Rodent Regatta

Individuals believe different things. We define liberal and conservative differently. We define Republican and Democrat differently. Often, we define these terms in light of specific individuals. Define a liberal using Franklin or Eleanor Roosevelt as your model and you’ll get a rather different looking critter from the one you get using Whoopie Goldberg or Alec Baldwin as your model!

Here’s a very small portion of how one conservative attempted to explain the issues to an impressionable, teachable 24 year old who is seeking her way.

”Take the universe of the American people. We all want, for the most part, I mean there are some exceptions to this, we all want the same things in life. We want freedom; we want the chance for prosperity; we want to be the best we can be; we want as few people suffering as possible, economically; we want to have healthy children; we want to have crime-free streets; all these things, they’re pretty common. Doesn’t matter what race you are, doesn’t matter what gender you are, doesn’t matter what sexual orientation you are, these are the things we want. The argument is how to achieve them.

Now, the American left, or liberals believe, that the individual, on balance, is not capable of providing all of those things him or herself, because American left believes that most people are not equipped to make the best judgments for themselves, they’re not equipped to access the economy and do the best for themselves economically.

The American Conservative, the right, believes that freedom is the essence of life in America and that freedom allows everybody to seek whatever it is they want and need on their own terms, and that they are far better equipped to get what they want and need than a central government distributing things to people based on what that government thinks people should want and should need.”

Rush Limbaugh
Responding to a caller’s question/dilemma
July 9, 2004