Good Grief, Aren't there any Moderates here?

Heehee - I still laugh every time I see liberal used as a dirty word - and equated in any real way with the left.

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My comrades they all loved me well, a jolly saucy crew
A few hard cases I will recall though they all were brave and true
Whatever the pitch they never would flinch, they never would fret or whine
Like good old bricks they stood the kicks in the days of '49
In the days of old, in the days of gold
How oft'times I repine for the days of old
When we dug up the gold, in the days of '49.

There was New York Jake, the butcher boy, he was always getting tight
And every time that he'd get full he was spoiling for a fight
But Jake rampaged against a knife in the hands of old Bob Stein
And over Jake they held a wake in the days of '49
In the days of old, in the days of gold
How oft'times I repine for the days of old
When we dug up the gold, in the days of '49.

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last moderate
Many decades ago, I stopped thinking of myself as liberal. I found so many people trapped by their ideology. I knew I wasn't a conservative except in some economic areas. But then I didn't go as far toward social liberalism as others. My work and my avocation brought me into close contact with those on the extreme left wing. I'd already learned about the right wing when I was growing up. So I had a pretty good feel for both ends of the political spectrum.

What I finally decided was that I am a pragmatic progressive. I was not bound by ideology. My pragmatism caused me to look for solutions.

All my life I've been a problem solver, both professionally and via volunteerism. I tend to think outside of the box. I also tend to get too far ahead of my peers because I can visualize the big picture and the steps necessary to reach a goal. For a person without a lot of patience, that frustrates me and I've had to learn the hard way to have patience for those whose vision is only one step at a time.

One of the thinking outside the box discoveries I made was to approach problem solving differently than most. I discovered incentives. Promoting incentives that convince people to act in a civilized manner works better than by force. I'm always amazed that more people don't understand incentives as a tool for change.

Anyway, a pragmatist has a better chance of making a difference than ideologues in the long run. The ideologue can stir up peoples' passions but rational pragmatists using incentives can have the most impact in the long term.

I don't call that moderation, I call that common sense, a skill too often missing these days.

BBB

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dlowan, Sea Otter my bottom Smile

I know a rat when I see one. Smile

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dlowan wrote:

Sanctuary wrote:
Everytime I see your avatar Dlowan, I want to eat it.

...Honestly.

You are a dirty, dirty man.

ARE you a man?

I never got the one about "smoked rabbit" until I saw someone say it. You better watch your tail D.

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goodfielder wrote:

Why do I feel slightly uncomfortable with all this?

The sea otters worried me. Forced to pimp because of us humans. We're great aren't we?

As for the politics. Give me an issue and I'll give you a considered response not a reflex. And I won't respond according to a label.

That's a deal. Considered responses instead of campaign slogans. I like that.

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All the tests say I'm an extreme liberal, but I still don't like the label.

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FreeDuck wrote:

And someone will immediately call you a liberal, because apparently the hallmark of a liberal is a considered response.

I think this place is full of moderates if you pay close attention to what people are actually saying.

Exactly what I've found here. Complain about Bush, you're a liberal.

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goodfielder wrote:

dlowan wrote:
The duck quacks truth!

Dare I say a Bill of Truth?

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nimh wrote:

I'm sure thats the first time anyone called Lash a moderate.

Actually, I remember her saying she's considered on the moderate/liberal side by friends or folks ... thats kinda hard to imagine, but then the world is big.

I'm glad you put that second paragraph in.

I am considered a LIBERAL by many people where I live.

Pro gay marriage.
Tolerant of other lifestyles--which SHOULDN'T BE CONSIDERED liberal, IMO--but I have to admit, I get some disapproving looks when it comes up in conversation.
Don't think the Bible or 'what God said' should be entered as an argument about secular law.
Pro-immigration.
I do believe mental illness can be an overwhelming contributing factor to some horrific crimes, and those people shouldn't be killed by the state.
Anti-corporal punishment....

As God is my witness, (I haven't come up with a comparative atheistic phrase) a man tipped his cowboy hat to me in WalMart this morning and said , "Howdy, Ma'am."

Anyway. I think you lefties, nimh, are so far left, you find it a bit too easy to equate people with some of my views with extreme rightism. I obviously don't qualify.

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Sanctuary wrote:

I am more than thrilled to see and converse with other moderates on this forum, but your attitude towards anyone who's not a moderate, especially right-wingers, is bugging me. Why do you consider yourself a moderate if you despise the right so much? At least, it's coming off that way. You're insulting anyone who doesn't come in here on our side.

You started off really great, but then you slipped into a bunch of assumptions. Although it's true, I'm not especially fond of right wingers because I feel they love war for wars sake and they think Christianity should be the law of the land, I'm not wild about extreme liberals who want to save every tree, and throw money at the welfare system which seems to get worse, not better. You'll quickly find that I don't have a side other than that of the American people.

Sanctuary wrote:

Isn't it our job to be the goal-keepers here? I agree with Finn that...

What the heck does that mean????

Quote:

...a moderate is a compromiser; someone without particularly strong beliefs who simply wants to get by and see the rest of the world get by as well.

If you don't think I have strong beliefs, you haven't been reading.

Sanctuary wrote:

If you have personal grudges or resentment towards right/left wing parties, then of course you can't control that, but I don't want members of A2K to get the impression that this is how a moderate behaves. I keep a very even playing field, always. I never debate over political issues because, for the majority of them, I can see both sides. This, in my opinion, is being moderate. I'd like our members to see this side of the middle, not the "na-na-na-na-boo-boo" one I've seen being displayed on this thread.

Excuse me, but I'm not the one who started with the attitude. Often I respond to others in the same tone I am addressed. You want to be nice, I'm all for it. However, I'm not going to take any crap either, and if I get crap, you'll most likely get generous helpings back.

Have a nice day Sanctuary. Smile

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kickycan wrote:

I am God. What does that make me?

God smokes? Shocked

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Assumptions? LM, you just admited to everything I had assumed (that you don't like the far-right and that you were taking on an attitude in this thread). Laughing

Don't be so quick to throw daggers, relax.

And I will continue to have a very nice day, thank you.

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Sanctuary.

It is nice to have a more rational, unemotional presence, such as yours to untangle the rest of us sometimes. Very Happy

(It will be quite a job, but you're up to it.)

notmoderate--

Take a look at this again.

Sanctuary said:

"...a moderate is a compromiser; someone without particularly strong beliefs who simply wants to get by and see the rest of the world get by as well."

To which you comically replied:

If you don't think I have strong beliefs, you haven't been reading. "

I will leave it to the Peanut Gallery to decide who hasn't been reading...

Laughing

Sanctuary.

REALLY. Have a nice day!!! Laughing

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Montana wrote:

All the tests say I'm an extreme liberal, but I still don't like the label.

Lol - that sounds like such an oxymoron!

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lastmoderate wrote:

kickycan wrote:
I am God. What does that make me?

God smokes?

Apparently!

Pillars of fire, burning bushes, I don't know what happened to poor old Sodom and Gomorrah, but it sounded fiery.

Do you think the flood was a botched attempt to give up? Shocked

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nah actually the flood was like the day my little brother was playing with matches and got a fire started in a kitchen trash can and he rushed over to the sink and filled the trash can with water and then set it back down in the closet hoping no one would notice the tash can filled with water and ashes. Sodom was all about spilling salt and the bad luck that brings up which is where we get the expression "no use crying over spilt salt." There's some other stories of that ilk but I can't remember them.

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I had a uncle who was a Ilk, but personally, i don't go in fer all that secret society nonsense, what with the handshakes and the silly head gear . . .

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Freeduck!!!!

ILKERS!!!! Everywhere!!!

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lastmoderate wrote:

kickycan wrote:
I am God. What does that make me?

God smokes?

Yes, of course! <puff, puff> What the hell do you think, it's some kind of boring-ass place like a catholic church or something up here?! No way! We are all about having a good time without any consequences! In fact, right now, Peter and a couple of the other apostles are firing up the glass-bottom boat...we like to take the new arrivals on a ride through the lake of fire...just to f*ck with 'em before we bring 'em up. Hehehe...I kill me...

<puff, puff>

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Good Grief, Aren't there any Moderates here?

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