labeling people is no simple matter, but labeling the ideologies they adhere to is much more straightforward. just as the preachy morality of conservative figureheads is easily seen as nothing more than a thin veneer by their actions, so to is the altruistic caring of the liberal agenda belied by the means through which its proponents attempt to attain their ends. but none of that matters, it is the goal that matters and the path that is taken to reach it. being taken care of isn't enough, being able to take care of ourselves and being allowed to do so are of prime importance.
i don't doubt that you "just don't get" me and you probably never will. we aren't even fighting on the same battleground. while you rail against bosses and businesses from under whose thumb you could easily slip, the real battle is against the force of an omnipresent government from which there is no escape. while you whine about the unfairness of the natural state of man, others are trying to figure out how to use mankind's nature in the most positive way. while you propose forcing man into some preconceived mold, the real answer is to allow the better nature of man to emerge. are you beginning to get the picture? i doubt it.
grumpy old fart? possibly, though with little more than a half-century under my belt there are quite a few who wouldn't think i have put in enough time to deserve that title. i am, however, old enough to have become rather set in my ways, old enough to demand the liberty that is promised to all of us as citizens of this country. among those liberties is the right to be free of the unwarranted intrusion of government into my life. even though i have been sensible enough to limit my interaction with government and am relatively free of its clutches, the mere threat of nanny state regulations and being forced to support the government created under-class must be fought against. that so many of my fellow citizens are so willing to embrace those chains is a rather frightening prospect for someone like me. that so many people are perfectly willing to ignore the future repercussions of actions that do nothing more than engorge an already bloated state-dependent under-class points only to the decay that a growing system of entitlements has wrought in our society. once you realize the mess we are creating for ourselves, it's enough to make even a youngster grumpy.