Why do Americans become more conservative as they age, but Supreme Court Justices tend to become more liberal?
In general, as people age, their life experiences increase and for many that includes getting a job or jobs, having a family, and paying taxes. Government is often looked at as an obstacle, rather than an aid, to success with too many regulations and high taxes. For example, I serve on the board of directors at the condominium where I live. A few years ago, erosion, adjacent to the seawall, was discovered and progressing. An engineering report was commissioned and found that the tie backs that had been installed 20 years earlier, when the seawall was first built were inadequate and needed to be brought up to current code. Bids were obtained and a company selected. Now the permitting process was begun and five different government agencies were required to sign off on the project before work on the $500K project could begin. An expediter was even hired to accelerate the process. It took nearly 18 months. One of the agencies, with seemingly the least part in permitting was the environmental agency. We have a small reserve of mangroves adjacent to our property where the work was to be done. Three people came out and spent the day examining and taking photographs, threatening us with massive fines if one branch was damaged. The project took only 5 months to complete. Everyone had signed off on the work except the environmental agency. They said that the cap on the seawall, that had been built to current code, was too wide and for an hour or so a day cast a shadow on whatever sea life existed against our seawall. They finally agreed that if the Army Corp of Engineers signed off, they would too. This reflects how out of control and time consuming government regulations can be. Who wouldn’t be a conservative after this. On the other hand. most Supreme Court justices already have the political leanings well established prior to being nominated. As a Supreme, they have virtually no oversight and can say whatever they want as liberals or conservatives. Judges below the Supreme Court level are always fearful of having their opinion overturned. This may affect how they write an opinion. There is no overturning at the Supreme Court only a majority and minority opinion. Supreme Court justices do not change their political persuasion.
What is worse: Being liberal in a red state or conservative in a blue state?
I’m a Ted Kennedy level liberal. I’d explain that, but that’s not the point of this answer. The point is. . .In 1992 I moved from Ohio into a lovely suburb of Detroit, MI. The community into which I moved was built around small lakes in the early ‘70s. The conditions for purchasing a house (which I wasn’t even told existed, nor was my wife, who is a real estate agent) included, amongst other unenforceable provisions, a prohibition against selling a house to a black, Jewish or non-Christian buyer. At my first Homeowners’ Association meeting two things happened: a) I was elected Association President (why is irrelevant) and 2) the man I replaced said to me that my name didn’t “sound all that kikey,” and that I should watch out because they were moving into the surrounding subdivisions.I told him I didn’t appreciate his assumption that I would agree with or even accept his prejudices, and that I, in fact, did not. His response was to announce loudly that he hoped they were happy because they’d elected a damned lib’rul. Nearly every homeowner in the room was a union member or married to one. There was an unofficial debate among several folks as to whether I should be voted out of office, but in the end, despite my best efforts to get myself out of the job, I remained Association President for about five years.Twenty-some years later, after Michigan had elected yet another Republican governor in the face of Republicans having roadblocked all efforts at highway, bridge and infrastructure funding, I asked why they would vote so clearly against their own interests, at a neighborhood corn roast. I was told, “Because you guys put a n****r in the White House.” That was obviously nonsense, since they had elected Republican lawmakers to redistrict the state. I told them so, and then I went home.I have no idea what it’s like to be Conservative and live in a blue community, but I can tell you it’s pretty tough to be a liberal and live in a red one.
The inventor of the Wheel..conservative or leftist liberal?
Ha, I love the answers in here. I would say he was a moderate conservative, man being tribal, yet selfish at time, the guy probably made it to make life easier on himself, he saw an opportunity and started making some for other tribe members. He traded them for other goods, including food, etc. His family was well taken care of. The tribe was now moving along with chores at a faster pace. Life was good for everyone. Then the chief came along, he saw how much wealth the inventor had accumulated and decided this was not fair to the rest of the tribe, especially the one's who did not have enough self discipline to gather up goods and food to trade for wheels. So the chief had his men take 75% of the inventor's goods and redistributed them trough out the tribe. Now every one was on a level playing field. Soon the inventor no longer had the drive to make new things, the poor did not want to excel like the inventor had in the past because the chief was taking care of them. The tribe became fat and lazy. The tribe's enemies came and destroyed the tribe. A conservative made it, and a liberal jacked it from him.
Why are conservatives against legalizing prostitution?
it's wrong -- dude, I'm not going to read your long dissertation. No rants on YA it's an exploitation of women
Are conservatives pro- or against- marijuana legalization?
Here in the US the GOP is split between its libertarian wing, which supports legalization at the federal level, traditional states rights conservatives who believes the issue should be decided at the state level, and religious conservatives who oppose marijuana (and alcohol for the most part as well).I’m a member of the libertarian wing and believe it should be legalized at the federal level. Why?I know of a case where in my state a young man is facing a felony and jail time for possession of 1 oz of weed for personal consumption. He has never been arrested, has survived a bad upbringing with relatives after being deserted by his parents, and had a good job and his own home. He is facing the loss of his hard-earned life because my state, North Carolina, hasn’t legalized marijuana yet. It is expected to do so sometime in the next two years.That’s too late for the man. His court date is this week.It’s a travesty of justice and p***ses me off to no end. How many lives have to be ruined over this plant? Don’t our judicial system and our police have enough to do focusing on serious crime instead of locking up otherwise decent people over possession of this plant?There are other more pressing matters for conservatives to fight liberals over. Marijuana legalization should not be one of them.Legalize Marijuana Now
Liberalism? Conservative? What do these really mean?
Wow...good job! Pretty much sums it up and yeah...prepare to be attacked with namecalling. I'm sure they are on their way!
Who favors the rule of law more: conservatives or liberals?
The answer is conservatives. But your question contains the false dilemma fallacy.What we now call liberals in the U.S. (more aptly called progressives) and conservatives are happy with rule-of-men over rule-of-law in different degrees and for different reasons.Progressives tend more towards collectivism and centrally planned programs. These programs are incompatible with rule of law because the broader and more sweeping the programs, the more they will require "tweaking" as unintended consequences pile up. Consider that every factory today is always in violation of OSHA, so functionaries apply their judgments on which violations to enforce. Consider the many executive orders effectively rewriting the Affordable Care Act from the executive branch. These are clear cases of rule-of-men over rule-of-law. (For a comprehensive treatment of this, see The Road to Serfdom by F.A. Hayek.)Conservatives favor rule-of-men over rule-of-law when it comes to the expansive surveillance state, militarism and "pro-business" policies, which always devolve into crony capitalism.The reality is that, rhetoric aside, both "liberals" and "conservatives" favor expanding the scope and size of the state, to which rule-law-to must give way.Libertarians or classical liberals favor a relatively pure form of rule of law more than do conservatives and way way more than do progressives.