Deep down, I think we all want, or should want, to be like Reihan Salam to some extent. Or at least to dance like him. He really is one of the most interesting and likable writers on the scene today, and I found his elliptical explanation of why he's a fellow traveler with people more conservative than he happens to be personally to be an enjoyable account of what it's like to be a smart guy with a good heart who is more interested in people than in ideological abstractions. See this excerpt:
Why didn't I end up an ardent liberal? Well, I think of the tensions and complications in any family, and the tendencies I think of as good and constructive vs. those that I don't. This is all hard to explain. I'm culturally conservative for the same reasons I support equal rights and dignity for lesbians and gays: it reflects my limited experience of the world. I doubt this answer will satisfy anyone.Anyway, I also sense that lots of devout religious believers -- I'm not one of them -- are really interested in pursuing their projects and ways of life free of outside interference. I understand parents who want to shield their children from disorder, including social disorder and the misogyny and materialism that some sense in commercial culture. I don't identify with them, but I have sympathy for them, and I buy this idea that we need conservative experiments in living just as much as liberal experiments in living to preserve and encourage what is best in our society.
I'm culturally conservative but not mad about it because it reflects my limited experience of the world. OK, I'm mad about it this week because of the Sarah Palin thing. But this too shall pass. I find it hard to stay angry for long. I'm not sure whether it's a strength or a weakness.
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I don't myself want to live the lifestyle of the urban, secular, leftist, supposedly and to some extent actually "cosmopolitan" bobo-volvo-latte "educated" elite -- been there, done that, no thanks -- nor do I think that anyone else should be compelled or brow-beaten into feeling that they ought to do so, but, that said, I still think that there is much value in what those folks contribute to society in general and I don't begrudge them the chance to make choices other than those I have made, even when I feel that the choices I myself have made are more conducive to the good life overall.
Posted by: Rufus Thomas | September 5, 2008 11:48 AM
I wish more people had your attitude, Rufus.
And how about those of us who aren't most of those things, who are part of the Left?
I'm a 43 year old woman living in a relatively small city. I have a bachelor's degree, but that's the extent of the education. Hardly cosmopolitan, don't know what a bobo is (if you mean boho (bohemian), then hardly..), don't own a car at all, and if drinking coffee is a weird lifestyle choice, then most of the US is part of the Left, and anyone making 6.55 an hour in a shelter is elite, nobody let me in on it.
Is it equally acceptable to think all Conservatives are toothless hicks living in trailers south of the Mason Dixon line, where they go to mega churches where they speak in tongues and handle snakes, before spending their weekdays simultaneously homeschooling their twelve kids and watching Jerry Springer?
Of course, I'm sure it'd be all fine, as long as I also note that I'm sure those people contribute to society too...
(And I dare one person to cite that as something the 'Left' thinks about 'the average American'.)
In other words, don't complain about stereotypes while both propagating and embracing them.
I am pretty sure that Conservatives live a variety of lifestyles. From stay at home moms, to high powered business women. Country and city, coffee and tea, religious and secular. (Big shock to some people.. Karl Rove? He's *gasp* not even religious...)
And, contrary to popular belief, same goes for the other side of the political spectrum.
John E.,
Thanks. It also wish more people had my attitude -- especially the bobo-volvo-latte crowd! ; )
Thanks. It also wish more people had my attitude -- especially the bobo-volvo-latte crowd! ; )
Posted by: Rufus Thomas | September 5, 2008 4:02 PM
Excellent response, Rufus! And so true. When I began my rightward shift, only a few short years ago, it was because I literally could no longer stand the snide, condescending voices growing increasingly more copious on my favorite lefty websites. (Salon.com comes immediately to mind.) The frequency and intensity with which these writers mocked and belittled people of a more traditional bent became more than I could bear. I went seeking kindness and tolerance, and found – ironically, it seemed at the time – the American Right. While I may have over-corrected a bit at the beginning – because nobody's perfect! – I've never really looked back.
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