From: "Tanya Mayer Photography" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > This may seem uneducated of me - but I here you all saying "i'm right of > centre", "he's left", "left winged", "right winged" etc, can someone please > explain to me just what these terms mean?
Take your pick, Tanya: 1) Maybe you'll stay a happier person without knowing... 2) As long as you know the pilot is in the cockpit, who cares who's on the wings... 3) Just listen to Elvis': "I'm Right, You're Left, She's Gone", hum along and don't worry... 4) Some say these are descriptions of how men "are hung" so to speak, since we seem to be born inclined to "hang" in a certain direction... 5) The commies are on the far left and the fascists are on the far right, and at one point they seem to meet and start killing people. Many, many people. Like hundred millions of people. 6) Originally just a description of where different parties were placed in the parliament after the French revolution(?), they are generally adopted terms to try to place a political party at a scale where roughly socialists (communists, social democrats, etc) are regarded as the left, and the non socialists, conservatives etc. are to the right. Some aussie member will be able to place the Australian parties for you on this scale. You can say that generally, at least in the Western world, or maybe Europe, there has been a tendency of orientation to the center by parties who earlier were more easily, separately defined (maybe as representatives for certain groups of society), while at the same time a certain polarisation has occured in that smaller parties have drifted to the extreme left or extreme right. The "party structure" will be very different from one country to another though, why "left" and "right" may be used on an individua level, indicating where this or that person or politician places him/herself within a party. (This is just a general outline on something that is continually under discussion and development. There are miles and miles of literature on these questions alone in the libraries). Lasse > tia, > tan. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Bob Blakely [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, 24 March 2004 6:24 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: My own DOF confusion > > > I am a Christian & right of center. > > I am continually accused of all manner of things that have nothing to do > with me or anyone I know. It's as though someone made an elaborate > caricature and assigned to it all sorts of ridiculous extremes. Then all > that's necessary for amusement is the accusations. Not as much fun as tar > and feathers, but it's legal. > > Regards, > Bob... > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > They call it PMS because Mad Cow Disease > was already taken. > - Anonymous, presumed dead. > > From: "Bob W" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > Hi, > > > > Tuesday, March 23, 2004, 11:14:35 PM, Bob wrote: > > > > > I kinda like it! Here's my new sig line (stolen from Collin). You may > whine > > > and call me names as you are wont to do. It will be amusing! > > [...] > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > > > "Keep an eye on the Left. > > > They complain any time we go after any group that hates America. > > > They were ambivalent about going after Al Queda & going into > Afghanistan. > > > They really opposed overthrowing Marxists like Aristide and Saddam > Hussein, > > > et al. > > > After all, they share a common goal with the former and common world > view > > > with the latter." > > > > It's an enormous improvement over Collin's, Bob, if only because it's > > no longer a sad example of somebody so smugly self-absorbed that they > > quote their own juvenile thoughts. > > > > It's a pity the spelling's still somewhat awry. > > > > Here's an interesting recent interview with a Nobel Peace Prize winner who > > seems to meet all Collin's criteria for an America-hater: > > http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/story.jsp?story=503708 > > > > -- > > Cheers, > > Bob > > > > "The fundamentalist Christian Right is America's Taliban. With the > exception of the > > burqa (and even that, one feels, is missing only because St Paul forgot to > mention it) > > all the ingredients are there: slavish adherence to a misunderstood old > text; hatred of > > women, modernity, rival religions, science and pleasure; love of > punishment, bullying, > > narrow-minded, bossy interference in every aspect of life. The Religious > Right represents > > organized ignorance, organized bigotry, organized nastiness - and these > people are on > > their way to taking over the Republican Party. Not least, the book > persuaded me how muddled > > the fundamentalists are. They think they are patriots, yet they fight the > letter of the > > Constitution and the spirit of the Founding Fathers every step of the way. > The Religious > > Right is, in the deepest and truest sense of the word, un-American." > > > > -- from a book review by Richard Dawkins > > > > > > >
