Maggie's Farm

John Hawkins: 5 reasons liberals are difficult to talk to

Okay.

John Hawkins: I've interviewed more than one big name conservative who has told me that they moved over to the right in large part because the other liberals they were around were such insufferable human beings.

So they choose their political views based on their personal interactions. This is not as uncommon as one might think.

John Hawkins: 1) They're unhappy: Study after study shows that conservatives are happier people than liberals.

Actually, the Pew study compared Democrats and Republicans. However, as the study shows, Republicans tend to be richer and whiter, and richer and whiter people tend to be happier, so the citation doesn't demonstrate what the author thinks it does.

In the rest of his points, Hawkins argues against a strawman by equating liberalism with its most extreme expression.

John Hawkins: 2) Liberals don't care as much about tradition

Most liberals do care about tradition. Tradition is often an important component of liberalism. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.' "

John Hawkins: Although it goes without saying that people who worship change for change's sake don't care very much about customs, you might wonder why that would make such a big difference

It's not change for change's sake, much less worship, but change to bring about a more liberal world, that is, one that emphasizes equality of opportunity and individual liberty. These two qualities are often at odds, and people have different views on their relationship.

John Hawkins: 3) Liberals see people who disagree as evil

Again, a strawman which equates liberalism with its most extreme expression.

Liberal v. Conservative
http://zachriel.blogspot.com/2005/07/liberal-v-conservative.html