young DUers (25 and under)

[realisticphish]

how many times have you been told that you're only liberal because you're an impressionable young child? i get told this all the time, even by people me own age (19); they say that you're only liberal when you're young, and you get conservative when you get older and "smarter" :rolleyes:


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[MattNC]

1. never n/t

[Fenris]

2. Never. Adults know I'd tear them a new asshole if they pulled that shit.

I don't discuss politics with anyone remotely conservative. I consider their beliefs a mental illness. :)

My parents, grnadparents, relatives - all liberal.

[mouthy1]

9. beliefs

While a conservatives Republicans beliefs may be a mental illness:dunce:, isn't in the best interests of the afflicted and the country to cure them? Try using undeniable truths (hint:it was the conservative republicans burning Harry Potter, Nazis burned books too) have fun!:D

[wickerwoman]

3. I heard it when I was that age.

The old chestnut:

"If you're a conservative when you're 20 you have no heart. If you're a liberal when you're 40 you have no brain."

I always tell them it's half true.

Actually it's total BS. The older I get the more liberal I get. I was well raised and each year only shows me more reasons why I should care about other people and put them before myself. Having more money as I get older, give me more opportunities to act on my better impulses.

But some people get theres and their first impulse is to hold onto it with everything they have. And some people find that greater age, wealth and power lets them pass on the bullying that they experienced when they were younger, poorer, or more powerless. Or their limited education which failed to instill in them the slightest curiosity or tolerance for dissent fossilizes their opinions as they get older. They're the ones who go more conservative.

[stavka]

4. ... as an older DU'er I wish I'd listened to people more

most under 28's are idiots when it comes to money/sex/politics/social interaction.

They will get more conservative as the get older, but conservative doesn't mean Republican. It means you must marshal resources for the future and not be so brash in your reaction to things.

You are as dumb as most people make you out to be. Get smarter, and do it quicker.....you'll be amazed by how stupid TV seems as an element in your life in as few as five years from now.

[WMliberal]

5. once or twice

most recently was by a history professor. however, this guy happened to teach "History of the Third Reich." I can't tell you how many times the guy apologized for hitler... his comments on my presentation of Mein Kampf went something like... "you were too judgemental. hitler wasn't as hateful of the jews in this book as some of his contemporaries were." (my thoughts were "yeah, but those other writers didn't end up kiling 6 million of them, psycho")

[jdj]

6. Ask them then why did they kill Jesus?

If he was destined to go neo-con soon.

And ask them about the liberal old farts like Jefferson and Franklin that wrote the constitution. And why old Abe Lincoln opposed slavery, was he a bleeding heart liberal?

Ask them about John Brown, he was an old fart as well.

The list goes on and on.

[union_maid]

7. Don't worry, you won't go over to the dark side

People who did lacked both a heart and a brain, IMHO. I'm 54 and pretty much exactly where I always was in the political spectrum - left/liberal. My mother is 83 and she hasn't changed either. Husband - my age and the same thing. My sister is more conservative than she was in that she no longer expects there to be a people's revolution and is only a social democrat now. Does that count as becoming more conservative? :)

[Catch22Dem]

8. you get conservative when you get older and "smarter"

HAHAHA, tell that to the many brilliant DUers we have here who are over 25.

[DaveSZ]

10. I let them know what I believe in:

Ending of slavery

Ending of child labor

The Vote for women

The Vote for people of color

Ending of segregation

A cleaner, healthier environment

The right of privacy and autonomy from the government in personal matters such as intimate relations

Religious liberty

Due process and justice for all Americans

civil liberties

Access to a quality education for all Americans

Belief in science over fundamentalism

Good paying jobs with good benefits

[victim]

11. Ha

Ha

Thats never really happened to me but here's something to chew

I was leaving out of OIA once and some random guy -- business professional type -- comes over and sits down next to me while I'm browsing through USA Today (Sports section only, mind -- no use for the rest) and strikes up a conversation about the California Recall which was the hot topic right then

He blathered on and on how Arnold was getting smeared and screwed by the media due to the groping allegations. And he insisted that Arnold was a worthy conservative...all of this crap he was spewing and I guess he just assumed I was sympathetic to the Repub cause or something.

I pointed out to him that all the "real" cons wanted McClintock not Arnold but *thankfully* McClintock was unelectable. I guess he didn't get that hint since he then went on a rant about how Nixon was screwed by the media vs Kennedy

At this point I politely excused myself to go board my fligh.

How big of a fucking stooge was this tool?

[cally]

12. I was told the same thing

and I'm more liberal than ever. I know so many folks that most would assume are Republicans but instead donate and work for Democrats. The folks I know are not the party activists but instead just want to give back what they themselves, with massive help from our society, have earned. Ignore them who say you will grow out of it. You don't.

[Journeyman]

13. Lord Chesterfield quipped: "He who is not a radical at 16. . .

has no heart; he who is a radical at 60 has no head." And so common "wisdom" has held since before the American Revolution, despite all good evidence against the thought.

We could debate Chesterfield's bon mot till all hours, but I believe its fallacy can be found by simply looking at the life of a Chesterfield contemporary: Thomas Jefferson, who was not a radical at 16 but was one at 60, and who had both heart and head. So throw that example back at them and contrast Jefferson's life and accomplishments with those a man who started his journey somewhat liberal, but ended life the paragon of conservatism: Ronald Reagan.

Who accomplished more? Whose contribution was greater? Whose legacy will last longest? And whose example would be best followed, politically, socially, and morally?

[ComerPerro]

14. very well said

[nickgutierrez]

15. I get that all the time

Usually after I debate circles around them. :)