Mortal Enemies
by Michael WilsonA few weeks ago, I was going to write a piece demolishing a classic Hollywood Liberal who I’d been conversing with. I was going to take his Big-Government ideas and jam them squarely up his $Xmilllion-per-picture ass. But the more I thought about how I felt about the origin story of this article, the less comfortable I became. I don’t think @ghostpanther is evil and I’d be lying to you if I followed that original path.
Adam McKay, the director of films like “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and “Stepbrothers” and I have been entrenched in a Twitter-based back and forth for months. An epic battle where only one man can be left standing. It’s like “Highlander.” There can be only one.
Or not.
Adam and I have been involved in what I can only describe as the most respectful and short-phrased debate about what we want our country to be that I’ve ever seen, let alone participated in. We’ve referenced everything from the Teapot Dome scandal to the Roman Empire to the original “Battlestar Galactica.” And that was just today. Since noon.
Adam is a hardcore lefty with wacky-crazy-nutty beliefs about corporate corruption and big-government solutions. He’s demonstrably wrong about practically everything. His ideas are destructive to our Republic. His view of America directly contradicts what the Founders envisioned when they laid out the rules for what this nation would be. And yet I like him. A lot.
See, those of us who consider ourselves to be political animals frequently forget that the people we’re arguing against are also people. And while the recent SCOTUS decision doesn’t do anything close to turning corporations into people, we should remember that those with whom we disagree are not nameless, faceless entities that revel in evil and wish to destroy the world.
@Ghostpanther, as he’s known in the Twitter world, is my favorite kind of liberal. Unapologetic. True to his convictions. Knows that his ideas are contrary to the Constitution. But he studies history and facts and just sees it all differently than I do. He’s a good man with bad ideas.
I have to say something now that might be painful to people who know me personally. But it needs to be said to place this article in context. The thing is, the vast majority of liberals I know are just uninformed, ignorant or stupid. They believe what they believe because they haven’t learned enough, thought through enough, or experienced enough. Or they want people to like them. They see a genuine problem and say “someone should do something” without concern for the results when “someone” turns out to be the monopoly on force we know as government and that it takes money from other people at gunpoint.
This is relevant, because I have almost no respect for those liberals when it comes to their political ideology. Their opinions don’t matter, because they’re not based on an understanding of facts and history in combination with experience. They’re usually based on whatever fucktard “issue” is being covered most at TMZ or “Entertainment Tonight” at the time.
But this Adam McKay guy is different. He’s the kind of liberal I like to hang out with (there are about 4 in my personal life) because he understands that his ideas, if brought to fruition, would result in a different United States of America than we’ve always known. He just doesn’t care, because HIS America is better than OUR America.
He’s wrong, of course. But this is what we’re supposed to do. We’re supposed to disagree and struggle and rumble until the wee hours. We’re supposed to fight like crazy and win in the Arena of Ideas. We are supposed to be able to yell FUCK YOU! across the room or web and still be able to talk politely about stuff later. We’re supposed to hate the people we love, and I love Adam McKay as a fellow American. But, of course, I hate him. He’s wrong, you know.
But it’s all good. I don’t think that Adam McKay is evil. I presume that while he disagrees with me (he’s wrong), he doesn’t think I’m evil. And while we’ve never met and we’re not friends, I respect Adam McKay for his crazy liberalism and for his willingness to fight for it. This is the arena of ideas, and I hope we keep battling it out like Highlander. A famous, rich, limousine-liberal movie director and a broke-ass, hardly-known, right-wingnut movie director going at it for months on end. What could be better and worse for America?
To follow the best and worst of American political discourse, hit up @ghostpanther and @Wilson_Michael
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109 Comments
Interesting take…
Pardon me…if someone is waving around a gun and pointing it at people, why am I supposed to like them just because they're personally engaging…?
But he's not the one waving the gun–he just supports others' rights to wave a gun in your face and demand your money, your watch, and your car keys.
I've always thought that most liberals were just uninformed (or misinformed) conservatives. I respect your congeniality in this matter, Michael.
But it’s all good. I don’t think that Adam McKay is evil. I presume that while he disagrees with me (he’s wrong), he doesn’t think I’m evil.
That may be true in his case but the VAST majority of leftists do think that anyone to the right of Mao is either evil, stupid, or a combination of the two. This is what makes it near impossible to converse with these people without the aid of alcohol.
I've never understood why people who are wrong and whose ideas are evil should be respected simply because they are passionate and sincere. (GODWIN ALERT) Adolf Hitler was very sincere and passionate. If someone is superficially pleasant or attractive, but holds beliefs which are repulsive and horrible, then they are a repulsive, horrible person. I would not call such a person my friend.
Governments and people are not perfectible and I refuse to give them the power over me to " try".
Liberal-socialists never give in because they're sure their notion of "perfect" is more perfect than the next guys.
They should "perfect" San Francisco or Hollywood firs — and then work out from there.
So this Adam idiot is a multi millionaire from this country that has a system he hates and made him rich? I say he is a danger and needs to be imprisoned or sent to some other country. Anyone who thinks the Constitution is wrong does not deserve to live in this country and especially get rich off it. People like him want people like me and my family to live the way the deem right while the float above it all with their wealth and power. No thanks I can't be civil with him.
The paragraph starting with "I have to say something" is spot on. Liberalism is the non-thinking choice for most people. It allows them to take the political path of least resistance. Make people think, and they'll most often choose not to do so. They'd rather defend their ignorance than learn.
I have friends with whom I disagree about various and sundry things…but I don't think I could be friends with someone whose world view and view of America and what she should be is diametrically opposed to my own. That would make my head go all 'splody and then there's a mess and.. yada yada yada…..not worth it.
Michael, as the old saying goes, "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." Patting yourself on the back for your tolerance makes you feel good and accomplishes nothing else. Are you sure you're not a GOP congressman in disguise?
I completely understand where you're coming from Michael. As a young whatever-I-am, (I hate labels) working for plaintiff lawyers, I am in political dicussions constantly. Some of the lefties here just spout out the latest talking point by MSNBC and some actually have thoughtful claims that make sense in their world. We can have heated debate a the lunch table, then go back to work like nothing happens.
So in order to be "part of the solution" I have to hate the person as well as their ideas? Isn't winning in the arena of ideas the real solution?
Two points: First, expect them to find you horrible and repulsive as well. And two, this post was not about someone who was passionate and sincere. This was about someone who was educated and reasoned.
If the only liberals we ever had to deal with were the educated and reasoned ones, we could put them all together in one stadium and let them debate each other to death. Its the uneducated, lazy ones that cause most of the problems.
The man made two really crappy movies that I wouldnt pay to see with other peoples money and he wants to bash the US? Typical.
I take a slightly different approach to liberal/progressives in my life.
I live and work in L.A. so I can't help but be surrounded by people like McKay, as many of us are on this site.
And I also have a very small handful of liberal/progressive "friends". (Notice the quotes)
Because here's the thing: After Obama got elected, I realized I COULD NOT be genuine friends with these people. Sure, I could work with them (like I have a choice!) and even socialize with them occasionally, but be FRIENDS?
No… impossible.
I don't know how you see it, but to me I can only really be friends, genuine friends, with people who are fundamentally like me. And no, I'm not talking about race or gender or religion either. I'm talking about core values, I'm talking about worldview, I'm talking about the fundamental make-up of a person.
And after the election of Obama, I realized: I can't be friends with liberals.
Why? At our core, me and a liberal have ZERO in common.
So I purged liberals from my life.
Some I did so to openly. Others, I just distanced myself quietly. They're the ones that ask: "Dude, why don't we hang out anymore?"
I can't stand being around them.
I can't stand being around their twisted ideology, their dangerous worldview.
I just can't be around them.
Look, I suspect they feel the same about me. So I did everyone a favor and severed the relationship.
Again, I still work with some of them and I see them at a gathering or a function or whatever and I'm obviously civil and polite, but at the end of the night, I get in my car and never think about them again.
I've been liberated in a way.
Luckily, I have my conservative (sane) friends and my spouse, so I don't need much else in terms of social circles. I really don't.
So Michael, I guess I only ask this: Why bother?
These people are so jacked up and contorted and horrifyingly wrong in every fundamental way, why do you even bother engaging them. Of course you're going to disagree with them. About everything.
But I (finally) learned post-Obama, that there is no point to debating these idiots. They won't change.
I mean, will we? No. So why would they?
That's why I've re-set my life. I don't bother talking to these freaks anymore. I gain nothing from it, except high blood pressure.
I don't need to understand my enemy. I already get who they are. So out they go.
And personally, I have no interest in engaging them ever again. Because there really is no point to it.
Nathan, statism ALWAYS leads to the same end…
Sooner or later, the state decides to ensure cooperation through force…always…
The state must always be restrained against encroachment of the rights and liberties of the individual…
Mike, hate is not the problem…its accommodation…
Your friend may be nice, but even nice guys trying to shackle you up as one of the horses under one whip is still selling you into slavery to the state…
The guy screaming and forcefully dragging you into slavery is easy to oppose…the one gently and softly guiding you into the chains is the one you should be standing firmly against…
The actual term "Liberal" is a contradiction, especially when applied to people. By the book a liberal is one who is not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry. However people who claim to be liberal have established their own traditions and orthodoxies (Church of Global Warming, Evangelical Atheism, etc), have developed incredibly strict authoritarian attitudes where anyone who falls out of lock step with the group is fallen apon like fresh meat in a pitbull kennel (Pink is the new Brown{shirt}), and free from bigotry? Puleeeeeze – anyone remember Condolezza Rice being called "Aunt Jemima"? and it wasn't Pat Robertson who called Colin Powell "Uncle Tom"
True liberals in the dictionary definition are few and far between, and generally very intelligent and on the whole a delight to debate. They don't see the constitution as a hurdle but as a framework to be improved upon. They see the hypocrisy of the left and are embarrassed to be associated with it. My favorite liberal was an college professor and being the only openly conservative student he had my classmates thought we'd be at each others throats. On the contrary we had a mutual respect for each others beliefs. However robotic leftists in his department were rarely spared my wrath, as the teacher who publicly professed an admiration for Communism in front of me found out. As her department head told her "Don't start a knife fight if you're only holding a daisy."
Exactly.
I would add something else: why would you continue to be around people who hate your guts and think you are evil with a capital E? Wilson believes McKay doesn't think he's Evil? Oh yes he does.
Michael, I too have more respect when I argue with someone that actually believes what they are saying because they've thought about it. As long as you have to stomach to listen to the wrong conclusions being spewed at you, I say go for it!
I, on the other hand, have come to the conclusion that the only thing that seems to convert liberals from the Dark Side is an event such as 9/11. I have yet to meet one that was converted by persuasion from conservative-and I hope you can make Adam the first I know of.
Perfect. I actually felt a weight lift off my shoulders reading your post… because you're absolutely right – there really is no point to it. What a relief! Thank you!
I work in a similar environment, and I try to stay out of discussions like that at work because they always end up getting heated. I'm able to leave it at the water cooler, but the opposite isn't true. I'll get the snarky comment as I'm walking by.
Inevitably during the discussion the words get personal, I've been called some pretty nasty things by these folks so I refrain from even getting into it with them. And when I make a point they can't shoot down they turn into 9 year olds and start with the name name calling. Sarah Palin always brings out the worst kind of childish nonsense, you should see how silly they look with the spittle flying and the red faced rants.
Education has no bearing on intelligence. The simple fact that McKay is well read doesn't make him smart.
Many, many, liberals have college educations and advanced degrees. They're still stupid. McKay, as he is described in this article, is not only stupid, he is also mentally ill. Only someone mentally ill could advocate ideas his own education tells him are unworkable. To be informed, and still hold ideas that have never worked in the history of mankind, is metal illness.
OK, maybe I made things made a little too hunky dory. I work with the same types of lefties and those people I most definitely stay away from. There are a few that can handle opposing views. Unfortunately the big bossman is pretty awful, and has even called me a nazi (altho he didn't explain why at the time) I usually just roll my eyes.
Not sure if it's good or bad I'm old enough to remember the days of agreeing to disagree, before political discourse devolved on both sides of the aisle (more so on the all-over-but-the-shouting left, but that's obvious
). Regardless, it's nice to see at least some level of intellectual honesty from McKay. Not a lot, but more than I usually see in Hell-A.
When B. Hussein O. Jr. was elected, I purged a lefty because she would self rightously, blithely, literally destroy the USA. I understood that she wasn't going to merely change our civilization but wipe it off the face of the earth.
You're clearly not alone – as evidenced by the fact that George W Bush spent 8 years in the White House. He went to Yale (although only through nepotism) and is still a complete moron.
And it's that sort of characterization of our President that makes some liberals think of conservatives as evil. Show a little respect.
When Hollywood is dead and buried in the bankruptcy grave only then will America be freed from a tyrannical regime.
If you continue consuming Hollywood's evil crap then you'll remain enslaved to a sewer full of tyrants.
On a slightly relevant subject – and that because this is what the Left wants to do and HAS done in Australia and other places:
Cyberspace Censorship moves in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG–42sjAvA&fe...
My problem is that I can't let something like that go. Once someone calls me a name I have to respond. I can't let them have the last word because it's always wrong. So I just stay away from those folks when the setting is not work related.
I made the mistake of asking one woman why she disliked Sarah Palin so much. Palin is a successful governor, a mom, a wife. This is someone to be admired by everyone and especially professional women, so why the hatred?
The response? "Because she's stupid….."
That's all she had. A highly educated person and all she could spit out was that Palin was stupid. How on earth are sane adults supposed to have an honest conversation with such childish people?
Michael, If McKay were a stuntman would he have your respect? Is it just his success that blinds you….yuk
""Don't start a knife fight if you're only holding a daisy.""
That was an excellent response and ones we conservatives should take up.
Michael, I admire your high-road approach but do you think he's as gracious about you to his lefty friends? 5 will get you 10 that he throws you under the bus as a racist Nazi.
Maybe thats the point. Maybe your show of civility on this blog towards someone like McKay is the true measure of the differences between those on the left and us. In the end they will lose. I firmly believe that. They will not be able to convert this country into something that it was never meant to be. And to that end we must also be prepared to take the low road. To ridicule their idiotic beliefs. They bring a knife, we bring a GAU-8 Avenger cannon.
We know they can dish it out, let's see if they can take it….
"To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects." – Margaret Thatcher
I have had to learn how to deal with this as my son, who is basically a libertarian, married a democrat who was educated at a liberal university, raised by liberals and thought she was liberal. I knew my son loved her and therefore her true principles could not be far off of mine, and I knew I had to learn to love her. I found that while she was raised to be a Democrat and her family are Democrats, we have much in common in our views and as we've talked I think she has discovered that she is much more conservative than she would have thought.
I have actually found this to be true with many Democrats. As they educate themselves about true conservatism, and not the "evil bad" stuff they hear from the media, they find that they actually agree with it. She actually thought that Republicans wanted there to be no help for those in need and such other nonsense. Mostly it's not worth the effort and the name calling you get to try though.
If a person who does not believe the hype about big bad Conservatives, understands what true progressives are after and that it is unconstitutional, and they still support it, then I can't respect them. If you understand human nature and if you understand the founding fathers, what they did, why they did it and what they were trying to prevent, and you still don't believe in the constitution, then you don't belong in the US. Time for you to move to Cuba, and you can do so without my respect.
Wow, that's just crazy. If anyone had any doubts that Bill Gates is either insane or plain old evil, they should be convinced now….lol
Elizabeth,
If McKay were a stuntman, he probably wouldn't be so hard-core, dyed-in-the-wool, far left moonbat. It isn't that McKay's success blinds Michael… it's McKay's success that might very well be a key factor in founding McKay's wrong-headed ideas.
I try to have the same attitude Michael does with people I know… and it is more useful and demonstrative when others see you act respectful.
"…statism ALWAYS leads to the same end… "
Dependency and poverty. And those kill people. Literally.
I have said the same thing. Liberals are not liberal. Their minds are narrow and shut tight. They are only accepting of those who think exactly like they do.
My son who lived in Oregon said he lived among two kinds of Hippie liberals, the kind who were really liberal and accepting of everyone and their choices, not that making no judgments in life is a great way to live, but it's easy, and the fake hippies who pretended to be "liberal" but really were full of hate for religion, conservatives and the military.
But this is what we’re supposed to do. We’re supposed to disagree and struggle and rumble until the wee hours. We’re supposed to fight like crazy and win in the Arena of Ideas.
You nailed that one right on the head. At the constitutional convention, the founding fathers found they only agreed on one point: they could not agree on anything. They realized the debates, the issues, difference of opinions would never end, especially in a nation as diverse and large as America was.
So they came up an absolutely brilliant concept – the debate never ends. That's where Congress with it's convoluted and arcane rules comes into play. The idea was to make it as hard as possible for elected politicians to accomplish anything. Instead, keep them screaming, fighting and yelling at each other, and they won't have the time or ability to bother We The People.
I describe the legislative process as a a giant, nearly endless maze with speed bumps. It's supposed to be like that.
Next time you see the federal government appearing to function well, and accomplish things, its busted. When it looks like the government can't accomplish anything, then its working exactly as designed.
Two points: Hitler was not always sincere. And I have my doubts about the level of education and reasoning. I don´t know in detail what he advocates, but someone who has a basic understanding of economic, history and the human condition will not end up on the left. You can be a third-way moderate or you can be an American small-government conservative. Both can make an argument that their ideal will provide the best outcome for the country and the people. But you cannot be a statist and call yourself smart.
Ahhh, but they did agree on the constitution in the end, and that's where I really draw the line. After taking time to delve into the whys and wherefores of the constitution and gaining immense respect for the scope of thought of the founding fathers and their understanding of history and human nature, if someone doesn't believe in our constitution then they aren't worth my time or respect.
"My problem is that I can't let something like that go. Once someone calls me a name I have to respond. I can't let them have the last word because it's always wrong. So I just stay away from those folks when the setting is not work related. "
And there lies the dilemma, I normally wouldn't let that go and get to the bottom of the absurdity of such a claim, but alas, I need my job.
Is it okay if I hate Adam McKay because of his lousy movies? His politics just add fuel to the fire.
Exactly, I find avoiding it keeps me gainfully employed….
Exactly. A classical liberal is different from a modern liberal or "progressive".
Even I might have been an anti-communist liberal 60 years ago and many conservatives of today were.
I've always thought that most liberals were just uninformed (or misinformed) conservatives.
I think we're all potential conservatives. All it takes is one just-hard-enough bitchslap by reality — for a lot of newly-minted conservatives or neocons, 9/11 was exactly that.
The trouble is that a great number of liberals have devoted all their efforts to making as many people as possible reality-proof.
Mike, I respect you for taking the high ground, but it's just a ridiculous situation: a very rich member of the California elite (note that talent matters little here) telling an independent filmmaker of modest means that America is unfair and needs to be rebuilt.
There are some people who are simply unworthy of your respect. Adam McKay is one of those people, not only for his banal professional output and blatant hypocrisy but for the extreme hubris of imagining himself more intelligent than the Founding Fathers. How many countries that lasted 250 years and became world superpowers has Adam McKay founded? He can't even make a movie that stays in theaters longer than two weeks.
I feel the same way and used to use the word "purged" to describe what I had to do to these "friends", but after reading a post in here some months back, I now use the "Sopranos" reference "whacked". I've whacked many, many online "friends" as well as many in real life. I've even whacked my loony tunes liberal /teacher sister outta my life and I feel ever so much better for it.
McKay is a POS and I don't see what this article was about, except how you have a stupid liberal that you argue with and that you think you could hang with.
Gag me with a stick.
What is so interesting about the authors disagreement with his libturd friend, is this……does the Big Hollywood director really think that he deserves millions for directing a crappy picture when a Doctor, or even a corporate executive doesn't make that salary? Is what he does worth more than say a really great teacher? I already know the answer. He does. That is socialism. It's always about other people's money. Personally I've ditched all of my really liberal friends. Life is too short and I can't handle their drama. I work for a living. They live off the government tit. Go figure.
God, Stepbrothers was totally unwatchable….and believe me, I tried…..
"Respect" is not listed in the Bill of Rights, or even in the Declaration of Independence. It has to be earned. Any attempt to be civil for the purposes of discussion and debate must be understood to have nothing to do with "respect." We can respect the fact that you have a right to have an opinion, without respecting either that opinion, or, ultimately, you. In order to earn that, the opinions must be reasoned and defended and proven to be more right than wrong!
Respect is also not in the liberal lexicon, just ask Bush…
So you're saying Adam McKay is evil? If he isn't ignorant of the evil he intends to inflict he is knowingly evil. If he isn't the Nazi who didn't realize the road fascism would take him down, he must be the Nazi who knew the evils said tyranny would inflict and looked forward to them. If Adam McKay knows full well what his leftist policies will do, and leftist policies by their very nature are evil, then Adam McKay endorses evil. Your article essentially calls out Adam Mckay as an evil man intent to do ill will to his fellow man.
Totally unrelated to this thread,but had to post it.
Jim DeMint tweet: It's going to keep snowing in DC until Al Gore cries "uncle"
Classic…..
You're right of course. I cut my daughter-in-law a lot of slack because A. she's my daughter in law and B. I was a dumb, uninformed liberal who ate up whatever the media told me at her age. Believe me, Obama and this congress have open her eyes and I'm hoping that along with time, experience and some gentle suggestions for reading material, she'll be thinking hard about how she votes come this next election.
the only liberals in my life are silent ones. Meaning if they are liberal I don't know about it. I can't stand them. Evil or not, they are certainly too stupid to converse with on many many levels. I don't appreciate people like McKay who has a bully pulpit while I have none. He is no more intelligent than the average guy so why should his opinion sway anyone. No respect for such turds.
And President Obama hasn't been able to challenge or repeal a single one of Bush's policies, so where does that leave us?
Alex Jones is a complete left-wing / Truther / New World Order / Tinfoil Hat Club member / lunatic – but he has a point.
First of all, Obama is just getting started. Talk to me in 7 years when he's out of office – especially if Queen Palin is the opposition candidate. Two words: slam dunk.
Secondly, Obama's actions as President have nothing to do with his intelligence. I don't care what you think of the man personally, but it's pretty clear that he's a smart guy.
The endless attacks on his character make it clear to me. These shenanigans about his birth certificate. The mockery of his middle name. The ridiculous claims about his religious leanings. One thing never gets mentioned – and that's his intelligence. Even the right wingnuts out there aren't going to touch that one.
I thought you were supposed to gag people with spoons?
These leftists exist for one purpose only – to get you to stand up and fight for and defend conservatism and Americanism.
My brother Bill is a left wing lunatic, and if we were not brothers I'd have nothing to do with him, ever.
But we fight, argue and debate – then hug eachother and say our goodbyes, every time.
Whenever I defend waterboarding terrorists, he looks like he's having a meltdown – which, maybe, he is.
But it helps me stay sharp to debate what I believe.
BTW, if you haven't seen Bill Whittle's Afterburner on PJTV.com on 'Bill Maher, Barack Obama and American Exceptionalism' – GO SEE IT NOW.
It's the video version of his SPECTACULAR Big Hollywood article, The Workshops of Identity.
The only thing that's going to make Al Gore cry would be no more bacon in the fridge.
Hey I can relate to that. Bacon makes everything better….
Isn't Sarah Palin very rich? $100,000 per speech. Millions for her book deal. Fox News.
She's out there preaching to the downtrodden every single day.
I know just what you mean, Michael. As I was reading your article, a friend of mine came to mind. Philosophically, he’s about as far from me as anyone can get: an extreme left-wing anarchist and atheist. When we debate, we’re not afraid to be cold and to the point, or to drop a curse word or two. But when we’re not talking religion or politics, we have fun, we laugh, we have a great time. He’s an incredibly nice guy, and he seems to be very informed. He just happens to be wrong
What has Adam McKay produced that is worthy of praise, improves the human condition, or will make this a better world upon his departure?
Not a damned thing, that's what.
I agree….
Because they will shoot you?
The point was that the engaging personality is employing a threat against the people…just like the statist does…
Most weapons run out of destructive means sooner or later; guns out of bullets, bows without arrows, even blades can't be lifted when muscles tire…
But a law, and a vote, can continue to destroy long after the author or voter is gone…engaging personality or not, benign intent or not…
If you can afford a spoon…lol.
I don't care what you say. Liberals Suck. I see almost everything they want to do as stealing. Stealing my freedom. Screw 'em.
Michael, like a lot of conservatives, is a trusting, warm-hearted guy who naturally gives others the benefit of the doubt. I too once fell into the trap of debating a hard-core lefty and coming to the conclusion that it's possible to like and trust someone while at the same time disagreeing with them politically – totally disagreeing.
But in each case I was deceiving myself on how the other person felt about ME. I assumed that they ALSO felt they could "like and trust" someone on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
But I have learned the following: Leftists do not "like" conservatives, under any circumstances. They may pretend to respect us for financial or other reasons, but in reality they truly believe that we are filled with hate, that we are deeply racist, that we are so profoundly selfish that we would prefer to see a single mother starve than pay an extra dollar of tax, and all this is because we cannot (or are too lazy to) THINK for ourselves.
Maybe Mr. McKay can address a question that's long perplexed me. People in the arts always like to see themselves as free spirits. Yet politically they're almost to a man–or woman–ardent State-fellators. (I know because I'm an artsy type myself, and in a group of similar types, I'll invariably be the one who's PRO-liberty.) Why is that?
That's why I use the term "modern liberal" to denote the current incarnation of the left. Its to differentiate them from true classic liberals like Washington, Madison, Adams, etc.
Yes, Michael, he does think you're evil. And stupid. And a broke-ass, loser director who will never get a real gig, because he knows that most big-time Hollywood producers are just like him. Not looking to hire evil, stupid, broke-ass loser directors with traditional ideas, heroic characters and an America worth loving. Which he doesn't believe in either.
Modern liberalism or progressivism is a way to feel good and holy without having to accept the demands of traditional religion, like restrictions on personal behaviour and self-control of your urges.
I'm so with you on this. Unfortunately, being in the business, we must maintain business relationships with (mostly) my husbands circle. However, I never bother to engage them on my own. Same thing with parents at my childrens school. Love their kids, stay away from the parents.
Not true. Being respectful to leftists makes them think you're a schmuck.
But we already have won in the arena of ideas, certainly when it comes to the outcomes of liberal economic policies. Barack Obama might say: "The time for debate is over." I´m not Obama – I like a good debate. But it should be about the reasons why your friend won´t learn from the failures of his ideology. These reasons are to be found within him, not in the facts of history, economics or political philosophy.
People are always conservative about the things they know best. When it comes to their family, their money and so on, no doubt many liberals are in their personal life hardly distinguishable from conservatives. But they don´t vote that way. They don´t have the wisdom to stop believing what they are told by the media, to stop empowering politicians who advance misery under the mantle of compassion.
The problem with rich liberals is that they are not even voting against their interests because they are isolated from the failures they help to create.
Years ago I used to carpool with a woman from Belgium and during the long drive, we would engage in respectful political discussions. She as probably 10 years younger than me, and brought up in the "social democrat "green" mold".
Our topics ranged from the necessity (or not) of NATO, Ronald Reagan, and Soviet intentions. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out whose side I was on.
The conversations were always respectful and she would admit from time to time that I had a point, and I would reciprocate.
Sadly, there';s so little of that kind of discourse these days.
It's good that Adam is your friend and as my late English friend would say as to disagreements, "It don't make you bad".
Well put!!
The office of the President deserves our respect, absolutely, but the actual president in that office needs to earn it so we can show it.
And that does not make me or anyone who feels that way evil.
I actually liked "Anchorman." Christina Applegate's character was great, as was Paul Rudd's character. I even laughed at Will Ferrell's Ron Burgundy. But I thought the dig at George W. Bush at the end was completely unnecessary. Even the audience in the theater groaned (we're in Texas of course). In the last 5 minutes of the movie, McKay managed to sucker-punch 75% of the room for absolutely no reason. But of course, we're just stupid, homophobic, Bible-thumping, gun-toting, warmongering, racist rednecks. We don't matter.
Show him patterns like the PIGS countries (Portugal, Ireland, Greece Spain) now bankrupting themselves with utopian ideals. It's impossible to unsee a pattern. Buchanan has an article on the PIGS (http://buchanan.org/blog/the-bankrupt-pigs-of-eur...
Talk about the Great Depression of 1920 solved when the US government under Harding cut spending by 50%, and lowered the top tax rate from the Progressive 70% to a healthier 25% – and the economy BOOMED. The unemployment rate in 1923 was 1.8% – down from over 11% in 1920.
Talk about the shift of moral responsibility from the individual to the state under socialism. Someone recently wrote about walking in Paris with a friend, when the writer accidentally dropped a gum wrapper. He stopped and walked back a few steps to pick it up when the Parsian friend stopped him saying, "Don't do that. We have people whose job it is to do that." The writer looked around to see several street sweepers on the street – the human kind all wielding orange brooms – state brooms.
Talk about de-moralizing, literally taking away motivation to be responsible for one's self.
Read Thomas Sowell for really astute arguments.
I can't eat eggs with out it, not to mention BLTs!!
But of course, we're just stupid, homophobic, Bible-thumping, gun-toting, warmongering, racist rednecks. We don't matter.
You're right…they hate you but they love your money.
Ignorance is no excuse.
you've touched on a, perhaps THE, main flaw of liberalism/socialism/communism, et. al. the human animal is a very imperfect creature. government is nothing more than an organization of humans. there is NOTHING about government, or corporations, or churches, or any other conceivable association of people that is inherently able to make the whole significantly, practically, better than the collective sum of its parts. any socio-economic system that depends on more perfect people to run it or participate in it is doomed to fail. we're just not built that way. (capitalism productively harnesses man's natural 'flawed' inclination to work hardest for himself, to the ultimate benefit of society.)
to go from the abstract to the particular: there is not a vast army of hard working, conscientious, caring bureaucrats who have been warehoused in anticipation of almighty benevolent govt running healthcare. those jobs will be filled from the same pool that supplies the DMV, IRS, etc.
"One thing never gets mentioned – and that's his intelligence. Even the right wingnuts out there aren't going to touch that one."
you're obviously new to playing troll around here and other conservative sites. stick around- you'll find plenty of folks who will give you one hell of an argument on how friggin' smart the 'Teleprompter-In-Chief" is. if all you've got for ammo is "Bush is stupid." & "Palin is stupid, too.", you're in for a rude awakening…
nice non sequitur, zippy.
What is your point? It's not hypocritical to succeed and then evangelize the system in which you succeeded. It is hypocritical to succeed, live in a mansion, get paid millions to direct crap movies, hire escorts and do drugs all day, and then tell everyone how America needs to go socialist.
Disagreement often leads to a very interesting discussion if the two people disagreeing actually have something worthwhile to say. The first amendment is based on the fact that people will disagree. Nothing wrong with that.
What is wrong is when the disagreement leads to policy which directly affects me and my family in a negative way like, for instance, making me pay for someone else's incompetence.
For crying out loud, if we are going to disagree shouldn't the end result be something "better" not a throwback to ideals that haven't worked when put into practice? That is the frustrating part.
There are no educated, reasoned liberals. There are indoctrinated liberals who parrot back the slogans, catch-phrases, and bogus arguments fed them by academia and the media. Liberals who actually get an education and use reason are called conservatives.
Totally agree.
You might have missed my point… it doesn't matter what the leftists think.
When *other* folks see you bring respectful (and see the leftists acting like assholes) it is more useful to your cause… at least for those others who might get repulsed by leftists acting like assholes.
The leftists *already* think we're schmucks, and that would be the same regardless of whether or not you act with respect… so, for the purposes of winning over other people, why not act with respect?
*That* is part of Michael Wilson's philosophy. See his film, "Michael Moore Hates America".
Just would like to say that as a conservative i found this article to be well written and inspiring. As a human and a conservative i have found the comments to be depressingly infantile and inflammatory.
The conservative posters here need to take a look back at their comments and see how the childish name calling and hate mongering does nothing to support our cause and just adds fuel to the fir of divisive, non productive argument.
To attack liberals themselves instead of the liberal ides they spout accomplishes nothing, no matter how tempting it is.
To truly push forward a conservative, constitution based agenda we have to engage our fellow Americans in informative and reasoned debate. A liberal who reads a comparison of all liberal's to Hitler is not going to take anything else said by any conservative to heart, and he shouldn't. Just as i will not listen to any liberal ideas by anyone who is uniformed and ignorant enough to believe that since I am against Obama's policies i wear a pointy white hood on the weekends.
So if you are just posting to hear yourself type or to be patted on the back by people who already share your beliefs, and if you don't care about actually reaching out to people and changing their minds, then by all means continue making the Hitler references and calling every liberal an idiot or anti-American.
However if you actually want to make a positive difference maybe we should all tone down the rhetoric and remember that, as Mr. Wilson pointed out, that even liberals are Americans and many of them love this country just as much as all of us.
My best friend from the first grade is a liberal & I'm not, but we agree to not bring up politics whenever we get together. He loves me & respects me enough to not try to get under my skin. However, all of the rest of his friends are also liberal & they're under no such agreement with me. No matter what's going on, what's being talked about, the discussion always, without fail, leads to politics. As a consequence, I haven't seen too much of my best friend since Bush's second term (when the liberals really started to go crazy) & have only seen him once since Obama was elected. I love him, but I can't stand being around his insufferable liberal friends.
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