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Edited on Sat Aug-08-09 08:07 AM by daedalus_dude
First there are those that, until proven otherwise, will assume that "the establishment" or "the authorities" are largely making the right decisions and working in everyones best interest. Those one could call "conservatives".
Then there are those that will assume that the authorities are not working well, until proven otherwise. Those, I think, one could call "sceptics" or "liberals".
Then you have those who are totally disinterested in what the authorities are doing. They are the "hedonists" or "isolationists". They only care about what is right before their eyes. They hardly have an opinion on anything broader. Under good economic conditions, these people often lead very happy lives.
Last you have those who hold certain opinions, and will cling to them no matter how much evidence shows that they are wrong. Those one could call "idiots".
I think the problems that we face largely stem from the disproportionate influence that the last group has.
And I think that today, the democratic party largely covers both of what one generally understands as "liberals" and "conservatives" (even here on DU we have, by standards of other countries, a spectrum of views that range from totally liberal to totally conservative), while the republican party and the american "right wing" is simply defunct and has passed beyond any type of reason.
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