Irminsul wrote:
I always hated that quote, because it is so fundamentally untrue. I have found that as you get older, you see more and more how you are linked to all things, and you get MORE liberal, if anything. Your compassion increases because of that feeling of connectedness.
Of course there are plenty of examples to the opposite, but that is because some folks as they get older get cynical, smacked down by life and feel that everyone else should be so wounded as they are.
Sad.
Ok, you're mixing some apples with some oranges here. Being conservative does not necessarily imply lack of compassion or being wounded and cynical.
At it's essence, the quote is speaking to the naivete of youth, as opposed to gaining wisdom and experience as you get older. When young, you are so enthusiastic in idealism, that you question and often rebel against ANYTHING that seems traditional. Anything new is good, "Let's try anything new" Sure that is a generality, but it holds pretty true, generally speaking. Remember the mantra of the 60's "Don't trust anyone over 30" (Is that really a mature and intelligent position?) Well, idealism is a great thing, but NOT naive idealism. That is where experience comes in, helping temper possibly destructive enthusiasm. It is this BLIND idealism that enabled the Hitler Youth to be so misled. That is what youthful energy without experience, at an extreme, can do for you.
I would imagine that you hold some appreciation for Mark Twain, who even in later years was often irreverent and rebellious at time. He said it almost as well as Churchill when he said....
"When I was 14 my father knew nothing, but when I was 21, I was amazed at how much the old man had learned in those seven years."
Clearly, the "old man" was not much wiser after 7 years, it was Twain who was wiser, and now appreciated much more, what his father was all about.
This is pretty standard life experience.
Now, there are exceptions. Like you, Irminsul, I actually became more liberal to a degree as I got older, but that is because I was raised in conservatism. And my youthful naivete led me to believe in people like Rush Limbaugh, etc... and the Democrats were evil, and going to destroy the country, etc...
I've grown up alot since then, and like much of America, am more mainstream in my thinking, realizing there are good and valuable qualities on both sides of the aisle, and that extremism is almost always misguided, whichever direction it finds itself going, liberal or conservative.
Now I am much more a firm believer in "balance" in life. Taking the good where I find it, and trying to dismiss the bad.
When you have experienced evil on a personal level, and seen it in the world, you become wiser, and more aware of it's potential. You don't automatically become cynical, but your idealism is now tempered with experience.
Youthful Naivete says merely "Walk softly"
Adult Experience says "Walk softly...BUT... carry a big stick"
Youth says merely "Diplomacy"
Adult Experience says "Diplomacy from a position of strength."
Youth says "Tune in and drop out!"
Adult Experience says "Timothy Leary fried his damn brain beyond recognition, and turned himself into a near vegetable! How did I let that idiot talk me out of college!!!!!" LOL