 90% standard liberal opinions, but is critical or at least questioning of the other ten percent (never dismissive, but just doesn’t follow the line unthinkingly). Naturally, as a result, liberals DESPISE her, constantly attack and slander her, troll her blog, spread lies about her, and send her nasty hate mail. Yet, even though she disagrees with most of what they believe, conservatives are very nice to her, engage in polite discussion and great commenting, and send her lots of traffic. So, yeah, you’re not the only one!
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:59 amESTPaleoMedic,
Welcome to the Libertarian Hawk (LH) party. We start with the libertarian philosophy and add the following caveats:
1) People are trying to kill us and destroy our culture. We will fight them, and we see no need to make it a “fair” fight.
2) Reasonable accommodation must be made for the nurturing and protection of children. As much as we like the fantasy of a pure libertarian society, we recognize that while many would enjoy those freedoms as adults, few would want to bring children into such a world.
3) Wealth disparity is a natural consequence of freedom and capitalism, but left completely unchecked would likely lead to violence. We support taxpayer-funded education as a balancing mechanism.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:00 pmESTIt would be nice if all of those on side of an issue weren’t tagged with the very worst of the extreme views on that side. It would also be nice if being “liberal” or “conservative” didn’t mean being tagged with the very worst of the extremes falling under the common usage of those labels.
Ah, well. I’m either a conserative liberal or a liberal conservative, or a GDI….or maybe just a realist who cares more about real-world results in an imperfect world than about ideological correctness–either side’s.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:04 pmESTI am a former Christian who finds it hard to believe God exists, but I still have many of the same ideals I was brought up with. I also consider myself a conservative/libertarian. Let’s just say there are things in both camps I both agree and disagree with. I guess I’m an independent…
I agree that the poll is probably not going to tell you exactly what you’re wanting to know.
I do read you blog everyday now since I’ve discovered it. Everyone has things they disagree on, but I find your blog enjoyable enough I keep coming back.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:08 pmESTI am a conservative Christian who loves this Rachl Lukis because she’s just so much fun to read… and she makes me think.
See how intolerant and narrow-minded I am!
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:13 pmESTwow - so this is what it feels like to be a minority… DON’T YOU OPPRESS ME!!! You bunch o’ haters!
HELP! HELP! I’m being repressed!!!
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:13 pmESTYou are logical, reasonable, honest, and open to changing your mind if given a logical reason. And you are so funny I almost can’t stand it. What’s not to like? I think the mantra of ‘Christians are intolerant’ has been so ingrained in our culture that when someone like you realizes it ain’t neccesarily so, it’s a bit of a surprise.
For me, the thing that trumps all is your belief in a strong military and the right to bear arms, that you can’t play nice with people who are trying to kill you - whether it’s a theif in your livingroom or a terrorist in your plane heading for your building. Without defending those things, questions about belief systems and pre-teen sex and American Idol are all mute - ’cause we’re all dead. If you never believe in Jesus, I will still love you and read your posts, for your stand on those things alone. You can be a kindred spirit with someone on some levels without being one with all levels. You rock.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:16 pmESTWhich, if you think about it, is really weird.
I don’t know how many of you visit RWN frequently, but if you’ve ever checked out the forums you know that extreme viciousness is often the norm there, rather than the exception.
Almost every single thread on RWN goes like this. A few conservatives throw in their 2 cents, then out of nowhere a liberal comes along and leaves a needlessly contrarian comment which causes EVERY CONSERVATIVE WITHIN HEARING RANGE to jump all over him, which in turn causes EVERY LIBERAL WITHIN HEARING RANGE to rush to his defense, and at this point the thread is hopelessly derailed. Insults start flying from both sides. Accusations of strawmen and ad hominem arguments (regardless of whether they are true or not) are tossed back and forth. Anyone who even slightly disagrees with the conservative side is labeled a “liberal”, and anyone who even slightly disagrees with the liberal side becomes a “conservative”, regardless of what other political positions they may hold. I know, because I’ve been a willing participant in this cycle more times than I can remember.
One would think that, with all the traffic Rachel gets from RWN, that same tendency for vicious debate would spread to this site as well. But somehow it doesn’t.
I started out on RWN. It was the first blog I ever visited, and the first place I ever experienced a real political debate. Most of the debating skills I now possess, including how to viciously attack your opponent, I learned at RWN. Logically, I should be just as arrogant and aggressive here as I am there. I should be using words like “libtard” and “false conservative” and “quantum singularity of stupid” to describe people who disagree with me on these forums.
Yet whenever I come here I find myself constantly taking care to moderate my tone in ways that I would never do on RWN. And I can’t put my finger on why that is.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:27 pmESTSolidarity, Marla. Solidarity. We mustn’t forgive the American Idol posts, lest we get even more of them. It’s like getting a spanking when we were kids–if you ham it up with the crying, it stops sooner.
I don’t know about you, but the sudden transition from stimulating discussion of religion and abortion to the deflating doldrums of AI left me confused, disoriented, and wondering where my sandwich was.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:29 pmESTmighty - I think i’ts cuz Rachel would slap us all down so fast if we did that, it would make our heads spin. And if we kept it up, anyway, she might just go away. And NONE of us want that! She’s done it before - twice - she can do it again, so we had all better behave ourselves!
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:32 pmESTYou’re like one of my kids. Even when I wholeheartedly disagree with you, I still think you’re the cat’s pajamas.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:34 pmESTWell I guess I’m a Libertarian Hawk. The Survey that Carbo linked says I’m a right of center Libertarian.
I love this blog and not only because the vast majority of my traffic comes from here. I loved it before I was on the blogroll. I am Christian. I even sing in the church choir. I’ve always voted republican. I’ve been known to cuss from time to time. And I’m mean and intolerant too.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:34 pmESTPerhaps some of your readers are religious but not Christian? I’m an orthodox Jew and a staunch Kirkian conservative myself.
You have a tremendous following, Rachel, because you’re funny as hell. I’ve always known that conservatives have a better sense of humor than dour liberals.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:35 pmESTCarbo - hehehe. Normally I would agree, but I found out yesterday a woman at work is the aunt of someone currently in the AI competition (I won’t say which one!) so while I am still not watching it, I’m curious about Rachel’s take. Otherwise - yeah, American Idol is Rachel’s feet of clay, but we’ve all got ‘em, so I’ll take her as a total package ‘cuz I know people do the same with me : )
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:41 pmESTRach,
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:41 pmESTYou’ve written something I’ve thought for a long time. When I read the right-of-center blogs, the discussion seems much more civil. The debates are about ideas and not personal attacks. Coming from New Jersey, where normal discourse always takes the form of insults, I am drawn to people who know how to pose a question without framing it in a reference to your mother. Check out Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism for the historical background of liberal intolerance.
Libertarian Hawk, eh? Sounds frankly closer to my ideas of gubmint, and is also a very cool name for a rock band (a bit I stole from Dave Barry, for which I do not apologize).
And yes, Rachl, you make me laugh out loud far more often than is considered accpetable by my office mates. Rarified company, because only Iowahawk and occasionally Ace elicit that kind of response.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:42 pmESTThank u Carbo - absolutely perfect description of my own political views. Non-christian Christian here.
This blog is just one big tub-o-luuurrrvvveee.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:42 pmESTIf I understand it correctly (always a questionable proposition), one is a Christian if one believes in the divinity of Christ, right?
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:44 pmESTI read you ’cause you have mad word skills. And you like dogs.
I’m an agnostic and my wife is an atheist. But I have a very healthy respect and admiration for 1) Christians and 2) the tenants of Christianity.
Though I too believe the Bible to be a book of fiction, I also believe it to be a wonderful book of fiction and a tremendous model on how to live your life.
I’m a biker and Veteran — if you know enough bikers or Veterans, you know that we lean pretty hard to the right.
Though I believe abortion to be a vile, bad, horrible thing — I’m not opposed to a woman’s right to choose if she wants to have one.
I don’t think the government has any business regulating any definition of the word “marriage”, whether it be between two men, two women, or one of each. Any two people loving each other deeply enough to want to spend the rest of their lives together is tough enough, let’s not throw a governmental monkey wrench into it.
So, yeah. I have some left-leaning social tendencies — but I still hate hippies and most liberals to a staggering degree.
Oh and kids? Evil little bastards. I pretty much hate everybody under the age of 25 (that I’m not related to).
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:47 pmESTmightysamurai said,
Very true. I only posted comments on RWN once, back in 2006. I remember because Hawkins mentioned in his blog post that there was no wikipedia entry on “macaca” - yes, this was way back when George Allen got torn to pieces for saying macaca. In the comments I mentioned that there actually WAS a wikipedia article on it. But I didn’t notice that the article was recently created, and I got attacked for being a “liberal” pretty thoroughly. And of course when I protested that I was probably as conservative as Hawkins, I was accused of outright lying to hide my evil undermining of Hawkins. (Who, it should be noted, wasn’t part of this “bash the librul newbie” affair)
At which point I realized that even on the internet, a better political debate could be had, and left without further discussion.
Things are generally pretty calm here, though I don’t post much. I check by the blog several times a day, though - not because I agree with everything Rachel says, but because even when I don’t agree with her, she’s usually smart and funny about it, and it makes me think a bit more. And that’s never a bad thing. And besides, the dog pictures make me laugh.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:51 pmESTShe probably would, but that still doesn’t explain why this blog is so much more civil than others. When I first came here it never once occurred to me that Rachel would delete my posts or ban my username if I acted like a jerk. My entire exposure to internet blogs at that time was almost entirely limited only to RWN where you’re essentially conditioned to act like a jerk. I had no concept of “internet civility” at that time, yet I found myself double and triple-checking my posts almost every time to make sure I was sending the right message. It was only months afterwards that I first saw Rachel delete someone’s post for acting like a jerk.
It’s almost as if I actually care more about what the people here think of me than anywhere else. And if you knew me in real life you would know that that’s so not me.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:54 pmESTI voted yes and 4, but feel the need to explain a bit as my beliefs don’t always fit in with the typical beliefs. I have no need for organized religion myself; religion is a trap and a bunch of ceremony that commonly distracts from the truth of Christ, and is often used in foul ways. I also don’t feel that being gay is some horrific sin; we’re all sinners, judge not, and all that. I also don’t have a problem with gay marriage; with a 50% divorce rate I think the sanctity of marriage is pretty much already shot.
Also, I have a few other beliefs that tend toward libertarian and I’m not always socially conservative. Such as marijuana legalization. The thing is, though, my gay marriage and marijuana beliefs, while firm, aren’t really important enough to me for me to argue over them either way. They’re just not high priority issues for me. So I fit the “conservative” label pretty well on the topics I do find important: Guns, taxes, small government, and strong defense.
Finally, the most bigoted, prejudiced person I’ve ever known was a liberal from New Jersey. Because in addition to feeling most minorities were beneath her, she also took part in that typical liberal belief that we from the south are all inbred morons.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:55 pmESTAtheist libertarian (minarchist warmongering kind) here - but the kind of libertarian who’s really fairly conservative in personal habits, but also believes that a) he doesn’t have the right to enforce them on everyone else, b) even if he did, the downside of trying to do so is almost invariably worse than the best possible good results, and c) if you have to use force to make people act “good”, then you’re missing the point.
And for myself, I read you because you’re an interesting person with well-thought-out opinions, and there aren’t nearly enough of those on the Internet or off.
Well, that and the dogs.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:57 pmESTMost of my life, I’ve identified myself as liberal, but only because I grew up in a very conservative area. In my hometown, I am the flaming liberal. I find myself usually voting for democrats, but only in the same lesser-of-two-evils kind of way that compels Rachel to vote for McCain. As I escaped my conservative upbringing, I discovered that the labels are way to restrictive. I’m a solid Foxtrotian.
I used to have a blog until I ran out of time/energy/give-a-shit. Also, I broke wordpress and never tried to fix it. But, this was on my blog and does a pretty decent job of outlining my thoughts. The conservatives definitely wouldn’t claim me and the liberals probably don’t want me. I don’t think any of the other established groups would buy most of my crap either. So, I’m stuck trying to fit into categories that don’t quite work. Off the top of my head, I seem to think Sunny and I would almost be able to form our own party…
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:59 pmESTDepends on who you ask. Some people believe that simply believing in Jesus Christ as the son of God is enough, while others claim that one must also adhere to the teachings of Jesus in order to truly call oneself a Christian. Others still believe that one must worship at a particular church in order to truly be a Christian and all those “other” churches are in fact worshipping false idols.
Technically speaking, all that is necessary to call oneself “Christian” is to believe in the divinity of Jesus. Of course, many Christians rightly point out that we would never call someone who lies, cheats, steals, rapes, and murders a Christian, even if he did claim to believe in the divinity of Jesus.
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:05 pmEST“Libertarian Hawk”.
Now, there’s a superhero comic book / movie / TV show I’d like to see. Hell, I’ll even be his/her sidekick. Call me “Laissez Faire Lad”.
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:36 pmESTThe only problem I have with Rachel’s blog: Needz more Catz!
Cheers
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:38 pmESTMy late dad used to day, “you can disagree without being disagreeable.”
And that’s the key to this blog.
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:43 pmESTRachel,
I didn’t neatly fit into any of your boxes. I look like Buffalo Bill Cody, never wear shoes and I had to hide out on “punch a hippie in the nuts day”. You and this community, as homogeneous as it is, is diverse enough to make me think hard about the world my grandchildren live in.
Thanks, kiddo.
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:43 pmESTThanks for making me get lumped in with the Cuckoo-for-Jesse-Ventura’s-Cocopuffs independents and Commier-than-thou millennial doomsday cultist greens. I’m almost a “Libertarian Hawk” except I don’t think it’s my responsibility to teach children anything except “Stay off my goddam lawn.”
I don’t think a 1-dimensional spectrum is adequate for political definitions.
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:58 pmESTThe left tends to believe something is very wrong: with the design of existence, with mankind’s historic thinking re religion, philosophy, principles and values, and government. The left tends to think: man is good, but the design and the rules are flawed. Thus the left tends to be frustrated.
The right tends to believe something is very right with the design of existence. The right tends to think: the design is good, man’s implementation is flawed. Thus the right tends to be happier with their surroundings, and relatively more forgiving of man’s foibles. Individual exceptions obviously abound.
Something else: the right tends to understand the left side of issues(or at least try to understand). The left tends to have no idea what the right believes about issues.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:03 pmESTRick Lucas, you’re well on your way to Crusty-Old-Bastard status. I was initiated last year.
I’ll just bet that if I could hear Dick Lucas talk for an hour or so, I’d have a big dopey grin on my face…
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:05 pmESTWell, see I didn’t even know I was a Libertarian Hawk, or that such a thing existed.. not only do I get dogs in clown wigs, I’m edumacated as well. Really, most of my viewpoint comes down to “I don’t care that much about you”. It really doesn’t bother me in the least if two guys want to get married, smoke weed, or put a Nativity scene in their yard.
I read quite a few blogs at work, and the absolutely most vile attacks are always against the conservatives. DailyKOS has some really disturbed folks that like to post there. I’m not saying the the conservative folks are without fault, but I’ve never seen anything comparable to the hate mail that folks like Michelle Malkin gets.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:08 pmESTI think it’s the difference in opinions (at times, especially with politics) that make me enjoy Rachel’s blog so much. I might be an average,not-too-filthy liberal, but there is a lot of common ground in Rachel’s common sense attitude. Plus I like the humor.
Agree there needs to be more cats though!
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:08 pmESTDearRachel,*
Guess I’m an “other” but that’s quite a broad category. I come here for your thought-provoking posts, your evil-genius humor (including the cuss words), and the civility. It’s such a relief to be able to concentrate on the discussion without having to wade through nastiness. I also read almost all the comments and am in awe of the commenters you attract. I try to be careful about my own comments not so much through fear of being ’slapped down’ by you but because your regular commenters are so erudite and adroit that it can be a little intimidating to swim in this pool.
Also adore the dog pics and lance’s posts.
Thanks, Rachel. =)
*for mhuete
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:09 pmESTGirlfriend: Thanks for the linky, toots! Mwah, you know I love you, even if you don’t love Jesus.
I may throw some close-minded hate at you over American Idol, though. You get a pass this week since you didn’t hate on Michael again.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:11 pmESTI voted 5, as the nearest available equivalent to fusionist in the mold of Frank Meyer, or perhaps even more so Lord Acton, seeing as we’re both Roman Catholic ;-).
What is a fusionist, you ask? My short answer, speaking for myself: too conservative for the libertarians, too libertarian for the conservatives; a fairly heavily armed small-r republican who thinks that virtue is self-evidently profitable, but probably not a matter for the blunt instrument of the State.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:26 pmESTHave to agree with Jason, in general I too find religious people i.e Christian & Jews to be much more tolerant, at times at the expense of their own sanity and lives because they take the “pray for the person doing you wrong” abit too far.
Another thing I noticed is conservatives tend to be, well, happier than liberals. While I still roll my eyes at the phrase “liberalism is a mental disease”, it’s actually not terribly far off. The human mind is designed to work according to truth, and reality is the bedrock of mental and emotional health. If you spend a lifetime defining lies and fantasy as being “truths” (think those 9/11 truthers for one), the mind pretty much cease to function as more energy are spent on sustaining the fantasy, in turn heighten the anxiety and frustration toward reality.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:27 pmESTChuck Foxtrot appears to be a member of the “I stand upon the Earth” human party. Very interesting.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:27 pmESTAh, stop blowing smoke up our asses, Rachel! I only read you because of your own sassy sexiness, and I’d make a play for you if it weren’t for the fact that Rupert has access to very large caliber firearms…
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:28 pmESTSocial norms: Not just for meatspace communities anymore. Just as you develop the ability as a kid to recognize where you shouldn’t run and scream or swear, you pick up cues based on the people around you in internetland as well. Some are better at it than others.
Seriously, I’ve acted very differently depending where I was in the virtual world. I’ve been the jerk ready to shiv anyone with a verbal icepick (and been quite good at it, too), and on the dog community I hang out on as much as I do here I’m a very nice lady who avoids controversy unless someone plonks it down in a way impossible to ignore. And then there’s here, which by the way I remember as having started off a lot rougher back in The Day.
I don’t have any places where I’m a jerk anymore. It stopped being satisfying. I think it was around the time I started becoming genuinely fond of the people I disagreed with in places like this for providing me with the mental exercise.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:29 pmESTThat reminds me of something I heard on RWN once.
“Just think of left wing logic like this. 5 x 8 = 73. Then get really mad about it! Once you can do that, you will be able to understand them.”
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:31 pmESTI was thinking about this, and I really like reading your blog for all the topics you post about. Secretly I can’t wait until I get a puppy that I can dress up and incite seething doggy hate in it from a young age.
In thinking about it from a faith perspective it goes like this:
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:55 pmESTI have a lot of friends who think the same as me, so it is nice to read eloquently put thoughts, or down right hilarious writing, that isn’t the same as my own. It makes me think about why I believe what I believe. Plus it makes me appreciate that there are other opinions in the world, and its nice to see them stated clearly without someone yelling in my face telling me I’m intolerant without even hearing me out.
I’m going to disagree with those that say a third option is needed re: Christianity. Yes/No is completely adequate and appropriate for that question. You either believe Christ is who he says he is, or you don’t believe that. Holding to or valuing Judeo-Christian values is an entirely different subject.
Some people still identify with the underlying values of Christianity, even though they aren’t believers - the du Toits are good examples, if I have understood them correctly. But I don’t think they would say they are Christians, because they don’t believe in Christ’s divinity.
Regarding the political portion, why not link to an established quiz, such as this one, which returns numerical scores, and have everyone report their scores in a poll. Something graduated, like “0-0.99, 1-1.99, 2-2.99, etc.” You’d get a more accurate snapshot of your viewers. And hey - with as many commenters as you have, it would actually be worth your time as it could help you choose BlogAds.
Just a thought.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:59 pmESTHey Rachel, I am a Christian and conservative and I LOOOOVE your blog. You are teh awesomeness!
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:11 pmESTMay not agree with you always but can’t help grinning at your explanations, which intentionally or not show a tender heart despite your “they need killin” ranting. Rock on , girl!
For me (evangelical-conservative) why I read your blog comes down to a few things:
1 - Your funny, really funny
2 - You think things through and can defend, if not eloquently at least civilly, your stated view.
3 - Whenever you post a personal opinion, its clear that you don’t Hate or Despise anyone who has the audacity to disagree with you.
As for why its more civil, I think its just us following your lead. Don’t hate on someone just because you have formed different opinions about something.
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:18 pmESTHmm, not sure exactly how I got here… I think it was from RWN via a link from Jawa-Report. Been lurking for a few weeks now and enjoying the bloggy goodness and excellent humor. The intelligent and respectful conversation/comments are definately a big plus too IMO.
I self-identify as Agnostic and right-of-center Libertarian. I think that the term “Liberal” has been hijacked, by and large; Most “Liberals” are anything but Liberal. More like they believe their own agitprop from what I’ve seen… Don’t bother checking facts, just keep up with the herd… Its better that way, trust me…
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:20 pmESTRachel,
I didn’t read all the comments, so maybe someone has already stated this:
The term is “projection”. People tend to “project” thier own worst characteristics upon others. This is evident in why some police officers are for and some against the personal right to carry arms. Some police know in their deepest hearts that they shouldn’t be trusted with arms, so the “public” certainly shouldn’t be. On the other hand, some realize the potential to protect one’s life and property and think that’s a good thing, knowing they would in the right circumstances. Probably a poor analogy, but one that is heavy on my mind lately.
Mark H
P.S. Same reason our congressmen and women think we can’t make decisions for ourselves, and take personal responsibility for the outcome. They can’t do it for themselves!
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:20 pmESTAgree with the others - religion is hard to put in yes/no. I identify as Christian, but “recovering catholic” is more accurate.
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:24 pmESTI am a liberal jew who loves this Rachl Lukis because she’s just so much fun to read… and she makes me think. See how intolerant and narrow-minded I am!
We don’t all suck… and some of us actually even think for ourselves. No, really. I’m not talking about the signature-collecting hippies-with-clipboards-to-support-their-pot-habit in the name of “political freedom” or whatever the hell they’re doing. I’m talking about the normal, regular, critically thinking people who happen to be registered democrats but are able to see without their myopic and ridiculous party-lined blinders. We really don’t all suck, I promise.
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:32 pmESTConservatives are nicer than liberals. When I began reading and commenting at various conservative/libertarian blogs a few years ago, people nicely yielded the clue bat upside my head.
Rachel, I enjoy your posts for various reasons, one of them being your ability to really write. You type as if you’re talking to one person, and you do it with such flair and common sense.
As a magazine editor, I heart your writing skills… except for that whole period-outside-the-quote-mark habit of yours. AP style says punctuation usually goes inside quotation marks. (Hey, I’m paid to be nitpicky.)
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:34 pmESTmightysamurai Says:
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:40 pmESTTechnically speaking, all that is necessary to call oneself “Christian” is to believe in the divinity of Jesus.
Well not quite. Satan believes in the divinity of Jesus, and Satan is by no means a Christian.
To be a Christian, on must believe in the divinity of Jesus and accept Him as his/her personal Lord and Savior. Once one has TRULY done that, the stealing, lying, cheating, murdering, etc… stops.
You’re right, I meant to say “accept Jesus as your lord and savior”.
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:45 pmESTJumpin’ Jeebus on a pogo stick! We have some sames and differences. One way or the other, I love to read your posts!
I’m a Christian, but I don’t like kids. Not very Christian of me I reckon.
I think organized religion is a good business, but I don’t believe anyone will get into heaven any quicker going to Catholic mass than those sitting and humming in a Buddhist temple.
I don’t think much gay-ness. I think people were built differently for a reason, and certain holes are there for certain purposes.
All this is mentioned on the off chance that anyone besides me cares about my opinions.
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:57 pmESTRachel, please, please. Please post some commentary about this! I would love to hear thoughtful, logical arguments about this from you and your commenters.
http://thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article989859.ece#OTC-RSS&ATTR=News
April 2nd, 2008 at 4:04 pmESTJesus Christ is my Lord and Savior; I do my best to live rightly by His commandments and seek out His desires for my life in prayer and the reading of His Word.
Among His desires for me are: “Thou shalt read Rachel’s blog to understand that thou doest not knowest anything about anything. You digg?”
Yes, my God knows Jive, turkey.
April 2nd, 2008 at 4:53 pmESTI’m a Christian who drops in here regularly. I mentioned some of this yesterday on the other post, but the language thing doesn’t really bother me that much. At least you use the words correctly! heh…
By far, the angriest rhetoric that I have heard is from people on the left. If I ask something like “Why can’t I use a regular light bulb?”, the answer comes back “BECAUSE YOU CAN’T - YOU’RE KILLING THE PLANET! DON’T YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR GRANDCHILDREN?” Whereas, if they tell me that they are using a compact fluorescent bulb, I may say something along the lines of “Well, that should save you some money” or “Does it fit your light fixtures? I tried one and couldn’t get the fixture closed.”
Not that there aren’t topics I can get riled up about - anti-war, racism masked as civil rights, etc - I do have a “Rants” category on my blog.
But, even in those posts, I have a tendency to try to educate more than bloviate - my opinions aren’t based on feelings, so I try to share the facts.
It’s like that old lawyer saying… “When the law is on your side, pound on the law. When the facts are on your side, pound on the facts. When neither is on your side, pound on the table.” There is a lot of table-pounding on the left.
April 2nd, 2008 at 4:56 pmESTOh. Dear. I just voted. I’m voter number 666 on the religious Q. Just for the record, today is NOT the first of April. That’s either an awesome prank or I’m just royally screwed.
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:12 pmESTI can go with the Libertarian Hawk crowd (although I detest crowds) except for number three. It’s not my job to pay for your kids. Not for their birth, care, or education. That said, I could stomach taxpayer-funded education under one, and only one, manner — if the government is not involved in any way, shape or form.
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:26 pmESTThe federal government exists solely to grow and grow and take over all the functions of the other levels of government … and that is a VERY BAD ™ thing. As a parent and taxpayer, you should be able to designate your education dollars to an institute of your choosing that will provide an education you think is acceptable or better.
Not all of us Fence riding Moderates are crazy…
Just some of us… Muhahahahaha! ;-P
*snort* Sorry….
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:30 pmESTHear Hear… I couldn’t have put it better!
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:41 pmESTPete in Midland,
You bet your bippy. When we say taxpayer-funded, we mean taxpayer-funded. Parents decide where the funds go.
True competition will force the Ed monopoly to throw off its dead-weight bureaucracy and bad teachers. Within ten years, educational entrepreneurs will be buying up public school buildings and running them efficiently, in accordance with parents’ (customers’) wishes.
Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:44 pmESTI come for the wild-woman writing , but stay for the odd dawg pics.
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:57 pmESTWe hang out here cuz Rachel’s place is a cool place to hang out. Dog pics on the walls, thoughtful conversation with really smart people. Stuff like that.
And we’re nice to each other prolly cuz we want to keep it that way.
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:01 pmESTi probably echo the sentiments of many people here about how they love rachel’s blog, how they don’t go a day without at least visiting the site once.
and the doggy porn is a plus too
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:13 pmESTRachel,
It’s simple. You are one of the best writers on the web. Period. I am a trying-to-be-good-Christian-who-doesn’t-like-churches much. I’m conservative and libertarian–I don’t fall into a category, really. I tend to agree with your common sense views. The foul language is a plus.
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:37 pmESTWell, first off, RL seems not to be demanding anyone follow her off thataway. RL is just pointing out that heading off “thataway” could be a really fine idea and probably fun. Then RL provides detailed info on her reasoning. It is at this point I kinda grin. Getting testy with a mind that works like that would harsh my mellow. Not going there.
Also, I wonder, what percentage of the comment posters are gun owners? Some of the stuff sounds like the well contained manner people acquire when they have the long experience of self control that being a gun owner and user requires.
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:38 pmESTThe first time I got flamed at Sweetness & Light for wandering away from the herd, I was confused but shook it off. The second time I fought back. The third time, I decided I didn’t need to associate with them any longer. So not all conservatives are as friendly as those in Rachel’s comment threads. One reason I stick around. The main reason, of course, is Ms. Lucas herself, with whom I generally agree and from whom I occasionally borrow (usually with accreditation) an adjective I’ve never heard before. I’m fiscally conservative, limited gov’t. strict constitutionalist, socially somewhat liberal.
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:39 pmESTRachel, it’s simple. Dr. Hellen pointed me here. I’ll tell you how F’ed up I am — I read Instapundit, Andrew Sullivan, and Volokh every day. I’m libertarian but end up with conservatives on most government isseus. I’m not religious at all — and distrust people who do things for “altruistic reasons”. I probably agree with Ayn Rand on most things except the bitchiness.
What I like about your blog is simple — you are now my id. Like Dr. Hellen, I work in a profession where my opinion is best reserved for me. I don’t let my rants out. But the first time I read your blog — I laughed and thought to myself — I’m tracking with this girl.
I think what I get from your writing is that you are very concerned with doing the “right thing” and you’re willing to put the time and thought into what that all means. That said, the “right thing” to you is not some snotty, stuck up, holier than thou facade. It’s real, based in reality, ugly and base at times, in all it’s splendor. Personally, I’m hooked. Keep up the great work!
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:14 pmESTHi Rachel.
I believe Jesus Christ resurrected. I believe He is God. He is divine. His command to love the Lord God with all our hearts, minds and souls and to love our neighbors as ourselves is the best advice EVER. And he showed us how it’s done. Historic fact, that there crucifixion is.
Believing that, I try my best to properly render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and render unto God what is God’s. One foot here and enjoying it the best I can (even with the know-it-all big brother bastards infringing on my freedoms) the other foot planning on being in Heaven some day. Obviously by grace, not by works. He has many mansions, and a place is prepared for me. My room could very well be a converted broom closet, but I’ll be there! How about you, Rachel?
I am an imperfect Christian for sure, but Paid in Full by God himself. Other Christians can argue that my behavior and lack of self control will end up getting my salvation revoked, but that is bullshit. Logically impossible. What, Jesus was tortured to death to pay for my sins but is gonna send me to Hell for getting drunk a lot and cussing? Can’t convince me of that reverend Moronovich. It just gets me the worst room in Heaven. Wahh Wahh. I have no big desire for crowns & rewards anyway. Getting my ticket to Paradise is my entire treasure and hope of life.
I am a registered Republican but a big time Libertarian fan and wannabe. I really wish that the Libertarian party would get more momentum and be a major player in America. I guess I am a social liberal (live and let live but Don’t Tread on Me) and a fiscal conservative (smaller government, individual rights, capitalism, KICK ASS MILITARY, etc.).
I usually vote straight R tickets as a defensive measure against Socialist wackos getting too much damn power. Cuz I think that way lies the appearance of antichrist. The ultimate wolf in sheep’s clothing.
I love your writing like it is crack. Keep up the good work. And thanks for the place to unwind. You have a real nice place here.
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:19 pmEST“I’ve openly expressed disbelief in the Bible, total rejection of organized religion, serious beefs with Christian thought processes, a desire to legalize marijuana, no problem with gay marriage, loathing of children, and now even support for teenage girls being given contraception without their parents’ knowledge. Also, I cuss a lot and take the name of your Lord in vain on a near-daily basis.”
ME TOO! I think almost exactly like you. So much so that I believe my parents must have had you and gave you up for adoption. At any rate, “our” way of thinking is very unpopular. Some of the shit I say gets a lot of flack. But I consider myself to be progressive, as are you, and eventually, everyone will realize how fucking smashingly brilliant we are because in 10 years they’re going to think exactly like we do. This post has really nothing to do with the topic but fuck it. I just needed to blow some more smoke up your ass so you know how much you rule.
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:22 pmESTRachel,
I’m an obvious minority here! I’m a fairly left-leaning liberal and not the least bit religious. I’ve been reading your blog for about a month and, while I disagree with a lot of your opinions I really enjoy reading your stuff. I think the biggest mistake people make, liberal or conservative, is only exposing themselves to people who agree with them. You’re blog is intelligent and thoughtful and when I do agree with you (which happens, believe me) it makes me smile.
Plus I’m addicted to American Idol and those posts kill me!
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:34 pmESTA good voting column would be “Not a communist or socialist”.
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:10 pmESTI didn’t answer the first poll. I’m not currently religious, but I was raised in a Christian (Presbyterian) tradition. So I think there should have been more options than simply yes or no.
As for the second, I consider myself more libertarian than conservative. Still, I feel like I have more in common politically with conservatives than with liberals.
Oh, and by the way, I used to be a far-left moonbat.
I got better.
/python
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:20 pmESTThe blogosphere does not represent liberals well. I work with a good many educated and intelligent liberals, all of them academics. Hell, we even party together. In conversation, whatever the subject, discourse is always civil. There’s just a few things that they believe that are flat out wrong. Here’s a list:
1. War is never justified.
2. Capitalism exploits the poor and causes ecological devastation.
3. The science is in; global warming is a fact.
4. Poverty causes crime.
5. The US is a racist nation.
These are the core beliefs of liberals. No amount of evidence either statistical or anecdotal will change the basic premise.
Such ideas don’t make them bad people. Nor stupid. But then, I’m talking mostly about my faculty. We all agree that the eduation of our youth is a priority whatever our political outlook. Works for us.
If I might anticipate a question. By percentage I would rate my faculty 50% liberal, 30% moderate, and 20% conservative/libertarian. You would be surprised how large an impact an outnumbered conservative cadre can influence a school. Public education needs more conservatives. If you have the calling . . . DO IT!
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:49 pmESTI have taken a test that told me I was a “moderate conservative” whatever that might mean. I think it means that I am generally in favor of low taxes, smaller government, strong defense, personal responsibility, and a reasonable attachment to traditional values, but without the more strident ultra right wing dogmatism on social issues. As for religion, I am a lapsed Anglican, which is about as “moderate” a Christian as it is possible to be.
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:29 pmESTI couldn’t agree with you more Rachel. It was particularly noticeable in college. You can read my response to your post on my blog -
http://www.russelllindsey.blogspot.com
Lindsey
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:07 amESTRachel:
I am very much a libertarian Republican, but I’m also very much an orthodox anglican. And I’ve been reading you for years. When I started my blog, you were mentioned in my first post, and were my first link. You are still on my blogroll, and several of my conservative anglican friends now read you, too. Of all the bloggers out there I’d love to have dinner and drinks with, you and the Blogfaddah are the top two.
Utterly narrow-minded and hateful of me, I know.
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:07 amESTLOL at the comment regarding Satan not being a Christian. You should do a Latin search on the translation of my handle.
But anyway, while your point is technically valid, I don’t think the original poll was made to be answered directly by demons or fallen angels (other than - maybe - Rachl Lukis herself).
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:36 amESTLibertarian Hawk. Yes. I love it.
I could get into “fusionism,” too, as explained by Oldsmoblogger.
I am a Christian. I believe that the answer to “Are you a Christian?” is a yes or no answer. You either believe that Jesus died to redeem humanity from sin or not. All human beings are sinful, even those people who strongly believe in Christ’s divinity. Whether they are murderers or merely look down at others who seem less whatever — both are sin, and it is not for us to decide that one person can be considered a Christian and the other cannot.
I love your site. I love the wonderful community of commenters you have inspired. I found your site from Hog on Ice, another site I love, but no longer consistently visit.
Dogs are a big part of my life, so I confess, I love your dog pictures. It always brightens my day when I see that you have some new pics up. I don’t comment much. It was Digger’s dying that got me to post a few times, but I truely love your site, and I check it almost every day.
You are doing a wonderful thing with this blog. If you can bend your mind around how I am using this word, I would call it your “ministry.” Hope that didn’t freak you out too much.
Oh, and I hopefully believe that we are all saved, that we all will be gathered to God in the hereafter, whether you buy into it in this life or not.
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:51 amESTHard-core Libertarian Hawk. If I were king, I would eliminate all government welfare, both corporate and personal; that frees up 76% of the entire federal budget. I would replace *all* forms of taxation — income tax, payroll tax, booze tax, gas tax — with a flat-rate sales tax. I would eliminate every cabinet-level agency that does not serve a fundamentally national purpose; that means we keep Defense, Homeland Security, State, and Interior; we dump Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, etc. I would solve the energy crisis *and* make the world cleaner (which is good whether global warming is true or not) by letting the free market run wild with the opportunities created by three big mandates: (1) in 2010, all cars sold in the US must be flex-fuel capable (Robert Zubrin’s brilliant idea); (2) in 2015, it will become illegal to import crude oil; to prepare for that, we will remove all roadblocks to developing the hell out of the recently discovered Bakken Oil Formation in our very own North Dakota, which has more oil than Saudi Arabia; and (3) in 2020, all domestic electricity production will be carbon-free — nuclear, solar, whatever floats your boat. But no more Islamic oil and no more filthy coal. And we’ll use the trillions of dollars we’re making from domestic oil exports to fund a kill-all-the-bad-guys program that reaches into every corner of the globe.
In short, I want a world that is free, clean, brimming with wealth and opportunity, and utterly devoid of violent thugs. How’s that for hope and change?
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:21 amESTI work with a good many educated and intelligent liberals, all of them academics.
As do I, and while like you say, they are not bad people and not at all like liberal bloggers. If I ever bothered to debate them, I’m sure it would be civil, although it would also be pointless since the one thing I know about them is that they really can’t fathom how anyone could disagree with their liberal views. To them, it’s just inconceivable (well, sure, some uneducated backwoods redneck could, but surely not someone with any kind of education…). Personally, I think liberals are wrong about a great many things, but I understand where they are coming from, perhaps because I know so many. However, they just don’t “get” conservatives (probably because they know so few). And a gun owner, hunter, member of the NRA, etc. might as well be an alien from another planet from their point of view.
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:49 amESTI also think that it might be useful to expand the category of the first question. I am Jewish guy who came into the realization of the truth of the Word, although I have major issues with the idea of immaculate conception and the He-died-for-our-sins theology. I guess you could call me a Zen Juddhist, or a Jesusonian of the Urantia Book School. Politically, I can’t really call myself a Republican anymore, although I consider myself to be conservative on most, if not all, issues. I think the two-dimensional left-right paradigm needs to be shifted into a more realistic three-D thing. No ready ideas on how to plot or graph that, but I think it would probably more accurately reflect most people’s ideas.
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:01 amESTAnyway. You have a great blogvoice, a kick-ass sense of humor, and I want you cloned … for scientific purposes, of course.
I think the tolerance of Christian Conservatives might have something to do with that ‘do unto others’ verse and ‘love the sinner hate the sin’ thingy Jesus talked about.
As far as the level of civility here in the comment section, to be personally smacked down by The Great RL would be, IMO, soul crushing. Who would want to go there? Not ME!
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:22 amESTYou should have polled income, too, Rachel. I firmly believe that well-to-do liberals are meaner than well-to-do conservatives. Or poor conservatives for that matter.
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:48 amESTRachel,
I can’t really categorize myself as a Christian, but I do pretty much subscribe to those values. I prefer that doctrine to others that run along the lines of, “I don’t agree with what you said but I’m willing to kill you to keep you from saying it again.” Gee — Do I have a particular religion in mind when I say that?
And I would have called myself an “on the fence - moderate” but I’m a Canadian, so I think that automatically makes me a touch further left than many others here.
On the other hand, as I age I get more and more right-wing because of the huge amounts of waste that I see my tax money going towards. And I also would stir in some quasi-Libertarian beliefs, come to that. But, using a third hand, I do enjoy the benefits of my socialized health care…
Just keep on writing, I’ll keep reading! And looking at the dog pics, too…
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:39 amESTHi Lucy2.
I love that thought and want to believe it too. It gave me chills when I read it. It makes sense.
Perhaps the parable of the prodigal son means just that. I always wondered if the prodigal son alludes directly to Satan. If not, the story could be a plea from God for him to shape up a little with the promise of forgiveness. That would be a shocker and really fits the story. I am not saying to tempt God’s forgiveness and our own ability to differentiate between right and wrong, but it is an interesting tangent.
Who knows, maybe the whole existence of this universe represents the lengths to which The Good Shepherd will go while chasing that one special lost sheep.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:02 amESTGang of One-
Howdy. Immaculate conception is a big miracle and tough to believe in for sure. I offer you this: Man can get a “virgin” pregnant these days. It doesn’t take physical copulation anymore. Therefore, if man can do it, I am certain that our God can. And if he says He did, He did. Does that hold water?
I still struggle with the cross. It is horrifying and hard to understand for sure. But I believe it anyway. Believing and undertanding can be separate. Christ’s crucifixion finalizes His ministry and completes numerous old testament prophesies.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 amESTRecovering Liberal.
As a reporter I’m often yelled at by picky editors. I usually get back at them by putting periods outside of quotes and saying things like like (instead of such as) and “over 50 people participated” (instead of more than). I also like to use a phrase that is guaranteed to drive my editor nuts: “A good time was had by all”.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:18 amESTRachel, I can’t go along with a generalization that liberals tend to be assholes. In my experience, it depends greatly on context.
As I’ve mentioned before, I spend a lot of my time volunteering at a community theatre, working backstage on a lot of plays and acting in a few of them. As you might expect, the overwhelming majority of the people involved in such an artsy endeavor are liberals. Despite what you might expect, these are really nice people as long as you avoid discussing politics with them. I’ve been hanging out with the theatre crowd for six years, and I enjoy their company. I consider some of them to be good friends.
So it’s not that liberals are inherently assholes in the sense that they have any sort of personality disorder. In my experience, they just have certain attitudes embedded in their political philosophy that create the impression of assholery if you talk politics with them. I could go into great detail about those attitudes, but I think it boils down to elitism. Most liberals are the product of an indoctrination process that causes them to see themselves as inherently superior to everyone else: smarter, better educated, wiser, and more enlightened. This results in a feeling of entitlement. They consider it obvious that they are the rightful leaders and rulers of society, and when they are denied that status, the result is anger, bitterness, and resentment. That’s why they their political views tend to be expressed with such vitriol. But get them away from politics and onto discussing other subjects, and the nastiness often disappears.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:29 amESTIt’s the dogz!!! Duh!!!
But seriously….
I am a practicing Catholic.
I cuss like a drunken sailor. There is no rule against cussing and I fuckshitcocksuckerbitchslutwhoremotherfucker when colorful metaphors are required.
I never take the Lord’s name in vain though…ie: G_D Damn, etc….
Most people are libertarian with this difference:
The “right” really won’t tell you how to be free
The “left” wants to dictate how you will be free.
Most lefties I know are really unhappy people. Nothing is good, everything is always somebody else’s fault. Someone else should be fixing their problem. No personal responsibility, no accepting their own faults, never admitting to being wrong, etc. Also, they have a hard time using facts, logic and common sense.
A lefty’s biggest curse is that they guide their ideology with feelings instead of reality.
Most righties I know are much happier, accept their faults and try to improve themselves. They will usually discuss with those having opposing views using logic and common sense. It doesn’t always work well of course as lefties HATE logic.
The one misconception people have about having political or moral discourse with a “far right Christian” is that they are impossible to debate with on certain things. Well…duh. Some of their beliefs are based on their faith. Faith is faith..a belief in something just because. You really should not attempt to debate with someone on issues they take in faith.
Funny thing is, lefties are very much like the “far right Christians”. Their ideologies are based on feelings….like faith and thus you can never expect them to change their minds, regardless of the facts.
Eureka!
Liberalism is a religion!!!!! and socialism is it’s god!!!
muhahahhahha
couch
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:36 amESTI’d suggest using that third hand more productively.
People who are healthy generally like socialized health care because they have no idea what it really costs.
People who are chronically ill really like socialized health care because they realize they couldn’t possibly afford it themselves.
People who are acutely ill really hate socialized health care because they are told to wait their turn.
People who died “waiting their turn” for socialized healthcare could not be reached for comment.
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:36 amESTPeople whose relatives are chronically ill really hate socialized health care, however.
I have a parent back in the UK with cancer, and let me tell you, when you look into the differences in time to get treatment, what treatments are available, and perhaps most significantly of all, survival rate over time - well, let me put it this way, my opinion of the UK’s precious socialized health care isn’t even close to printable.
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:44 amESTConservatives are looking to convert people, or at least form useful coalitions on important issues where possible. Conservatives are also well practiced at living in a world where culture and media is dominated by the left, so we tend to welcome any ray of hope, like when a “liberal” (I hate the misuse of that word and prefer “lefty”) rethinks an orthodox lefty position. Also, because of lefty domination of poular media, we are well practiced at hearing contrary opinions, and being the minority in an argument - if we weren’t able to be civil about such matters, those of us that live in blue states would soon be without jobs or friends. I also tend to believe that conservatives tend to be big dog lovers.
Lefties (especially the web-kind - they’re not as in meatspace) mainly want to enforce orthodoxy - witness the massive pileon on TalkLeft or Kos when one of the diarists voices an even slightly heterodox opinion - it’s just ugly. They seem to have an overwhelming fear that their guys will stray off the reservation if iron disipline is not maintained at all times, and fear a return to Clinton-era triangulation (so do I, it was too damned effective).
That said, there are sites like RWNH and Ace of Spades where conservatives can let it rip, be as obnoxious as our opponents and generally undergo some much-needed catharsis. This is clearly not such a site, and like good guests, we mostly try to respect the wishes of the host. Also, we’re trying to convert you.
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:37 pmESTTrue. But, like insurance, it spreads the risk for catastrophic events.
Also true. And since I had a sister afflicted with cystic fibrosis, and family members with other chronic diseases, I appreciate it very much.
Also true. But much depends on the patient taking an active role in their own care and managing their case up the line. And having a good primary-care physician who will go to bat for you gives you an advantage over those who do not take care of themselves.
The same is true of those who died because their HMOs refused diagnostics or treatments because of the expense involved, or those who lost their jobs because their employers could no longer afford their health insurance.
I’m just sayin’…
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 pmESTAlso true of those who got caught without insurance for any reason at all when they got ill, and died because they weren’t rich enough to pay or poor enough for government programs and no one would treat them.
People like to pretend the only two alternatives are the dysfunctional money-sucking jungle we have, or socialized medicine. Most developed countries have blended systems with mandatory coverage, not government-as-single-payer. Not all “national health care” systems are “socialized medicine.”
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:11 pmEST“Not all “national health care” systems are “socialized medicine.”” True, but the Canadian system unarguably is, which why, as a survivor of/escapee from that system, I cringe/wince/throw up in my mouth when a Dem candidate mentions it. Most Aussies I know are pretty happy with their system of reasonable public system with options for better private. Philosophically I’m ok with that, but I do question its application to a country as big and diverse (values, geography, income) as the USA.
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:30 pmESTTurd (How did you get that name?), you wrote:
“Hi Lucy2.
I love that thought and want to believe it too. It gave me chills when I read it. It makes sense.
Perhaps the parable of the prodigal son means just that. I always wondered if the prodigal son alludes directly to Satan. If not, the story could be a plea from God for him to shape up a little with the promise of forgiveness. That would be a shocker and really fits the story. I am not saying to tempt God’s forgiveness and our own ability to differentiate between right and wrong, but it is an interesting tangent.
Who knows, maybe the whole existence of this universe represents the lengths to which The Good Shepherd will go while chasing that one special lost sheep.”
Turd, thank you for your comments. I had not thought about it in the context of the parable of the prodigal son, but what you say makes sense, especially your thought that Lucifer may be the prodigal son. As to why we are all here in this universe, my guess is that it is about the existence of life, life that is not pre-determined, life that finds its own organic way, life that God does not manage or control. Beautiful and free.
This is why freedom is our God-given, inalienable right.
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:21 pmESTYou’re smart and funny, and for that reason it’s worth giving your viewpoints a twirl, even if I conclude at the end of the day that I think you’re so wroooooong.
(On some things!) That’s the appeal for *this* Christian.
April 4th, 2008 at 12:35 amESTWow - your poll is pretty eye-opening. I myself am in the far right wing conspiracy category and am Christian. I just recently started my own blogsite last month and your were the first blogger I added to my roll. I first came across your site via Conservative Grapevine. I laughed so hard when I read your blog and so I visit your site regularly. I think I just like your forthrightness - none of this looking down your nose crap - you just say it how you see it. I can agree or not agree, but I do enjoy your blogs. Keep us laughing!!!
April 4th, 2008 at 10:05 amESTLucy2.
Amen to that. Chills again.
I changed my name from Sue. I had to fight a lot.
Now no one gets near me.
Really, I borrowed it from a laugh out loud SNL skit. The Jeopardy in which “Burt Reynolds” wrote his name as Turd Ferguson for his moniker on the screen. So, Alex had to call Burt “Turd Ferguson”. It was hilarious and I hope people here get a laugh out of it. Juvenile, I know, but it is funny as hell.
You should see my nearly three year old son when I call him Turd Ferguson (when he is defiant and pushing limits)! He LOSES it.
If you are close to any toddlers, try it. Talk about poking the bear.
April 4th, 2008 at 11:24 amESTRachel, we conservatives only seem nice, helpful, and reasonable. Actually we just appreciate any one telling the truth about important stuff, instead of making it up as they go along consistent with the sheeple mantra of gummint good, church baaaad, Chomsky smart, Hewitt asshole.
Love you Darlin’
April 6th, 2008 at 10:20 pmESTIt’s a strange world we live in. I love kids, am a moderate conservative (but most liberals would call me a radical right wing extremist), and a full blown Christian.
I first came here following a link from somewhere else that I had never been before (I think the Right Wing Grapevine {or whatever it’s called}), but unfortunately got here on the day you wrote a post about how you had rejected Christianity, much to the consternation of your parents. It was such a depressing sight, I didn’t come back for a long time, though your writing is spectacular.
Anyway, I followed another link to you and now have been reading you pretty regularly for several weeks.
I can’t really explain it, but I do enjoy your blog, though parts of it make me a little sad (and the posts about those rapist thugs and Al Sharpton made my eyes bleed and my skin crawl. I truly stood there as I was doing the dishes imagining that I was the one in the apartment next to the lady and using my shotgun to come to her defense, killing them all. I sure wish me or someone like me had been there. Dead bodies everywhere, but a woman and a son who would know that not everyone in the world is bad. Oh. That’s really another rant. I’ll stop now.)
Anyway, good blog. Except I have never seen more than a couple of minutes of AI and can’t imagine why anyone would actually subject themselves to that.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:20 pmESTRachel, I am a right wing conservative and a Christian (although some might question that) but my reason for enjoying your blog isn’t nearly so esoteric or principled as some. I like your blog because your my kinda woman! You cuss like a drunken sailor, love guns and your good looking too. How could I not like your blog?
April 15th, 2008 at 4:38 pmESTI’m sorry Rachel, but my personal experience runs contrary to yours. Most conservative blogs I have seen instantly leap to “liberalism is mental illness”, or “libtards”, or some variation of “liberals hate america”. Obviously I have seen this on many liberal blogs as well. I think there are a vocal minority of people on both sides that would rather use ad-hominems and angry fallacies instead of logical points and reasoned arguments.
April 17th, 2008 at 11:39 pmESTSORRY, What most people call “experience” is merely the willingness to forgive those who hold similar ideals to yours, coupled with animosity toward those who disagree. Sorry, they are the same people. Minds change, Life gives us new experience. What distinguishes an intelligent debate is an open mind, a willingness to listen, absent in any colloquy. I have been a fire breathing radical at Berkeley in the 60’s and a Reagan Republican since becoming a business owner and a family man. I literally can argue both sides, and it is a constant challenge to grant myself objectivity to be patient with the “opposition”. There is no “other side” merely those who can’t rise above their fears. It is my experience that this is true. If you own the Truth pound on the Truth. If you don’t, pound on the Table.
April 19th, 2008 at 11:54 amEST