That's enough....

Some recent posts by Leanne, Luke and Amy got me to thinking: why is there so much negativity toward people with conservative political views?

The negativity ranges from apathy to pity to disdain to outright hatred. Those of a more liberal political position seem to have little, if anything, positive to say about those at the other end of the political spectrum. The individual opinion of a liberal seems to have some corollation to their own opinion of themselves. Those with more of an elitist attitude tend toward disdain and hatred of conservatives, while those closer to the middle seem to pity conservatives.

I'd like to consider myself fairly moderate. I support civil liberties and the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights (all of them, including the Second Amendment, which a lot of liberals seem to ignore, if not loathe). I'm socially progressive, while some have claimed I'm politically conservative. Call me a neocon if you want to, or maybe a "South Park" conservative; I consider myself independent.

I try not to hate all liberals, at least not the way that it seems liberals hate all conservatives. It's hard, though, when we're talking about the same people that are responsible for the bane of political correctness, PETA, and picking and choosing which parts of the Bill of Rights are acceptable and which are not. I'm not saying conservatives are all sweetness and light. After all, it's the far right who's responsible for such things as pushing to teach creationism in schools, Rush Limbaugh, and attempting to legislate religious morality.

Personally, I think the sudden resurgence of conservatives, or neocons, if you will, is a backlash caused by the left. Sure, the left didn't do it on purpose, but enough political correctness, animal rights insanity, and attacks on civil rights will eventually cause anyone with any common sense to say "That's enough!"

Now, like anyone in the same situation, now that the Republicans are in control of Congress and the White House, they're trying to further their agenda. The Democrats would do the same thing if they were in the same position, and anyone who thinks otherwise is deluded. It's no surprise to me that they're once again challenging a woman's right to choose (a choice I support, by the way), or trying to ban the burning of the flag (which I disagree with, by the way), or any of the other ultra-conservative stuff they're trying to do. Anybody who didn't see this coming needs help. Now, if the Supreme Court does what it's supposed to, and interpret and support the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and not legislate from the bench, then we have little to worry about. But if the left really wants to protect these rights, they should support all civil rights, not just the ones they like. They should stop ignoring the "fly-over" area of middle America, the same group accused of "demonizing" those who call themselves "progressive" and work with them instead. If they don't, it'll be more of the same.

So, while people like Amy, Leanne, and Luke continue to harbor such feelings towards the far right, I'll hope that they won't hold it against me when I suggest it's their political comrades that have caused people like me to say "That's enough."