They do not understand the fragility of civilization and the constant nearness of savage nature.
Camille Paglia (2017). “Free Women, Free Men: Sex, Gender, Feminism”,
Which is basically one difference between "liberal" and "conservative." To simplify, the "liberal" sees heaven in the future and the "conservative" sees heaven in the past. The "liberal" sees most- if not all- change as good. The "conservative" sees what we have now as the result of a long-term evolution of sorting out what works and what doesn't work. As such we need to be careful about changing things, as change can also be for the worse.
Having grown up with a not insignificant proportion of neighbors who had fled the Iron Curtain, I developed a skepticism early on about about those who claimed that change was for the good. My skepticism also came from childhood experiences, such as being a passenger in an auto accident at age 6 where our driver got killed instantly in a collision with a drunk. That change was NOT for the good. Things can go south, mighty fast.
"Free Women, Free Men" is the book (2017) which is a collection of essays. The essay the quote appears in is from Time magazine in 2014:
ReplyDeletehttps://time.com/3444749/camille-paglia-the-modern-campus-cannot-comprehend-evil/
Which is basically one difference between "liberal" and "conservative." To simplify, the "liberal" sees heaven in the future and the "conservative" sees heaven in the past. The "liberal" sees most- if not all- change as good. The "conservative" sees what we have now as the result of a long-term evolution of sorting out what works and what doesn't work. As such we need to be careful about changing things, as change can also be for the worse.
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up with a not insignificant proportion of neighbors who had fled the Iron Curtain, I developed a skepticism early on about about those who claimed that change was for the good. My skepticism also came from childhood experiences, such as being a passenger in an auto accident at age 6 where our driver got killed instantly in a collision with a drunk. That change was NOT for the good. Things can go south, mighty fast.
To simplify, the "liberal" sees heaven in the future and the "conservative" sees heaven in the past.
ReplyDeleteOddly, Bill Whittle put it exactly the opposite way this week. I thought he had a good point, although I think of it often the way you put it, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRPo_cNfOM8