The Partisan Divide on Issues

[David Horn]

(04-15-2020, 03:57 PM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote:

(04-15-2020, 12:20 PM)David Horn Wrote: ...  I live in very Red country, so I know many folks with that philosophical bent.  I find my Red friends, and I do have them, very generous on a one-to-one basis.  They're always ready and more than willing to help those they feel are deserving -- which tends to limit the extent of their sympathy to (1) friends and relatives (2) people they know through church (3) people they hear about through (1) or (2).  The idea of abstract generosity to the vast many is like a fish riding a bicycle -- more or less inconceivable.  Make it communal (i.e. tax based), and it becomes theft.

And yet the preamble to the Constitution says the government would and should "promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity".  The conservatives as tribal thinkers have traditionally fought this aspect of what it means to be American.

There has been a 40-year pattern of indoctrination that these folks have taken fully to heart. If you argue logic with them, they often get angry. If you argue feelings, they get offended by the liberal mindset. It's unwinnable. Apparently, our generation, as well as the Xers behind us, have to leave the stage before this changes, but I plan on having as good a time as possible on my way out.