Santosh Helekar wrote: If some liberals like you recovered to being conservatives than at least some liberals must be open-minded. Are you now as a conservative open-minded enough to switch back to being a liberal?
Peter responds: Liberals can often be correctly accused of being open-minded. It does not necessarily come with the territory, though. Santosh continues: How about people who liken a Democratic president to Stalin? Are they America-haters? Peter (cont'd): I don't know the context of your remark. I do know that people who loosely liken the actions of a president of a democratic country, such as the USA, to those of Hitler and Stalin are genuinely deluded or motivated by hate. >popular entertainers who criticize America on foreign >soil Santosh (cont'd): By "criticize America", do you mean criticize the policies of a Republican administration? Is the democratic right to dissent confined within the U.S. borders? Peter (cont'd): The issue is not one of rights. The issue is one of taste, good judgment, choice of audience and purpose. Santosh asks: Was capturing Saddam Hussein part of a political strategy to win the election for the Republican party? If so, are these people America-lovers? I don't know if it was part of the strategy. It certainly came close to failing. >Personally, I disagree with the present administration >on many issues, but I love this country dearly. Santosh (cont'd): What are your disagreements? Concessions to the PLO, soft stance on Saudi Arabia and North Korea, waiting for the UN to act on Sudan, low pressure on Mugabe (and, by extension, Mbeki), low pressure on China's human rights record, steel tariffs (since removed), farming subsidies, huge spending, no use of line-item veto, .... >There are others who disagree with the present >administration instinctively, I've identified some of >them above. Santosh (cont'd): I assume that you do not instinctively label as America-haters those who instinctively disagree with the present administration. Peter (cont'd): That would be a fair assumption. >Those opposed to a free Iraq were very vocal in >opposing America and Britain's desire for a regime >change in Iraq. > Santosh (cont'd): Are you open-minded enough to consider the possibility that these people disagreed that military invasion was the only option? Are you now opposed to a free North Korea or a free Saudi Arabia? Peter (cont'd): It is entirely possible that many liberals believe that a military invasion was not the only option. What I haven't seen is the "other option". The repetitive series of resolutions passed by the UN are testimony to the fact that most opponents of resolution-by-war are, in fact, opposed to action of any sort. Perhaps delaying was the other plan? Santosh (cont'd): Are you France-hater? Do you think it is appropriate to use the word French as a derisive epithet? If so, why? A verité est que je n'adore pas la France ou les français. Regarding use of French as a derisive epithet, there are times and contexts in which many nouns can be used derisively. A simple study of common metaphors will confirm this. In the context of the war the French intransigence was less than commendable. Peter