This thread isn't about religion. I am not a religious man though I do pity those who can not see the value in the precepts of the Judo-Christian philosophy. If you really think these are all a bunch of nonsense, try to imagine a society that lived by their opposites. It might also interest many to know that just about every great philosopher has gleaned a great deal from religion and many have conceived different definitions of "God." But if one has not studied either I can see why that person might have such a simple view.
Getting back on topic, I would guess that like me, many Conservatives on this forum were Liberal in their youth and became Conservative as they learned that certain things in life simply work while others fail. Personal responsibility and a strong work ethic work - blaming society and expecting hand outs doesn't. A strong National defense works - trying to make friends with your enemies doesn't.
On the other hand, I do not suspect that many people spend their youth as in the Young Republicans and then become Liberal as adults based on evolution of thought. Because the former is typical and latter is not, it makes sense to me that some Conservatives just reach an intellectual plateau that Liberals do not. Now it is important to understand that not all Conservatives reach that plateau. Some just grow up around other Conservatives and just go along, others are religious and are Conservative because we both follow the same basic value system - the one that works.
Liberals are defined by their rejection of traditional values. This rejection is kind of haphazard. They are likely to promote things like Moral Relativism which is a debunked belief still widely held by Liberals. Basically, the Right thinks that life has rules that must be followed in order to have a harmonious society. The Left thinks there should be no rules and we should all just do as we wish and everything will be fine. Kind of like the kids in "Lord of the Flies."
In the end, I think that of everyone there is a small handful of people who are true thinkers. These people are actually not Right or Left but necessarily Independent. However, because radicals have skewed the scale I think most Independents find themselves more right than center. After all, if the question is posed of whether or not a black student with a 2.8 should get into medical school over a white student with a 3.8, there is no question that a thinker would answer "no." Only a radical with obscured judgment could possibly say yes to this question. And when Rosie O'Donnell said that we have as much to fear from radical Christians as from radical Muslims, only someone with their brain firmly in the off position would agree. Such a person (as to my original point) would be as likely to go with the flow by marching in lockstep with the Nazis as they would be to get behind such an asinine comment. In fact, when you make light of the threat of radical Islam, you are essentially marching with the Nazis.
