How "conservatism" appeals to young people.

[SoCalDem]

The brand of conservatism we see these days is just greed, wrapped up in shiny paper and tied up with a big red bow.

Young people, just starting out, see their futures as unlimited, if ONLY they could have a quick and easy ride to the top. What's stopping them?

Everywhere they look, they are told that their generation is the smartest, the sharpest, the best ever, and their horizons are unlimited...and then they enter the job market and find out , like ALL generations before them, that they are just one of many, and nothing in life is easy.

Conservo-babblers are everywhere, and constantly telling them that the reason they are having such a hard time getting ahead is because the deck is stacked against them.

Young people are led to believe that if only they did not have to pay taxes and if only all the poor people were not sucking up THEIR tax dollars, everything would be just fine.

What conservo-babblers don't tell them is this:

Life is a continuum. It's not a sprint. It's a marathon.

People BEFORE you, struggled to provide for you, and the poor people you will never meet, have nothing against you. They are just trying to stay alive and keep a roof over their heads. They are citizens too, and why should they expect less from their country than you do?

Your parents will age, and will need help unless they are among the lucky few. Will you deny them the assistance that they willingly gave to the generation before them (your grandparents)?

Would your parents refuse to take you and your young family in, if you lost your job? Would they expect to be paid? Would you offer?

Conservative "experts" have made fortunes for decades, by trading in the divisive rhetoric that pits group against group, and of course the ones most susceptible are the ones with the least experience at life.

Conservative leaders are linguistic-shamans. they tweak language to make it all sound so logical, so easy. Nothing worth having/doing is easy. Life is complex, and problems rarely have solutions that do not create other problems in their solutions.

Conservatives are flatterers, they build false hopes, they make undeliverable promises. It's easy to see why so many young people, who readily embrace change, can fall into their pit.

The young, attractive "recruiters" they use, would have you all believe that they are just like you, they care about you, and they know the way to success. It's very much like Amway or any other pyramid scheme. The promises are too good to be true, but people still fall under their spell, because they get a little greedy.It's all to gain converts who will vote for the older ones who are in it for the money..and only the money..

Human life is a generational promise we all make to each other. Parents are expected to care for the young,when they are young themselves, and as we age, the burdens shift , until they end up reversed. It's always been that way, and to be a "modern" conservative is to turn one's back on the elderly, the sick, the poor..


They would have you believe that Social Security is a rip off (of YOUR generation), Medicare is even worse, and most people on Medicaid or SSI are scamming "illegals". Well, YOUR parents are in a unique position in a long time. They entered the job market just at the time that the conservatives took aim on unions & pensions, so many of them, after a lifetime of working, will have only what they did not spend on YOU, to live on as they age.

If the trinkets accumulated are worth it, then I suppose there will be those who can claim success at a young age, and who can sneer as they see a "lazy" viet nam vet, begging for pocket change, or an old lady pushing her life's worth in a battered shopping cart.

I suspect that, if things go as they seem to be heading, there will be a lot of rude awakenings ahead for a whole generation of young people who won't know what hit them.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

1. uhh...

the "young conservatives" I see, in Orange County of all places seem more the militaristic authoritarian type than the yuppie type.
But the sense of entitlement in the present generation of youth makes me regret getting out of the bankruptcy business...

[SoCalDem]

3. Aaahh, Orange County (Birch Country)

:puke:

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

4. I don't think there has been an active chapter of the John Birch Society here in some time,

[SoCalDem]

5. Maybe not, but the aroma lingers

:)

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

6. in large, their the softest republicans in the country

when they learn that not only is Nixon out of power, but is dead and burried in Yorba Linda they will flip.

[SoCalDem]

7. The republican attachment to the military is understandable too

since they DO love kicking ass..as long as someone else is doing the kicking, and they are making the money from the "boots" :)

[melody]

8. Not since Mary Kay Letourneau's daddy was a big deal there

That was back when Mary Kay was playing with little boys, not marrying them. lol

(To those not from the OC vicinity, her father John Schmitz was a far-right, Bircher).

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

26. I think he fucked kids too, although female.

[Erika]

2. Fantastic post

From what I see, the elitist class is now the young republicans. They've been given a college education and told they are successful because they are so smart when indeed, they were born rich and privileged.

They've been taught the poor are disgusting because they couldn't get ahead. They've been taught helping out the needy is really crippling the poor. They've been taught the rich deserve the most, while the poor deserve the least.

And they swallow this B.S. They don't have my respect.

[ninkasi]

9. I am blessed

Even though our income is extremely small, my husband and I have, between us, four children who would do anything for us. I also have two nieces, both very well-off, who love me a great deal, and would do anything in the world for me. I am not at a point where I need to ask for help, but if I need it, it's there.

When my children, and nieces, were growing up, I was very, very close to them, and provided a great deal of emotional and financial support. All of these children, now in their forties, are, thank God, very liberal. I would dread a future which meant that my future well-being was dependent on self-centered, self-absorbed, conservatives. In addition to the joy they give me, they also provide a sense of future security. It's part of the progressive life-style.

[no_hypocrisy]

10. In these parts, the kids are more or less told to work hard, but not to worry.

Because their futures are guaranteed by a well-placed phonecall by their fathers.

If they should be in "special ed", a phonecall and a donation to a private school gets them a high school diploma. Same thing with colllege.

A phonecall to get them their "first job" which is junior executive, not sweeping floors at Drug Fair.

And if there is a draft, a phonecall to keep their name out of a lottery.

It's not what you know, it's who you blow.

[kiki]

11. Nothin' in the world is creepier than a young conservative...

...except maybe one of those "cured" gay guys.

[WinkyDink]

19. And the difference would be...? ;)

[kiki]

23. The difference is that the young conservatives haven't got that far yet.

To be sure, they're most likely closet cases to a man, but they have to come to terms with it and openly admit that they have fantasies about Sean Hannity mud-wrestling with the Greek King Guy out of 300. Only then can they take the next step and start "praying away the gay".

[Vidar]

12. Selfishness & shiny baubles sell.

[KG]

13. it's no accident that Conservo-babblers target young white males,

appealing to their sense of 'entitlement'.

[raccoon]

14. K&R. Baby boomers were told that too, that their generation was

"the smartest, the sharpest, the best ever, and their horizons are unlimited"

"...and then they enter the job market and find out , like ALL generations before them, that they are just one of many, and nothing in life is easy."

So did the baby boomers, and we found we were just one of a GREAT many.

[w4rma]

15. Apparantly it's not working on young people any more since party affiliation among the young voters

has skyrocketed for Democrats and has plummeted for Republicans.

[spooky3]

16. I believe the polls have shown that young people are more liberal

than people in the 35-44 age group. (sorry, no link)

My anecdotal experience in working with a lot of (generally, privileged) people younger than 30 is consistent with that. They are worried about jobs, and want to be well-qualified, but most are not conservative, and they don't behave as described in your post. I think Jon Stewart et al. should get some credit for that.

[WinkyDink]

21. They are more liberal on some social issues (gay rights, e.g.), and not others (abortion-rights

support is down, I think).

But POLITICALLY Liberal? I doubt it. Or we'd be seeing the youth take to the streets to protest the Illegal Invasion. They wouldn't need us oldsters from the 60's/70's to do their organizing.

[spooky3]

25. "But young women favor abortion rights by ... the biggest margin..."

"But young women favor abortion rights by 54 to 39 percent, according to Gallup - the biggest margin of any age group - and they could vote Democratic if persuaded to vote at all."

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0426-12.htm

The linked article is 3 years old but still is important, I think. The article didn't report the #s for young men or more specifics for other age groups.

I did not say that young voters "are liberal." I said I thought polls showed that they were more liberal than people 35-44. Here is one piece of evidence: the CNN exit polls from the last election showed people 18-29 who voted were more likely than the 30-44 year olds to vote for Kerry (54% to 46%). They were the ONLY age group to go more strongly for Kerry than for Bush. Of course, many people in all age groups did not vote at all, so this poll doesn't speak about those people.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/U...

Finally, the question of activism is not the same as the question of political views, and I think we have to be very careful to avoid stereotyping people on the basis of age.

[spooky3]

24. self-delete

[Lasher]

17. We are told repeatedly that Social Security won't last

This scam is designed to encourage younger folks to think, "Hey, if it's not going to be there for me I don't want to contribute payroll taxes now." Many people fall for this lie, even some here at DU who are otherwise good Democrats.

Funny thing, Social Security was just fine until Junior was selected 5 to 4. He and his 'reforms' are the only real danger to the program.

[WinkyDink]

18. The nail, she has been hit! I saw, also, in teaching h.s. seniors, the

very same attitudes shown by the "suits" banging on the doors in the Miami recount offices: young punks who think they are tough, but who won't enlist.

It's greed, smugness, and a hatred of anything not American. I believe this modern desire to conquer and dominate---the Democratic Party, Liberals, the entire world---can be directly linked to the Reagan Administration (and the post-Iranian embassy hostage crisis) xenophobic chants of "USA! USA!" during the LA Olympics.

[MedleyMisty]

20. I'm 26

And that just hasn't been true in my experience. Most of the people that I have known in my life growing up in rural northwestern North Carolina tended towards the liberal side.

At any rate, I am sure that being dumped on and stereotyped and railed against will bring any undecided younger people over to our side.

[WinkyDink]

22. Generalizations are common; We do it with Republicans.

And if the "younger people" are STILL "undecided", then they really HAVEN'T been paying attention, have they?

[Gelliebeans]

27. I just wanted to say

that I really enjoy reading your posts, SoCalDem. :hi:

[SoCalDem]

28. Thanks..

I get nostalgic late at night, and luckily for me, DU is here :) oldies like me cannot resist passing information on :)

[Indy_Dem_Defender]

29. Great Post SoCalDem

I know to well the kind you just described.