Debunking "liberals don't think"

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2008
Debunking "liberals don't think"
107
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 1:37pm

I have often read the phrase "those liberals don't think, they only feel." Accompanying this phrase is often the analogy of Obama supporters as sheep who are so blinded by the light of Obama's celebrity that they fail to consider the issues carefully or logically.

First, I wanted to say that most liberals I know DO feel. They are very empathetic, compassionate people who do want to ease suffering in the world. I think that most conservatives are the same way. But liberals are not stupid. In fact, if you look at the data, higher levels of education are correlated with more liberal attitudes, although once you get into people with graduate degrees, the correlation flattens. The faculty at more prestigious universities also tend to be more liberal than the faculty at less prestigious universities. This is not to say that there are not highly intelligent people who are also conservative. My point is simply that saying liberals "don't think, they only feel" is simply a false explanation for disagreement.

Can't we all agree that two intelligent people considering the exact same information might come to different conclusions? Can't we all agree that two intelligent people carefully and logically considering the issues might still choose to vote for different presidential candidates? If we want to get over the polarization in our society, we need to stop thinking of people who disagree as being idiots.



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siggy aug 09

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-07-2003
Sun, 10-19-2008 - 2:24am

Both quotes are correct.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-07-2003
Sun, 10-19-2008 - 2:29am


Oh really? He was calling people who live in small towns out of touch. That's what he was saying. He was also saying they are stupid and bitter for clinging to their guns and Bibles for comfort. He also called them racists. Racism is what he was alluding to when he said about anti-immigrant sentiment. And who are the people that live in small towns? White people. So basically Barack was calling all white people who live in small towns bitter racists


Those comments were totally racist on Obama's part.


I agree totally.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-09-2007
Sun, 10-19-2008 - 9:55am

"Obama's original remark was more elitist than racist, as in, "those

Jess


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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2008
Sun, 10-19-2008 - 10:52am

"And who are the people that live in small towns? White people. So basically Barack was calling all white people who live in small towns bitter racists
Those comments were totally racist on Obama's part."

I'm not sure the logic follows on that conclusion. Just because many of the people in *some* small towns are white doesn't make this statement racist. Its the same incorrect logic as saying that someone who thinks Barack Obama would be a bad president is racist. Someone can think Barack Obama would be a bad president and it does NOT imply racism. I'd like to see his original comments, as opposed to a paraphrasing of them. I will admit that the stereotype that people who live in small towns are out of touch is one that I'm guilty of thinking sometimes myself. Many of my dear relatives live in a small town in NC and there is a sense that the people who live in this particular small town are very isolated from what's going on in the rest of the world and more likely to be racist than people who live in the larger cities nearby. I could never say that this is true of ALL small towns, but there are some small towns where I think I would come to a similar conclusion as Obama.
Does that make me racist? Is it really racist to come to the conclusion that some people are racist?



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siggy aug 09
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-2008
Sun, 10-19-2008 - 8:44pm

I know what you mean when you say 'Hollywood Elitists" That is the group that contains the ones who said they would leave the USA if Bush got elected. But I guess the money was too good to pass up and THEY ARE STILL HERE!!>

Someone who finally gets it! Thank you!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-24-2008
Sun, 10-19-2008 - 9:18pm
~~That is the group that contains the ones who said they would leave the USA if Bush got elected. But I guess the money was too good to pass up and THEY ARE STILL HERE!!>~~

~Someone who finally gets it! Thank you!~


Who are "the ones who said they would leave"?


Why are those in Hollywood who support Obama "elitist" but those in Hollywood who support McCain not?


I'm asking sincerely (am not American).

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-2008
Sun, 10-19-2008 - 9:20pm

<-http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/473ldzno.asp?pg=1 in this article you will find a list of celebrities who attended a FUNDRAISER for mccain. i guess that makes him an elitist too.>

You know exactly what is meant by Hollywood elitists, yet you pretend like it's over your head. The people who support McCain don't behave like elitists. They don't believe America is to blame for everything. They don't go around accusing our troops of being murderers and baby killers. They don't stamp their feet and threaten to leave the country every time someone they support doesn't win an election. They act like normal people, not like they're smarter than everyone else like the people who support Obama do.

<-because obama isnt going to give them takes cuts, maybe?>

You missed the point entirely. If Obama takes money from BIG OIL, should he have the right to complain about McCain taking money from BIG OIL? I don't think so.

<-unfortunately i dont think it makes them unworthy. a politician is a politician. they will abuse their power. but i just think it is unfair for you to criticize obama for taking big oil money, yet palin, who is supposed to be this washington outsider, abused her power and it doesnt bother you in the least. talk about specs and boards. and obama's people certainly did not conduct the investigation. did he send some of his people there? maybe. mccain sent some of his people there too but they did not conduct the investigation. youll notice in this article that called for the investigation the date is july 28, well before she was named vp http://www.ktva.com/ci_10026165 the report did say that she abused her power, but apparently that is legal, so not punishable. but i thought we were talking about character anyway?>

If you want to shift the argument to character, then how is Obama's bad judgment and lying where Ayers, Father Flager, and Jeremiah Wright are concerned a display of good character?

Then you seriously can't pick Obama. He thinks children with asthma use a breathalizer. He thinks there are 57 states in the continental US. He thinks Penn State is the home of the Knittley Lions. He thinks Afghanis speak Arabic, when in truth they speak Farsi, Pashtu, and Dari. Obama is not the brightest bulb in the lamp.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-09-2006
Sun, 10-19-2008 - 10:02pm

<>

OH! You guys mean "emigrant". An "elitist" is something quite different. I've noticed that it's often used to mean "intelligent and educated person" on this board.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-08-2008
Sun, 10-19-2008 - 10:16pm

LOL!

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2008
Sun, 10-19-2008 - 11:17pm

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