Liberal Dreams & Conservative Dreams

[amicus]

Actual Dreams, at night, in your sleep, occuring naturally; do conservatives dream differently than liberals?

Apparently they do, according to Ken Bulekely at a theological seminary, who just now appeared on Fox News (5:55 ET, 8/22/05).

According to this gentleman, who may be a Ph.d, but I was listening only as background noise, his research over several years, indicates that liberals and conservatives have different dreams at night.

Now the results can be spun either way, (what else is new?) but, his research indicates that liberals 'dream' of a world other than the one we live in and that conservatives, 'dream' of the 'real' world we do live in.

The spin is, for liberals, that they have more 'imagination and artistic' ability than conservatives, whereas, for conservatives, that they are more rooted in reality, dealing with facts.

I did not find the study surprising, but in a way revealing, as so many Litsters, writers and artists alike, are of the 'liberal' persuasion, with just a smattering of conservative thought here and there.

Perhaps as with man and woman, intended to 'compliment' each other, (yes, I know you will argue that), perhaps the two opposites, liberal and conservative are also intended to 'compliment' each other to make a 'whole' out of different parchment.

Anyway, I thought perhaps the vast majority of 'liberal' thinkers on this forum might peruse their dreams and see where they fall. (you could be a closet conservative and never admit it)

Amicus chuckles and skips merrily down primrose lane.

 

[Guest]

Ami, you know you want me.

Do you dream of me?

 

[Liar]

I have always seen extreme Conservatism as a lack of imagination. They can not concieve of a world different than the one they live in. Therefore they can not strive for improvement.

Extreme Lierals (or rather, reformists, which is what this is really about) on the other hand have too much of it, and are therefore so hell-bent on change they lose sight of taking care of the day-to-day business that is needed to eventually get there.

That's why I kind of dig moderation.

 

[amicus]

You make a fairly decent point, Liar and I tend to agree in general terms. However, this Alley Oop Conservative, who writes poetry and prose and even dabbles in oil and acrylics now and then seems to be an anomaly and surely not moderate in anything.

But, since my definition of 'moderate' or 'middle of the road' exists only when extremes define the middle, I do not view 'moderates' or agnostics as ones I would emulate.

Sweetsubsarah....sighs....


the amicable amicus...(gonna be away again for a few days)

 

[CharleyH]

Actual Dreams, at night, in your sleep, occuring naturally; do conservatives dream differently than liberals?

Apparently they do, according to Ken Bulekely at a theological seminary, who just now appeared on Fox News (5:55 ET, 8/22/05).

According to this gentleman, who may be a Ph.d, but I was listening only as background noise, his research over several years, indicates that liberals and conservatives have different dreams at night.

Now the results can be spun either way, (what else is new?) but, his research indicates that liberals 'dream' of a world other than the one we live in and that conservatives, 'dream' of the 'real' world we do live in.

The spin is, for liberals, that they have more 'imagination and artistic' ability than conservatives, whereas, for conservatives, that they are more rooted in reality, dealing with facts.

I did not find the study surprising, but in a way revealing, as so many Litsters, writers and artists alike, are of the 'liberal' persuasion, with just a smattering of conservative thought here and there.

Perhaps as with man and woman, intended to 'compliment' each other, (yes, I know you will argue that), perhaps the two opposites, liberal and conservative are also intended to 'compliment' each other to make a 'whole' out of different parchment.

Anyway, I thought perhaps the vast majority of 'liberal' thinkers on this forum might peruse their dreams and see where they fall. (you could be a closet conservative and never admit it)

Amicus chuckles and skips merrily down primrose lane.

This is your most non-flaming thread yet! LOL I think we need to frame it in gold. Interesting ideas. Without reading the article I can only go on experience, and not pick it apart.

I am of the liberal persuasion, although I do believe that politically it is somewhat as limiting as the conservative wing. Normally I dream 'adventurously' and yet very, VERY rarely, which is disappointing, about sex.

I recently have been dreaming the dullest dreams in my life . (hardly worth going to sleep) They tend to be about regular day to day things, and are so real down to the smell of a room, that when I wake I wonder if they happened or if I was dreaming? I am not conservative, but if this is any indication of me becoming so? LOL

Anyone got a knife?

 

[McKenna]

I have been having a lot of erotic dreams latley.

I am liberal.

I don't like what this says about my reality, (according to the article.)

I have nothing further of interest to contribute. Liar and Charley already had the best ideas, damnit.

 

[impressive]

Ami, you know you want me.

Do you dream of me?

That would be an other wordly ... a/k/a liberal ... dream.

 

[Guest]

That would be an other wordly ... a/k/a liberal ... dream.

 

[Liar]

You make a fairly decent point, Liar and I tend to agree in general terms. However, this Alley Oop Conservative, who writes poetry and prose and even dabbles in oil and acrylics now and then seems to be an anomaly and surely not moderate in anything.

"this Alley Oop Conservative" Never heard the expression. Are you talking about thyself?

Well, ami, to take you as an example... You are hardly conservative. Or do you like society the way it looks today? Don't wanna change a thing? No, don't think you do. Too much taxes for you, too much government control, at the cost of a free, deregulated market... Wouldn't you just want to wipe it all out and make a world that worked according to your ideological standards?

Sounds rather radical to me, but radical in a different direction than most people here.

 

[Liar]

Ami, you know you want me.

Do you dream of me?

That's merely human, dammit.

 

[Lucifer_Carroll]

The idea that liberals have more imagination than conservatives is pretty old. The stereotypes that a liberal always has his head up in the clouds of a utopian ideal and a conservative follows whatever he is told. The fact that liberals oft seek freedom and individuality whereas conservatives oft seek a dominant figure to tell them what to do.

Empathy is also a product of this imagination, which is why liberals are often empathetic to a fault, always able to put themselves in the shoes of another, whereas conservatives often seem cold to a degree only seen in axe murderers. Why conservatives can more easily envision a world where there kind is "good" and all others are evil, less than human, and deserving of death. It also explains why most writers, artists, and other creative types have mostly been of the liberal persuasion.

Still a bit limiting though and in the modern world, we're seeing twists. "Conservatives" with so much imagination they begin to believe that they can shape reality around them by their beliefs alone. "Liberals" who are so merely because they are realists when it comes to science, foreign policy, and environmentalism. There is no square hole anymore, only a suffusion of yellow.

Sure it may help a liberal persuasion to imagine the tale of a brown person in a far off land or what its like to be a different race or sex or sexual persuasion and it may help a conservative persuasion to be unable to comprehend what it's like to be anyone but oneself, but it does not dictate.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

The idea that liberals have more imagination than conservatives is pretty old. The stereotypes that a liberal always has his head up in the clouds of a utopian ideal and a conservative follows whatever he is told. The fact that liberals oft seek freedom and individuality whereas conservatives oft seek a dominant figure to tell them what to do.

Empathy is also a product of this imagination, which is why liberals are often empathetic to a fault, always able to put themselves in the shoes of another, whereas conservatives often seem cold to a degree only seen in axe murderers. Why conservatives can more easily envision a world where there kind is "good" and all others are evil, less than human, and deserving of death. It also explains why most writers, artists, and other creative types have mostly been of the liberal persuasion.

Still a bit limiting though and in the modern world, we're seeing twists. "Conservatives" with so much imagination they begin to believe that they can shape reality around them by their beliefs alone. "Liberals" who are so merely because they are realists when it comes to science, foreign policy, and environmentalism. There is no square hole anymore, only a suffusion of yellow.

Sure it may help a liberal persuasion to imagine the tale of a brown person in a far off land or what its like to be a different race or sex or sexual persuasion and it may help a conservative persuasion to be unable to comprehend what it's like to be anyone but oneself, but it does not dictate.

I'm conservative. I write.

I don't think artistic or creative ability know a political alignment.

I think, what defines and divides liberals and conservtives in this country at least isn't creative, or empathetic. It's pragmatism.

Most conservatives have a healthy streak of pragmatism. If it works, don't fix it, would be our motto. In other words, don't change things unless a real ned can be demonstrated, a plan can be made to cover contingencies and applying the plan will lead to a result that is better with a high degree of probability.

Liberals, tend to eschew pragmatism as a form of conformity. They see things as they are and want change, but, in general, can provide no kind of viable, workable, and high probablility better way of doing it.

All to often in these threads, there is a huge disconnect between my arguments and those of liberals. They tend to be talking about abstract plans, where I tend to argue concrete reasons that speak against implementing their plans.

Neither of which seems to have an iota of influence on creative ability.

 

[The_Fool]

Ami, you know you want me.

Do you dream of me?

Nightly....oh, was that not for me?

 

[Guest]

Nightly....oh, was that not for me?