It strikes me that by and large, the liberal agenda is the result of viewing the world as we wish it to be rather than how it is and of utopian ideals instead of realities.
Many, I feel, vote in favor of that liberal agenda, in the belief that in some magical, mystical, idealistic way, those utopian goals can be realized and that we will live together in peace and harmony.
Yesterday as I rode the commuter train out of The City toward home, I saw a woman wearing a badge with a slogan about "Peace in the middle east" ... she was a very sweet, almost angelic looking woman, and the thought that she really meant it, that she is possessed of a naive innocence that puts her on the bubble of a dream that such a thing is somehow possible ...
I think there are two types of liberals ... one type is those who are a sort of parrot, repeating liberal mantras almost without thought ... they have direct counterparts on the conservative side of the aisle, of course, and both groups are a bit devoid of original thought and a bit transparent in that they are quickly seen as and justifiably criticised for being little more than parrots ...
The other type of liberal is intelligent, articulate and unendingly idealistic ... a geometric progression of liberal legislation in the last 40 years is more the result of their blue-sky view of how things could be and that Utopia is only a few hundred billion dollars in social spending away ...
Rickamaven is one of the latter ... he is clearly one of the kindest, gentlest, most well intentioned gentlemen I know ... I said as much in a post last week without quite realizing how those qualities contribute to his viewpoints ... Rick asked yesterday in a little exchange we had, how I could account for his views, given that he is an intelligent, caring person ...
And as I looked at the face of that most angelic woman on the train last night, I knew the answer ... Rick, it's because you genuinely care and because you sincerely want the world to be a better place ... because you are an idealist and believe that as we so dream, things can be ... we need guys like you to keep those dreams alive for all of us ... while some of the rest of us brush the flies off everyones back.
