NationStates Jolt Archive

This is an offshoot of the YouTube liberal bias thread...

Also, the average age here is pretty young, and people tend to grow more conservative with age and experience.


I don't think this is true. I'd like it if anyone could point me to some hard data on this.

Assuming that older people are more conservative, this does not necessarily imply that age is the causal factor. I think it probably has something to do with the Great Depression. Even people in their 50s and 60s felt the effects of it in the instruction of their parents.

I'm fairly certain that age->conservative is a myth used to discount liberal ideas.

I'm pretty sure that such is the case for most people...a slow rightward drift.

Or in the case of my father, a radical and sudden spring to the right in 1984.

As a whole, I think the majority do take more conservative issues as they age.

Even my mom who was a hippy is conservative on certain issues.....

No, I think it's you get more conservative with less education.

Assuming that older people are more conservative, this does not necessarily imply that age is the causal factor. I think it probably has something to do with the Great Depression. Even people in their 50s and 60s felt the effects of it in the instruction of their parents.

I'm fairly certain that age->conservative is a myth used to discount liberal ideas.

The Depression? The Depression did not cause a wave of conservatism - just the opposite. Elderly New Dealers dying off has been of some benefit to the GOP in recent years.

As for the general question, google "exit polls."

This is an offshoot of the YouTube liberal bias thread...



I don't think this is true. I'd like it if anyone could point me to some hard data on this.

Assuming that older people are more conservative, this does not necessarily imply that age is the causal factor. I think it probably has something to do with the Great Depression. Even people in their 50s and 60s felt the effects of it in the instruction of their parents.

I'm fairly certain that age->conservative is a myth used to discount liberal ideas.

I think you mean the beleif that people tend to lean more right ecenomically as they get older which I tend to agree with. I don't have anything to back this up, but it is something I have seen through experience.

There does seem to be a correlation there, yes.

I haven't, but I could be the exception. I doubt it, though, because otherwise there would be very little progressive movement over time, and the opposite is the case. In the US, for example, the general movement over the last century has been decidedly progressive--it's only been a shift conservative in the last 20 or so, with a major lurch in the last 6, but the move seems to be back to the left again (much to the dismay of some on these boards).

No, I think it's you get more conservative with less education.

Undoubtedly true. But the age-drift to the right has been documented statistically - those areas of the US with the highest median age, for example, show a pronounced conservative bias once other factors are taken into account.

Of course, individuals vary. Bt this phenomenon has been commented on going back to Plato.

I think you mean the beleif that people tend to lean more right ecenomically as they get older which I tend to agree with. I don't have anything to back this up, but it is something I have seen through experience.

And socially as they tend to have kids. I've noticed this too.

Abstract only:
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ256060&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&objectId=0900000b800881d6
It says that differences are small.


http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2002/09/24_youth.html
Youth are more conservative than adults with respect to social issues.


http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Are+young+people+getting+more+liberal+or+more+conservative%3F-a0146956862
Both sides, not all about the US

The axiom is that people don't get more conservative—rather, society gets more liberal.

Of course, this is no longer true to such an extent, but I have noticed that as I enter my old age, I grow more moderate. I am no longer the anarchist I was in my youth; socially and politically I have become more conservative, less permissive (although not enough to be classified as a right-winger).

My parents, however, are still extremely liberal, so it may be just a myth and I'm the exception.

Undoubtedly true. But the age-drift to the right has been documented statistically - those areas of the US with the highest median age, for example, show a pronounced conservative bias once other factors are taken into account.

Data like that has no bearing on aging causing conservativism. It is only relevant to date of birth and conservatism. This is an important distinction, because it relegates the right-shift to being the result of environment and world-events, rather than the natural result of aging.

To establish a causal relationship, we need data that follows an age group over several decades.

(Of course, it's also possible that liberals die faster?)

Undoubtedly true.

It's traditionally a conservative trend among those with some college or college degrees, and a liberal trend among those who've gone to gradschool. Which probably relates more to economics than desire for education. At some point, most of us have to leave campus and actually start working. :p

I don't think it's so much a case of individual people getting more conservative with age as of society getting more liberal with age. What was liberal in 1957 looks conservative now, and what's liberal in 2007 will likely be conservative in the eyes of society in 2057.

There's also the simple factor of human selfishness. Wealthy people tend to be economically conservative, because that's nicer for them, and wealth is unquestionably correlated with age.

Generally, folks become more resistant to change as they grow older. This may reflect in their stands on issues. They may be liberal for their time, but conservative to ours.

Yes, because we all know that with age comes wisdom, and that is the basis for conservative thinking.

Undoubtedly true. But the age-drift to the right has been documented statistically - those areas of the US with the highest median age, for example, show a pronounced conservative bias once other factors are taken into account.

Of course, individuals vary. Bt this phenomenon has been commented on going back to Plato.

Actually, that doesn't necessarily show movement towards conservatism. It could just as easily show an unwillingness to change with ever more progressive times. If a group stays static in a changing environment, that may look like movement, but it isn't.

Of course people don't....they just fade away:(

Not necessarily, no. I find I'm becoming increasingly left-wing with age, after a dubious flirtation with centrism in my early-to-mid twenties.

I haven't, but I could be the exception. I doubt it, though, because otherwise there would be very little progressive movement over time, and the opposite is the case. In the US, for example, the general movement over the last century has been decidedly progressive--it's only been a shift conservative in the last 20 or so, with a major lurch in the last 6, but the move seems to be back to the left again (much to the dismay of some on these boards).

First: I would argue that the reasoning for the slow grind to the right has an awful lot to do with the gradual aging of the Baby Boomers, with the beginning of the rightward shift being as that generation aged.

Second: I'd argue that the prior progressive shift is more a function of the Great Depression and, more importantly the Second World War than of any implicit social phenomenon. Those two events re-centered US politics, and all following shifts are merely corrections around that center.

It does make a certain amount of sense. It depends on what you mean by conservative, but generations rooted in older ways tend to want to conserve the older ways of doing things, while younger people just staking their claim in the world are more than happy to change it.

Concepts that we are starting to take for granted today, were not so 20 years ago. It may be that a generation or two from now, defending homosexual marriage or universal medicare may be a 'conservative' standpoint, with a whole new territory as the 'liberal' concept. What constitutes 'conservative' and 'liberal', changes with time as well.

This is an offshoot of the YouTube liberal bias thread...



I don't think this is true. I'd like it if anyone could point me to some hard data on this.

Assuming that older people are more conservative, this does not necessarily imply that age is the causal factor. I think it probably has something to do with the Great Depression. Even people in their 50s and 60s felt the effects of it in the instruction of their parents.

I'm fairly certain that age->conservative is a myth used to discount liberal ideas.
You definately get less idealistic and more realistic with age.


Or else you become radically idealistic and never listen to reason.

i think you probably get more moderate with age. when you are young you tend to take more ...extreme... stances whether conservative or liberal. as you age and get more information about the world (and keep thinking, theres the hard part) you understand that there isnt much black and white about it.

I'm fairly certain that age->conservative is a myth used to discount liberal ideas.
I don't see why it would discount liberal ideas. People get more senile as they get older; that doesn't mean senility is the right thing to be.

In any case, it's certainly true that age tends to see people become that little bit more aware of their own mortality. It's largely apocryphal that with that awareness comes a conservative mindset, but you can see why that might be the case.

First: I would argue that the reasoning for the slow grind to the right has an awful lot to do with the gradual aging of the Baby Boomers, with the beginning of the rightward shift being as that generation aged.

Second: I'd argue that the prior progressive shift is more a function of the Great Depression and, more importantly the Second World War than of any implicit social phenomenon. Those two events re-centered US politics, and all following shifts are merely corrections around that center.

You might also factor in some backlash against the counterculture movement of the 60s and the rise of AIDS as a boost to social conservatism in general, but in a larger context, I'd say we're still more progressive, even on social issues, today than we were then. For instance, the question of equality of the sexes is not whether it should occur, but how it should occur. The question of gay rights is not whether gays should have them, but how many should they have. Racial equality is the same way. The general movement is progressive, even in a period of conservative domination.

Undoubtedly true. But the age-drift to the right has been documented statistically - those areas of the US with the highest median age, for example, show a pronounced conservative bias once other factors are taken into account.

the counties with the highest median age are typically also seeing collapsing populations and general destruction of their way of life. this has a well known social effect on the remaining population.

and, of course, the populations of the cities of the northeast are older than in other cities, but that doesn't seem to have shifted their politics rightward.

You definately get less idealistic and more realistic with age.

Or else you become radically idealistic and never listen to reason.

When does that process take place?

Honestly, when I was 13, I was a little anarcho-communist. Now I'm pretty much a socialist. Sure, this is a rightward trend, but I'm pretty sure it's done.

Over time, I've realized the importance of luxury items and capitalism, but I don't think I'll ever think that complete laissez-faire is the best system, or change my views on social justice issues.

I think the real trend is towards centrism.

Let's be honest, conservatives aren't the only idiots. There are just as many irritating uneducated liberals out there. I think as people gain experience they tend to realize that the truth lies somewhere close to the middle.

I think when they get older people just stop believing that taxes can help essentially:

"They said if they raised taxes then they could eliminate poverty in X number of years, they failed so I might as well keep it"

i think you probably get more moderate with age. when you are young you tend to take more ...extreme... stances whether conservative or liberal. as you age and get more information about the world (and keep thinking, theres the hard part) you understand that there isnt much black and white about it.

I think as you get older, you tend to want to look at more pragmatic solutions, rather than idealistic ones. I don't know if that necessarily means 'conservative', although that tends to be the conservative sales pitch.

The general movement is progressive, even in a period of conservative domination.

indeed. even while they win battles, they are losing more and more ground. which also explains a lot about the conservative persecution complex, and the crazed response to the loss of the young in the great plains and empty quarter.

In fact, I'd say that every political action since Johnson initiated Great Society has been a part of a series of left-right corrections, save for the past six years alone.

i think you probably get more moderate with age. when you are young you tend to take more ...extreme... stances whether conservative or liberal. as you age and get more information about the world (and keep thinking, theres the hard part) you understand that there isnt much black and white about it.

Ashmoria get's my vote for the win.

There is idealism on both sides. With respect to economics, liberals think that the government should solve everyone's problems. Conservatives think that the free market will provide the best solution.

I don't think either is realistic.

When faced with mortality, people want to have stricter control over other people. Bad thing. Resist it.

No, I think it's you get more conservative with less education.

I disagree.

Both my parents are doctors and my dad has multiple Science degrees and he's pretty hardcore Conservative. My mom, while she is certainly Conservative, isn't so much straight down party lines like my father.

There is idealism on both sides. With respect to economics, liberals think that the government should solve everyone's problems. Conservatives think that the free market will provide the best solution.

I don't think either is realistic.

i don't think either accurately describes what the sides actually try to do

i don't think either accurately describes what the sides actually try to do

Do you think it's inaccurate, or just overly simplified? If it's the latter, I totally agree.

Cogitating! Ooooh!

The common state of US politics is generalized by a series of corrections around an existing center. This center shifts extremely slowly, if at all during these normal periods of corrections. This center can be shifted in times of change and disruption though. The Great Depression and World War II were just such a period of disruption to force the US political center leftwards. The attacks of September 11th were similar disruptions shifting the center temporarily rightwards. One can expect periods of correction after these disruptions, but the larger the disruption, the longer the amount of time required for the correction.

I think as you get older, you tend to want to look at more pragmatic solutions, rather than idealistic ones. I don't know if that necessarily means 'conservative', although that tends to be the conservative sales pitch.

yeah. im not sure that conservative applies any more. but if you remove the suggested political agenda, then you could end up as a conservative progressive because you want to work on fixing social ills that CAN be fixed in a way that society can accept.

When does that process take place?

Honestly, when I was 13, I was a little anarcho-communist. Now I'm pretty much a socialist. Sure, this is a rightward trend, but I'm pretty sure it's done.

Over time, I've realized the importance of luxury items and capitalism, but I don't think I'll ever think that complete laissez-faire is the best system, or change my views on social justice issues.

I think the real trend is towards centrism.

Let's be honest, conservatives aren't the only idiots. There are just as many irritating uneducated liberals out there. I think as people gain experience they tend to realize that the truth lies somewhere close to the middle.
In your 20's you change alot. Just one day you realise some of your ideals will never work. It doesn't mean you get more conservative. You just realise A B or C won't happen in your life and it's silly to rage for/against it. You also realise the value in going for attainable vs inattainable goals politically.

Edit: For example: Banning all guns isn't realistic. Requiring stricter licensing is more realistic. Or banning certain types of guns.

In your 20's you change alot. Just one day you realise some of your ideals will never work. It doesn't mean you get more conservative. You just realise A B or C won't happen in your life and it's silly to rage for/against it. You also realise the value in going for attainable vs inattainable goals politically.
It's only having experienced working in industry for myself that I've realised how much of it needs to undergo a drastic overhaul. Maybe I'm still too young in my twenties to have gotten to that stage, but nothing to me seems more urgent right now than in sorting out how we can support each others' lives in a fair and balanced manner.

In your 20's you change alot. Just one day you realise some of your ideals will never work. It doesn't mean you get more conservative. You just realise A B or C won't happen in your life and it's silly to rage for/against it. You also realise the value in going for attainable vs inattainable goals politically.

Edit: For example: Banning all guns isn't realistic. Requiring stricter licensing is more realistic. Or banning certain types of guns.

There is a difference between prioritizing changes and giving up ideals. With regards to abortion, I will always think that it is always wrong. However, I now think that the solution is not to ban abortion, but to eliminate reasons to get one as well as possible.

It's only having experienced working in industry for myself that I've realised how much of it needs to undergo a drastic overhaul. Maybe I'm still too young in my twenties to have gotten to that stage, but nothing to me seems more urgent right now than in sorting out how we can support each others' lives in a fair and balanced manner.

don't worry, they'll grind you down soon enough. and then you'll be bitter but aiming wrong, which is politically useful to certain interests.

Some people get more conservative with age, some don't. If anything, I've gotten more liberal. And my father, in his late 60s, resigned his lofelong membership in the Republican party. He hadn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since - well, ever, as far as I know. But he voted for Kerry in 2004. (Admittedly, this was less out of liking for Kerry than out of utter disgust with Bush, but that's true for me also.)

There is a difference between prioritizing changes and giving up ideals. With regards to abortion, I will always think that it is always wrong. However, I now think that the solution is not to ban abortion, but to eliminate reasons to get one as well as possible.

That's exactly my point. I guess should have elaborated. It's not giving up ideals as much as being idealistic. Being idealistic in my mind is holding to something, not compromising, and disregarding how little chance you have of bringing that ideal to fruition without intermediate steps.

You're above post is a perfect example of how idealism changes into pragmatism.

You do get more conservative with age.

First and most important of all is the fact that your brain loses some of its potential for learning. As you get older, you can still learn, yes, but your potential is much smaller.

Second, its hard becoming an adult. You need to learn how to behave, how to work, how to act and think. And when you learn how to do all that, you wont change for small reasons. Its too hard already to change, so you usually stick for it. Its much easier to learn something totaly new than change something you´ve been doing for years.

Third, you get experience and learn what work and what doesnt. Even if the world do change, you may not notice that and keep on doing things the same way you did.

Fourth, adults live in diferent enviroments compared to kids. Teenagers are basicaly creating their behavioral paterns out of the blue: they search society for things that could help them. That means the newest ideas, technological advancements and cultural traits. That also mean adults dont need to search for them, because they have done that already, and that means they arent willing to change.

Your desire for learning usualy becomes smaller as you grow up: desire for sex, money and relationships become more important. As your bills get higher, your family gets bigger, your responsabilities grow, you have less and less time to find out time to discover what is new and what is not.

Also, we all know that as you grow older, you become more wise. You look at those younger than you and see yourself and how dumb and ignorant you were back them. So that means that even if teenagers or young adults do bring up something interesting, you just see it as something kids would mess with, not you.

Of course, the wisest you are, the more willing you are to learn new things (AKA change) the less conservative you will be, the less you will feel endangered by what those youths are coming up with (you wont fear computers) and the more willing you are to experiencing new things in life, the less conservative you will be.

It's only having experienced working in industry for myself that I've realised how much of it needs to undergo a drastic overhaul. Maybe I'm still too young in my twenties to have gotten to that stage, but nothing to me seems more urgent right now than in sorting out how we can support each others' lives in a fair and balanced manner.

I'm not saying giving up is part of getting older at all. Working towards goals that benefit humanity is always a good thing. That's also part of the aging process. You start looking at your legacy and worrying about what you will be leaving behind.

There's just a point where you realise you won't be able to build Rome in a day. Then you start getting interested in what it would take to build Rome, and you start working toward that.

You do get more conservative with age.

First and most important of all is the fact that your brain loses some of its potential for learning. As you get older, you can still learn, yes, but your potential is much smaller.

Second, its hard becoming an adult. You need to learn how to behave, how to work, how to act and think. And when you learn how to do all that, you wont change for small reasons. Its too hard already to change, so you usually stick for it. Its much easier to learn something totaly new than change something you´ve been doing for years.

Third, you get experience and learn what work and what doesnt. Even if the world do change, you may not notice that and keep on doing things the same way you did.

Fourth, adults live in diferent enviroments compared to kids. Teenagers are basicaly creating their behavioral paterns out of the blue: they search society for things that could help them. That means the newest ideas, technological advancements and cultural traits. That also mean adults dont need to search for them, because they have done that already, and that means they arent willing to change.

Your desire for learning usualy becomes smaller as you grow up: desire for sex, money and relationships become more important. As your bills get higher, your family gets bigger, your responsabilities grow, you have less and less time to find out time to discover what is new and what is not.

Also, we all know that as you grow older, you become more wise. You look at those younger than you and see yourself and how dumb and ignorant you were back them. So that means that even if teenagers or young adults do bring up something interesting, you just see it as something kids would mess with, not you.

Of course, the wisest you are, the more willing you are to learn new things (AKA change) the less conservative you will be, the less you will feel endangered by what those youths are coming up with (you wont fear computers) and the more willing you are to experiencing new things in life, the less conservative you will be.

Or to sum it all up...
http://www.movieactors.com/freezeframes-77/BreakfastClub27.jpeg
When you get older, your heart dies.

the conservatism-age correlation also matches the age-falling for ridiculous scams correlation

the conservatism-age correlation also matches the age-falling for ridiculous scams correlation

Hey, my free iPod is only a few months late. It'll come.

Or to sum it all up...
http://www.movieactors.com/freezeframes-77/BreakfastClub27.jpeg

Nah, you just stop caring.

This is an offshoot of the YouTube liberal bias thread...



I don't think this is true. I'd like it if anyone could point me to some hard data on this.

Assuming that older people are more conservative, this does not necessarily imply that age is the causal factor. I think it probably has something to do with the Great Depression. Even people in their 50s and 60s felt the effects of it in the instruction of their parents.

I'm fairly certain that age->conservative is a myth used to discount liberal ideas.

i'd say people in their 50's today have an tendancy towards being hippies, or at least around in the 60s when hippies were all active.

the short reply to me is i don't know... most of the people that age i know are fairly right wing. older people i know do tend to be conservative. but then a lot of young people my age are also conservative, so i don't know. i have become less radicalised in most areas with age and experience of the 'real world' (ie world outside university or pre-uni schooling)

Or to sum it all up...
http://www.movieactors.com/freezeframes-77/BreakfastClub27.jpeg

or to hijack the thread even further

Bethany Sloane: May I ask what brought you here?
Jay: Some fuck named John Hughes.
Bethany Sloane: "Sixteen Candles" John Hughes?
Jay: You know that guy, too? That fuckin' guy. He made this flick "Sixteen Candles." Not bad. There's tits in it, but no bush, but Ebert over here don't give a shit about that kind of thing 'cause he's, like, all in love with this John Hughes guy. He goes out and rents, like, every one of his movies. Fuckin' "Breakfast Club," where all these stupid kids actually show up for detention. Fuckin' "Weird Science," where this chick wants to take her gear off and get down, but oh no, she don't 'cause it's a PG movie. And then, "Pretty in Pink," which I can't even watch with this tubby bitch anymore, 'cause every time we get to the part where the redhead hooks up with her dream guy, he starts sobbin' like a little bitch with a skinned knee and shit. And there's nothing worse than watchin' a fuckin' fat man weep.

Nah, you just stop caring.
Yeah, but Ally Sheedy was all poetic about it.
or to hijack the thread even further
It's relevant....
:D

I don't know about "people" in general, but I highly doubt I'll get more conservative as I get older, seeing how I'm already 33... ;)

What I see happening with me is that I get more cynical and disillusioned. Doesn't mean the ideals don't stay the same, though.

I think I'm actually somewhat more liberal than I used to be. I think that's partly because of the Internet (next best thing to actually travelling places), partly because I've found Big Evil Business to be almost as bad as Big Evil Government, and partly because the Republicans, once they got into power, were just hypocritical as the Democrats.

However, around here I probably still qualify as a frothing-at-mouth righty. ;)

I don't know about "people" in general, but I highly doubt I'll get more conservative as I get older, seeing how I'm already 33... ;)

What I see happening with me is that I get more cynical and disillusioned. Doesn't mean the ideals don't stay the same, though.

Is 33 old? Damn... I have less than a year to get all my liberal/anarchist/socialist tendencies out!

I've gotten way more radical with each passing year...more left wing, to be clear, just in case you suddenly picture me sliding into a fundamental Christian sect somewhere in the backwoods of Canada...

So no. It's not inevitable. The more I learn, the more I realise the status quo isn't worth saving.

Hey, my free iPod is only a few months late. It'll come.

"we're very sorry for the delay. if you give us your bank account number, we will deposit $150 for your wait, in addition to sending your free ipod express delivery."

*shrug* I haven't. If anything, I've been pushed further away from conservatism. Of course, that might just be the antics of the current administration (which I think has completely hijacked the word anyways) turning me off to the very idea.

I thought often people don't become more conservative, their views just don't change as time goes on. So their views which may have been liberal decades ago are now seen as the complete opposite as the new generations have pushed even farther politically.

Okay, I admit it... I've moderated with age.

I no longer hold the crazy extremist belief that an economic system as disgusting, brutal, lethal, degrading, alienating, unfree, exploitative, and transparently immoral as capitalism can be tolerated.

(Seriously... what does "conservative" even mean? What are we measuring?)

Okay, I admit it... I've moderated with age.

I no longer hold the crazy extremist belief that an economic system as disgusting, brutal, lethal, degrading, alienating, unfree, exploitative, and transparently immoral as capitalism can be tolerated.

same here. i can even see the progression my increasing conservatism has made, as i came to reject more and more extremist ideas about power relations over time. can you believe that one time i thought the state was a good idea?

Yes. It's called senility.

This is an offshoot of the YouTube liberal bias thread...



I don't think this is true. I'd like it if anyone could point me to some hard data on this.

Assuming that older people are more conservative, this does not necessarily imply that age is the causal factor. I think it probably has something to do with the Great Depression. Even people in their 50s and 60s felt the effects of it in the instruction of their parents.

I'm fairly certain that age->conservative is a myth used to discount liberal ideas.

Certain personality traits become more pronounced with age. These traits have a certain amount in common with conservative politics, but it's really just a cross-over.

And it's not just with humans, so it really has nothing to do with increased maturity.

All mammals brain chemistry goes through stages. At the childhood stage the brain wants to learn by mimicry. At adolescent stage the brain wants to learn empirically. After adulthood the brain stops trying to learn. Not all at once of course, and not completely. But old mammals get set in their ways. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," as they say.

There's a famous case of some Japanese monkeys. One young monkey figured out how to wash sweet potatoes and rice left behind by tourists on the beach. Instead of picking sand off of them like the older monkeys did, she dunked them in the water. The monkeys her own age and younger mimicked her new skill and enjoyed convenient dining. The older monkeys however kept doing it the old fashioned way. One can almost imagine those old monkeys chiding the younger generation for their decadent ways.

This is a big part of why every generation complains about the music that their children listen to. And why so many older people become conservative. Conservatives are constantly trying to sell an idealized vision of a past that never really existed. The older people get, the more they respond to that message. Of course, AARP is so opposed to the Bush administration that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth made a political hit squad to take them down. So there are limits to how conservative age alone will make you.

i'd say people in their 50's today have an tendancy towards being hippies, or at least around in the 60s when hippies were all active.

the short reply to me is i don't know... most of the people that age i know are fairly right wing. older people i know do tend to be conservative. but then a lot of young people my age are also conservative, so i don't know. i have become less radicalised in most areas with age and experience of the 'real world' (ie world outside university or pre-uni schooling)

And that's why Rush Limbaugh's show is full of ads for hemroid cream.

I think I'm actually somewhat more liberal than I used to be. I think that's partly because of the Internet (next best thing to actually travelling places), partly because I've found Big Evil Business to be almost as bad as Big Evil Government, and partly because the Republicans, once they got into power, were just hypocritical as the Democrats.

However, around here I probably still qualify as a frothing-at-mouth righty. ;)

Of course, it took the Democrats about 40 years to get as corrupt and hypocritical as the Republicans were right out of the gate.

And socially as they tend to have kids. I've noticed this too.

As have I...

...Which seems to be because most people parent according to stereotypes. The good parents I've known are all quite socially-liberal and open with their children... And not just about "taboo" issues.

I don't think it that we get more conservative, its the coservative ones are the loud crochity ones that won't shut the hell up. The liberal old ones are still f**king each other and stuff.

I'm pretty sure that such is the case for most people...a slow rightward drift.

Or in the case of my father, a radical and sudden spring to the right in 1984.

Do you mean your Big Brother?