Random observations

On the commute home tonight I was behind a true Leftymobile. It had the following bumper stickers…

“Republicans for Voldemort”

“He’s not my President”

“Pro-child”

“Kerry/Edwards”

“What would Jesus bomb?”

And, for what it’s worth, the Leftymobile was an import. A white KIA minivan. It’s been awhile since I’ve been in an education camp, so I’m not sure what the current orthodoxy is. Are we supposed to buy foreign now, because America is Evil, and we shouldn’t support the McBushitler regime by buying American cars?

Also, the driver was a young woman. Dialing and yakking on her cell phone, naturally. It is not at all uncommon, of course, for the young to drift to the liberal end of the spectrum.

I have a theory about that. I think it’s because the young really haven’t had to make their own way in the world yet. They haven’t yet learned what it takes to support oneself, and one’s family. Throughout their childhood and high school, Mom and Dad have always provided. Everything they have has been given to them.

Similarly, when they go off to college, and I realize there are many exceptions, they enter another cocoon. Mom and Dad pay for college, meals are provided in a cafeteria, and they don’t have to work for a living. They spend their days getting their first glimpses of the intoxicating world of ideas and ideals. There is little accountability, either to authority figures, to employers, to civic leaders. Study, party, talk about ideas, repeat.

They begin to dream about changing the world, and such dreams seem attainable, because again, they are blissfully unaware of the work it takes to wrest peace and prosperity away from the evil in this world.

This is why I think the young naturally fall into liberalism. It’s an extension of what they know. Why can’t the government hand wealth and services to its citizens for free? If someone is lacking or in need, it must be because some evil conservative interrupted the natural state of things, and took something away from that person.

Young people in America have never known hunger. They have never known the fear of invasion. They have never had to flee before marauding rebels. No secret police have taken away their family members in the night. They enjoy the fruit of the labor of others, and don’t even know it. As a result, they feel entitled to such childish behavior as booing Senator McCain at the New School, and turning their back on him. They are utterly unaware that they are simply broadcasting their own ignorance.

I was younger once. I was in college. I heard the siren call of liberalism. I flirted with ideals. (I am loathe to admit I was a Gore supporter when he ran for President in 1988. On the plus side, I did vote for Reagan.) Why? Because I was clueless about the real world and didn’t know any better. I hadn’t yet confronted the “work or starve” world of work. An employer trying to build a successful business will pay a person for their work, but not as a gift out of the goodness of their heart.

I am older, and wiser, and a little more educated. I have two masters degrees and two bachelors degrees. But the most valuable education I’ve received has come in the wisdom passed down to me. By my grandparents, my parents, my pastors, certain teachers, authors I respect and admire. Be a person of honesty and integrity, follow God, work hard, do what it takes to support your family. Defend your country from those who would destroy our freedom.

Yes, I believe there is hope for the young, if only because time inevitably marches on, and most of them will grow up. And learn.