Trying to understand a
liberal is like trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks – the more you dig into
it, the less there is to hold on to. In
contrast to conservatives who, as a group, are generally motivated by similar
core values and beliefs, liberals are an extremely diverse group and are
motivated by very dissimilar core values and beliefs but who find all their
wants fulfilled under one tent. They
tend to be single-issue voters who either refuse or are unable to see the big
picture. To them, the concept of the “greater
good” is not about hard choices, it is about manipulation of the masses.
It has been my observation
the liberal ideology is more a function of a visceral or emotional reaction
than that of objective, practical and rational thinking. For example, the liberal mind’s first
response to a law that places an unintended burden on the strugglers among us
is to ignore or refuse to obey the law. I
believe this behavior is the result of negative events and circumstances which
occurred during their formative years and were so impactful they have precluded
normal emotional growth and maturity. As
adults, they are still controlled by the emotional pain they endured in their
youth and this pain demands retribution.
The consequence is a diminished capacity for objectivity and rational
behavior. Have you ever noticed that as some
liberals do mature, their core beliefs become more conservative but the reverse
is not true for conservatives? And
because they are emotionally driven, their overwhelming desire is for immediate
gratification at the expense of our liberties.
For example, liberals exert little effort to working within the
established system when it comes to their important issues. Rather, they take the path that best reflects
their emotional state and claim this is part of the process of change. They generally lack confidence in the system
because they don’t want to spend the time, energy, and resources required to garner
majority support from the huddled masses.
And they don’t trust the masses to either comprehend their plight or
care enough to pay attention. They are
prone to doing the same things over and over again yet expecting different
results. Their immediate answer to any
failed policy or program is, “it was underfunded” – not that it was poorly
conceived, poorly executed and poorly controlled. Spending taxpayer money relieves the guilt, anxiety
and stress brought on by their emotional immaturity.
Generally speaking, the
liberal mind will focus more on “how far we have to go” without acknowledging
“how far we have already come”. Recall
the last time you heard a liberal extol the virtues of our nation and
acknowledge that we have provided a higher standard of living, for more of our
people, for a longer period of time than any other society in the history of
the world. They would rather focus on
our errors, omissions and mistakes and then use these to invalidate our democracy,
accomplishments and legacy. Most of them
have no clue how our economy works and have no interest or inclination to
understanding even the most basic principles of economics. In fact, they prefer to demonize our nation’s
greatest achievers and entrepreneurs instead of extolling their virtues and
contributions. If liberals have one
thing in common, it is their disdain for absolutes and for traditional American
virtues such as character, integrity, courage, morality, honesty, truthfulness and
fair play. The only absolute in the
liberal playbook is, “the ends justify the means”.
But there are many other
factors which contribute to an individual joining the liberal parade. I believe the list below is fairly
comprehensive in its attempt to define what moves and motivates people to
identify themselves as liberal. While
there are eight separate definitions, keep in mind it is possible and quite
probable that certain individuals will identify with more than one
definition. Here is the list with my
definitions thereafter.
1. Intellectual Elitists
2. Ruthlessly Ambitious
3. Naïve Ideologues
4. Socially Shallow
5. Faithful Followers
6. Vengeful Victims
7. Readily Exploited
8. Shameless Freeloaders
1. Intellectual Elitists. These are folks who have no real connection
to the general public or society as a whole.
They live in a world of theory and conjecture driven by their ability to
conceive without a corresponding responsibility to validate. Their theoretical contemplations have little
basis in reality and are not tempered by any practical experience which is, of
course, irrelevant in their professional and social circles. These are the people who are absolutely
certain they are the smartest people in the room and that they are the only
humans capable of effectively managing a society. These are the ones who are embarrassed by
American culture and who would make the chant, “USA! USA! USA!” illegal. They are convinced the entire history of the
world has been nothing more than a prelude to their existence. They know they are not particularly
well-rounded or multi-dimensional and therefore strive for relevance to offset
their feelings of inadequacy. They live
in a state of denial when it comes to the failed history of socially engineered
societies, and they find it extremely difficult to understand why our culture doesn’t
value their abilities and contributions as much as other disciplines,
professions and endeavors. If they are religious, it is a religion they
define to their liking and they are its central player because there is no
higher authority than them self. Examples
would include professional scholars and academics, career politicians, political
analysts/pundits, public service leaders, and those who believe knowledge is
mankind’s most important pursuit.
2. Ruthlessly Ambitious. These
are probably the most dangerous of all societal groups. They are generally energetic and charismatic
and find it easy and satisfying to manipulate and hustle those who they deem to
be a means to an end. Their objective is
purely self-directed and liberalism is simply a vehicle to pursue their
ambitions. Their real motives are
disguised in a cloak of contrived compassion and a veneer of patriotism. Most of these people are simply bullies going
through life with little regard for the consequences of their actions on other
people. However, liberalism is an ideal
medium for their talents given their reliance on intimidation and fear to
achieve their desired goals. These folks
thrive in any political situation or ideology because their objective is
self-fulfillment and satisfaction which have nothing to do with the political or
cultural themes of the day. As with any
ambitious individual, control, recognition and greed drive the energy of their pursuits. Religion is the biggest threat and only real
challenge to the authority they pursue and, of course, must either be
de-emphasized, demonized or eliminated. Examples
would include career politicians, community organizers, activists/anarchists, union
leaders, empire builders, and organized criminals.
3. Naïve Ideologues. These folks really do believe in utopian
ideals put forth by Intellectual Elitists.
They embrace impractical and idealistic schemes for social and political
reform but they are not socialists -- they want the benefits and opportunities
provided by capitalism but they don’t want anyone left behind or left out. While they are capable thinkers, the
dominance of their emotions overshadows their ability for logical
reasoning. They are naïve in the sense
they can’t see that everything is in motion, that security is a transient state,
and that winners and losers are the evidence of life’s natural ebb and flow. The application of tough love for the
strugglers among us heightens their personal guilt for any success they may have
achieved. Their lack of understanding of
the nature of humans compels them to demand of the government greater influence
and involvement in managing our daily lives.
These are very well-meaning people who are overwhelmed by the cruelty
life can bring, and who believe their compassion must be fulfilled and subsidized
by society as a whole. As individuals,
they feel impotent to effect changes necessary to level the playing field, and
they are easily led astray by gregarious and charming personalities. The faithful in this group will typically
choose religions which have adopted the political correctness of our culture. Examples include social workers, religious
leaders, social climbers, defenders of a cause, educators, volunteers,
philanthropists, and do-gooders.
4. Socially Shallow. Similar to the Ruthlessly Ambitious, life is
all about getting what they think is important.
However, they do have a conscience and are restrained by their insecurity
and lack of self-confidence. They want a
comfortable lifestyle but more importantly, they want acceptance and validation
of who they are. They must know the
“right people”, they must do what the “right people do”, and they must reflect
what the “right people” think even when it contradicts their own core values
and beliefs. They are intelligent and
educated but contemplative thought may threaten their social ambitions and stature. They will work hard to accumulate material
things but won’t spend much time researching and analyzing inconvenient truths
or views that destabilize their comfort zone.
They are culturally and politically aware of their environment but avoid
any real engagement or commitment. They
avoid, at all costs, taking any position which may risk their perceived social
stature or their current, comfortable lifestyle. Integrity, character and morality are not
absolutes in their pursuit of happiness.
“Go along to get along” and “what’s in it for me” are the best epithets
to describe this group. Similar to the
Naïve Ideologues, they are smitten by those who demonstrate style and
personality. Religion to this group is
primarily a social activity to sustain appearances and connections. Examples include creative artists, the
upwardly mobile and the socially active.
5. Faithful Followers. These are the most useful tools of the
Ruthlessly Ambitious. They are competent
and educated but not the sharpest knives in the drawer and not particularly
introspective of their own lives. Their
allegiances run very deep in their psyche and often beyond their own awareness
or understanding of its origin. Consequently,
they seek only validation and justification for their beliefs and loyalties. They have so earnestly defended their
allegiances they can no longer seriously entertain contradictory arguments and
even, more bluntly, to think for themselves.
They deny themselves the freedom to evaluate facts and truths which may challenge
their loyalties. To switch affiliations
is tantamount to invalidating their whole adult life. These are very insecure people who find
safety in groups – they are the belongers of the world who can be counted on to
carry the water over any terrain. These
are the folks who are quick to excuse bad behavior by citing other examples of
bad behavior, and their favorite tactic is to demonize their opponents as
opposed to their positions. It is a
small step for them to become over-zealous and to make the debate
personal. They often use the term “hate”
in their rhetoric but my experience tells me those who hate others first hated
themselves. They are extremely
threatened by strong, self-reliant individuals who may represent the
adversaries of their pasts. On the other
hand, they resemble groupies, given to ardently following and identifying with larger-than-life
individuals who have played an important role in their life or with whom there
is a strong emotional bond. Religion is
not a central theme in their lives because most religions will promulgate some
values which are incompatible with their loyalties. Examples are party
loyalists and volunteers, those who would rather follow than lead, those born
into families with long-term party affiliations, those with a white-knuckle
grip on the past.
6. Vengeful Victims. Regrettably, the fastest growing segment of
our society. These are people paralyzed
by the events and circumstances of their lives and whose self-esteem and
self-confidence has never fully matured.
Life is what has happened to them and not what they made happen for
themselves. They refuse to accept
responsibility for their own lives and console themselves in the conviction
their misery is the consequence of the actions of others. They believe life should be fair and if it’s
not then they are entitled to some form of compensating adjustment. These people rarely see life as a wonderful
opportunity to pursue dreams and passions but only see the obstacles and
roadblocks they must circumvent and overcome.
Typically, they have lots of emotional scars from tragedies, personal attacks
and defeats, and they have been overlooked for their desirability and
capability. They are so consumed with
their own plight they don’t realize they are wasting the one life they have
been given. They lack the determination
and perseverance so essential to survival primarily because it was never
modeled for them. They are typically envious
of those who have succeeded and believe those that have, have done so at their
expense, and they resent those who they perceive as having been the source of
their misery. Therefore, it is only fair
the successful and the gifted should be compelled to share their rewards with
those they have plundered. Entitlement
is at the core of their convictions. Their
desire for retribution is far greater than their desire for liberty. This group is most easily manipulated by the
Ruthlessly Ambitious. Religion to this
group resembles a life insurance policy – many are believers, just in case, but
their lives do not reflect religious doctrines or principles. Examples include those who have experienced
persecution, discrimination, repeated disappointment, those born into financial
insecurity, those who have not had positive role models, and those who are
angry with themselves and the choices they have made.
7. Readily Exploited. This group is similar to the Socially Shallow
and the Faithful Followers in that thinking for themselves is not their
strongest suit. Where they differ however
is in their lack of depth of life experiences and accumulated wisdom. Their selfish-immaturity drives them away but
never towards. It is unusual for them to articulately define their own core
values. Their understanding of “new” is,
it has never existed before and not just new to them. And they are easily captivated by those who
bring or present them with “new” things and ideas or who employ “new” tactics
and strategies. Like the Intellectual
Elitists, they are the “chosen” generation who are destined to enlighten
humanity. But unique to this group is
the handicap of prolonged prosperity. They
have yet to face the reality of survival and they have never witnessed real
sacrifice and self-restraint.
Perseverance and determination are not models with which they are familiar
and instant gratification is the central theme of their lives. If they follow the dots, then they should
arrive at their destination. Organized
religion plays little if no role in the lives of these immature adults. Examples of this group are young adults who
have not experienced traditional family values, who despise the necessity of
competition, who identify or have participated in the “occupy” movement, and
college students just beginning to explore their cognitive abilities.
