Talkin' Politics: My reply to 'Can liberals explain why they view conservatives as ignorant?'

Can liberals explain why they view conservatives as ignorant?

I’m not, by any stretch of the imagination, a stereotypical “liberal.” I consider myself to be a middle-of-the-road independent. However, I tend to side with moderate liberals on most issues, especially those that deal with social issues, such as women’s rights, civil rights for all, gender equality, LGBQT equality, access to quality public education, and freedom of the press. To die-hard supporters of Donald J. Trump and his MAGA crowd, I am a liberal in their eyes.

So, okay, I’ll bite. I’ll answer this question.

First, I will start with a cautionary statement against gross generalizations. It goes something along the lines of “I don’t think all conservatives are ignorant.” in fact, I can name some highly intelligent conservatives that I respect greatly, even if I disagree with many of their opinions:

George Will

William F. Buckley, Jr.

Jennifer Rubin

One of these, William F. Buckley, Jr., is no longer with us, but he was one of the best, more erudite conservative thinkers and writers of his day.

The problem with a lot of individuals that call themselves “conservatives” is that far too many aren’t the sharpest tacks in the pack and have a world-view that is inconsistent with reality.

For instance, take this typical answer from a Quora member whose political views are downright ugly, scary, and bigoted. On a question about former President Obama, this guy, who calls himself a “conservative,” wrote this charming response:

In two words, HELL no. Obama did nothing to protect this country from our Muslim enemies which muslims hate america and every freedom it stands for. Obama kissed ass, even giving Millions to an enemy country from our tax dollars. and in the dead of night. he also tried to shut down a prison that needs to stay open, though the prisoners there deserve no health care from america as they are either terrorists or traitors.

There are, sadly, many individuals like Mr. Obama-Basher who post “questions” and “answers” on Quora. There are hundreds of thousands more on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media who not only share these rather provincial and narrow-minded ideas, but also lack the ability to express themselves in a way that reflects, well, intelligence.

From a Trump supporters’ group on Facebook, in the comments section of yet another Clinton-conspiracy post, I found these gems:

Just need to kill her off and be done and ship Soros to Germany so he can be arrestes

when are we gonna be lucky enough to read killary found dead????

She's whacked more people than Don Corleone

And that, dear friends, is why conservatism is getting such a bad rap lately.